By Jasmine King

Contributing Writer

Admitted Students Day: informative, fun and entirely misleading. I remember walking onto the University’s beautiful campus after I found out that I had been accepted. I looked around thinking, “This is so great! I can’t wait to make this my home for the next four years!” As I strolled with my grandparents from building to building, presentation to presentation, I felt really at home. This definitely seemed to be the place I wanted to be. There were lots of activities going on that day, so I assumed that I would never be bored. Looking back on my first year here at the University, though, I realize how wrong I was.

I recall going on a tour that day, and my tour guide saying, “This campus has Greek Life but I know tons of people that aren’t in it and they are fine.” What my tour guide did not mention was how much Greek life on campus runs the social climate. Within the first month of being at school, President Bravman sent out an email to all students saying that there would be a series of meetings about the “campus climate” in which students could come and honestly speak about what they felt the University’s campus was like. This was an awesome first step to take in trying to fix the problems that come with Greek life, but it would have been nice to have heard this sort of honest discussion when I was still making my college decision. 

Over 50 percent of sophomores, juniors and seniors are involved in a Greek organization, but it felt like everyone was in some way involved with Greek life this past year. Admitted students as they come to the University see the fraternity houses, see people wearing the letters, but does that really say enough to let them know how much Greek life dominates campus? For this writer, the answer was no. Yes, I read the statistics, I saw the letters, I even saw the houses, but it never really sank in.

To help solve this problem, I think that we need to have a seminar on Admitted Students Day for prospective students and their parents where people who both are and are not involved in Greek organizations should talk about their college experience. I think this will give a more accurate representation of what the University truly is: a great academic experience with one heavy Greek system. Because the way that it is now, prospective students see Residential Colleges, ACE-sponsored events, dance showcases, but nothing about Greek life and what it does throughout the year. It is only fair to offer prospective students and families the true vision of the University’s social system.