Do the Bluto : why to rush at USD

By Kevin Crespo
ASST. OPINION EDITOR

It’s springtime at USD. It can be hard to tell sometimes since the weather hasn’t changed since October. Fortunately, USD brings some other aspects to the table to remind us that spring semester is upon us. Aside from the holy-shnikes-that’s-a-large-number of juniors that have returned from studying abroad last fall to fill the campus with more people, spring is also defined by the return of rush for Greek life.

With the ladies having come back to campus early for sorority happenings, and the guy’s rush about to happen in the next few weeks, Greek life on campus is about to change once again.

While Greek life certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s a great way to enhance your college experience. There are people to meet and food that doesn’t start with “today’s special” to eat. Regardless of whether you choose to join or drop, spending the time to meet a crazy amount of people in a week pays off in the end. Nathan Phillips, a sophomore at USD, thoroughly enjoyed the rush process, even though he decided to drop Greek life after a semester.

“I think rushing is awesome because even if you drop, like I did, you’ll get wonderful friends out of it like the guys I live with” said Phillips.

If you do decide to join a fraternity or sorority then there might be a lot of questions going through your head. Is it the right chapter for you? Are you happy being in Greek life? Are people going to think differently of you because of the one you chose?

Most of the time, it is the right chapter for you. You might have some downs but Greek life is great and people can be judgmental but that’s life. People can judge everything you do.The chapter you ended up in is most likely the right one for you. It might not always seem that way and you might often question it, but there is a reason you ended up there.

Whether it be to socialize with the rest of greek life, be a part of the close bonds of a brotherhood or sisterhood, or to gain a support group for everything you do, going Greek means something special to everyone. Alex Bullock, Vice President of Beta Theta Pi, joined for a social experience.

“I joined Greek life because I wanted to meet new people and make the most out of my college experience” said Bullock.

If the social opportunity isn’t enough of a reason to join, then the occupational and academic reasons should help sway your opinion. According to the University of Missouri – Kansas City 85 percent of Supreme Court Justices have been fraternity or sorority members, 71 percent of greek life members graduate opposed to just 51 percent of non-members throughout the nation and 43 of the 50 largest corporations in America are headed by fraternity and sorority members.

Here at USD, the all-sorority and all-fraternity GPA averages, 3.316 and 3.299, respectively, is higher than the all undergraduates average GPA of 3.14. With academic and social balance, Greek life is the full package.

The best part of joining a fraternity or sorority is being in the Greek life community as a whole. The sororities and fraternities on campus are truly one Greek family. Between the philanthropy drives shared between chapters and the social events enjoyed by everyone, the divisive lines between individual fraternities and sororities seems to vanish.

While everyone has different views of how the different chapters interact with each other, most Greek members have good friends in each of the chapters and the variety increases with every year. This is what makes rush so exciting. Rush isn’t just about getting new potential members for your chapter, it’s about Greek life expanding and meeting new people.

So if you’re currently sitting and wondering if you should stay in your new sorority or if you should show up to fraternity rush, give it a try. Or, if you thought you’d missed your chance to rush, in the words of my favorite Greek member ‘Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? NO’. Whether you go Greek or not, spring time brings some sun, beach and fun, and that’s something everyone can enjoy.