We heard they were serving ice cream.
So we decided to make the trek from our dorm in the southwest living area of UMass-Amherst up the hill to frat row. One of the eight houses—four have since been torn down—on frat row in Amherst, the Iota Gamma Upsilon house, loomed over us as we stomped up the porch steps to attend a rush event. And, of course, to eat free ice cream. Four months, some beer, a ton of marijuana and many new friends later, I was sworn in as a lifelong sister of Iota Gamma Upsilon.
Even a decade later, I am still amazed I ended up in a sorority. Granted, back then IGU was not your run-of-the-mill sorority (we hosted keggers; boys could spend the night and they did; there were gravity bongs aplenty), but it did have many of the things most mainstream sororities have—rush, pledge events, socials and initiation. The main thing that set IGU apart is still true. While most sororities and fraternities are national organizations with chapter houses across the country, IGU is a local sorority with no national governing board and only one chapter, the one at UMass-Amherst.
Going Greek isn’t for everyone. It’s not for the overly studious, although study hall for pledges is mandatory in most houses, and I did know a few straight-A Greek students. It’s not for the lone wolf. Even though individuality is encouraged, sororities and fraternities are organizations steeped in tradition and rituals. And, probably most importantly, it’s not for the diehard sober folk out there, either. No matter how anyone tries to spin it, a lot of Greek life revolves around partying. Sure, we were supposed to do charitable work. Sometimes we actually even did a little (although what that might have been escapes me). But at the end of the day, we all lived for things like the case race—you, a partner and a case of beer equals some not-so-healthy competition. Every semester brought socials with other houses, and formals, which were like proms except you didn’t have to hide your booze.
And the parties? Oh my goodness, the parties. Every weekend, frats (and ocassionally, my sorority house) would throw ragers. As fellow Greeks, my sisters and I got preferential treatment, like cutting the beer line and being asked upstairs to drink some form of ecto-cooler instead of the shitty Natty Lite keg in the basement.
Although hazing pledges is technically banned, I’d wager almost every Greek organization participates in some form of it. There is, however, a big difference between sending a pledge to the store for chicken tacos with extra cheese and no onion (yep, did that) and locking one in a closet all night long dressed only in her underwear (definitely did not ever do that). The worst thing I ever did to a pledge was accidentally hit one in the head with an egg while re-creating a scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. My sorority tried to use pledge events (where most hazing takes place) as tools to teach leadership, individuality and friendship. Okay, and sometimes we taught them how to play flip cup. (We had to: Iota Gamma Upsilon had the title of reigning cup champs on frat row.)
The biggest draw of going Greek is camaraderie. Yes, there was back-biting and in-fighting (put 30 girls in a house and let’s see how long they all get along), but in sororities and fraternities alike lived a group of people who had each other’s backs no matter what. If one of my sisters was in trouble, I was there for her, even if it was that bitch who made out with my boyfriend sophomore year.
I did a lot of crazy things in college. Hell, I think I’d take back about half the things I did while living in the Iota Gamma Upsilon house. But if I had it to do all over again, would I still go Greek? Without a doubt. If it’s dozens of new friends, a chance to experience living in a tight-knit community and tons of fun you seek, Greek life just might be the answer you’re looking for.
