Self reflection after the Op-Ed

I, as well as many others, just read the recent op-ed piece in the Hustler. I think that it's pretty easy to say that overall it wasn't received too well, and it definitely should've been rewritten to really get the points across that H was trying to get across.

When I rushed, I picked DKE (yes, I'm really in DKE and if you don't believe me then I don't know what to tell you) not because I connected with the brothers more so than any other frat, but because it was ingrained into me that being in a top fraternity was the most important thing when picking one. I remember having to force myself to act like a 'frat bro' or at least how I thought a 'frat bro' should act. I never smoked a single cigarette before coming to college, but by the end of my first semester I was routinely chain smoking half a pack per weekend in order to fit in. I completely changed everything that I would normally wear. I used to dress like a skater/stoner in high school- baggy clothes, you get the point... but I did a complete wardrobe overhaul when I got here. Sports jerseys, hoodies, flannels, and snap backs were the only things that I'd wear. Basically, what I'm getting at is that trying to get into one of these fraternities/sororities makes students completely change into someone they're not just for the approval of others, and that sucks.

While I've been lucky enough to be in Greek Life throughout my entire time at Vanderbilt (yes, I know we're 'technically' not a fraternity anymore), I can't imagine how much it must suck to not be involved- my entire social life revolved around DKE. H talked about feeling ostracized from date parties, but that really only scratches the surface. From the other guys that I've talked to on campus, they all have the same general consensus: we only hang out with our 'brothers'. There are no on campus organizations for people (outside of extremely niche identities/cultural groups) to socialize and have fun, and fraternities are the only organizations that can host large parties.

Greek life forced you to try to be someone that you're not in order to have a social life. That should've been the real point of the Hustler article. Are there other issues with Greek Life? Absolutely, but this was the message that really resonated with me after reading H's piece.