(LUBBOCK, Texas) – I was indulging in my addiction to Facebook when I came across a group a friend had created concerning the bringing back of Katie Holmes to the Catholic Church. My personal religious views at first told me that this was a choice between two evils when I considered the history of the Catholic Church. But then I decided to look at Scientology a little more closely.

I first decided to research Scientology on the Internet to find a little more about it from a completely unbiased standpoint to aid me in forming an opinion. The Web site told me more than I needed to know about this, yes I’ll say it, cult.

After explaining that the word “Scientology” means the study of absolute truth, I concurred that if someone’s going to start a religion, Scientology is a good name for it. As I continued reading, I found the statement “Man is an immortal, spiritual being. His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime. His capabilities are unlimited, even if not presently realized – and those capabilities can be realized,” to which my reaction was OK, another religion promising immortality, no big surprise.

Continuing to the next page, and the next, I found Scientology has absolutely nothing to do with science or logos, the Greek word for “study of.” L. Ron Hubbard could be called, accurately, a John Milton who took himself seriously. (If you’re curious who John Milton is, he was a sixteenth century poet that wrote Paradise Lost as a satire of the Catholic Church by combining myths and stories with the Bible.)

I decided to stop reading there because I realized my opinion had already been formed.

Maybe it was already biased considering the South Park episodes that made so much sense to me, but a story my friend had told me really hit home. Her uncle was close with the family until he moved to California, at which point he became a Scientologist and lost contact with everyone. The family received one or two letters over the course of close to seven years. He was working for less than minimum wage in order to become esoteric enough to increase his “thetan level” (the rough equivalent of the soul).

While I was visiting my friend, they received another letter. It was a light-spirited, carefree letter inviting his niece to an internship in Hawaii. Apparently, the uncle had left the church.

The family’s hearts lifted, and I was glad he had finally come to his senses. There really couldn’t be a happier ending to a story.

How does this relate to us as college students, you may ask? I am sure that you have no desire to be a Scientologist or move to California and cut ties with your family, but there are plenty of “scientologies” closer than you may think.

A cult is defined as a group of people devoted to beliefs or practices that society or surrounding culture considers being far outside the mainstream.

So have you ever lost a friend or seen someone change because they joined an organization that has those types of beliefs or practices?

Here is a typical scenario you may have seen. Say you know a friend that is as close to you as anyone could be, and then all of a sudden, he or she is gone, disappearing from all activities with friends that he or she had previously enjoyed. That person is now Greek.

I guess I can relate to Andy because the same thing happened to me when I went Greek. Luckily, it didn’t take seven years of my life to quit and realize who is important in my life. I still miss the guys that never talk to anyone anymore because they are too embarrassed to be seen with the likes of “GDIs” (goddamn independents) or too ashamed to give us a call.

Maybe the more embarrassing thing is I was one of those guys.

Not to say the Greek system in its entirety is evil – that would just be ridiculous. Greeks raise countless funds for charity, and their involvement on campus is unrivaled by any other student organization. However, when I think of my time on Greek Circle, what stands out the most is a high school mentality and complete disregard for anybody but me, my pledge class and my fraternity brothers.

So in conclusion, whether you are a Scientologist who is just looking for a place to belong and something to believe in, living it up on Greek Circle or just considering joining a chicken-worshipping cult, always keep in touch with those friends that have made your time at your University so wonderful. In the end, that’s really what it’s all about.