Last year, my friend Chantel and I were standing outside the biology building. As usual, I was talking her ear off when this immaculately dressed girl came up to me and started a conversation. As I listened to her, I kept thinking to myself, “Do I know this person? She looks familiar, maybe I met her somewhere.”

As the conversation progressed, she asked me what house I rushed. Chantel and I almost started laughing. “Oh poor dear,” I thought, “she definitely mistook me for someone else.” So instead of calling her out on her mistake, I caved.

“Um, I decided not to,” I said smiling. I chickened out, and Chantel knew it.Needless to say, evidently I gave this stranger the wrong answer because as soon as she found out that I wasn?t a sorority girl, she quickly averted my eyes and dismissed me so fast that I didn’t have time to apologize for the misunderstanding.

I tried to reason with myself that maybe she had realized she made a mistake and tried to save face by walking away. But somehow I doubt it. I wish I could say that my incident was isolated, but it?s not. There have been too many horror stories circulating around campus about how fraternities and sororities live up to their reputation?and then some.Last semester, I wrote a column shattering the myth that all people in the Greek establishment deserved the stereotype that?s deposited on them. And I still believe that way, but it can be very hard.

Sac State Greek organizations are strange for a few reasons. One of them being the way they?ve rushed in the Library Quad. Other campuses I know of don?t treat their fellow students with such utter disregard as the poor example displayed in the Library Quad.If anyone has noticed, the booths are surrounded by people with their backs turned against the crowd they?re trying to recruit. How is that scenario inviting? Or how about some Greek organizations going out of their way to divide the crowd of students who just want to go to class and then bombard their target with a flier.

If someone is truly interested in joining your establishment, they?ll come to you on their own freewill.

Now despite what some of you are thinking, I?m not this tyrant who is anti-everything. I would love to hear good stories about the Greeks. It?s unfortunate that Greek groups aren?t presented in a flattering light through word of mouth on campus.

If the Greek groups have served a real purpose and have done something for our school, then how come no one ever hears about it?

I know that making broad generalizations is dangerous and there are always exceptions, but this “us vs. them” attitude that?s associated with Sac State Greek life only reaffirms a bias view that won?t go away unless Greeks make an effort to show that they?re about unity instead of division.

Georgette Todd is a Journalism Major. She can be reached by email at [email protected].