Greek life at Florida State isn’t for everyone

You don’t have to adopt letters to get involved on campus

Florida State’s campus holds 32,621 undergraduates, and that can be a large and intimidating field to play as an incoming freshman. A way to shrink the size of any campus is to join a group where you can create friends and bond with those who are trying navigate college just like you are.

Like most large universities, Florida State has a massive Greek community with 29 fraternities and 26 sororities, and they are a fantastic choice for many students who are looking for a place to belong. It isn’t, however, for everyone.

I, along with most of my friends at Florida State, am not involved with the Greek community that surrounds us on campus. When the majority of people who walk by are wearing some sort of Greek paraphernalia, it’s easy to feel like you’re missing something.

Events are almost always going on and when you’re sitting in your dorm room, it can get a little lonely if you think about it too much. Curious as to how my friends felt on the topic, I asked two of them who are also not involved in sororities or fraternities about their opinions on being at a college with such a large Greek community.

Junior Rebecca Christie said:

“When my sister went to college, she joined a sorority and it was great for her because she was going to a school where she didn’t know anyone and it gave her an instant group of people she could hang out with. She may not have stuck with all of those people, but it was helpful for her when she was starting out. Personally, I knew quite a few people going into FSU and didn’t feel the need to join Greek life.

“I’ve never really been drawn to the party lifestyle or going out very often, and would rather just grab some food and relax with friends instead of going to a club or bar. Plus, the fact that college is already expensive and dues can be pricey. That’s money I can, and would prefer, to spend elsewhere.

“I never felt like I was missing out by not joining Greek life because if I wanted to do the same type of activities they were doing it wouldn’t be to difficult to do just that even though I wasn’t in a sorority. I guess sometimes I wonder how things would have been different during my time at FSU if I joined a sorority but I enjoy my life the way it is and feel that it’s not lacking because I choose not to go Greek.”

Jeremy Schleicher, another FSU junior, said, “I definitely would say that I feel like I’m missing out, but there really isn’t anything quite like a fraternity to replace it with. If there was a group of 50-100 fandom best friends who didn’t really drink then I’d jump aboard, but that obviously doesn’t exist. I just don’t mesh with the frat lifestyle, and no club comes close to recreating that experience.”

Both friends make good points, and I find myself falling somewhere in the middle. I was someone who knew almost no one going to FSU, so I liked the idea of having a group to join. However, I’m also not one for the party scene. That, plus the horror stories I heard about rush, didn’t have me in any hurry to try and get in to Greek life.

No matter where you fall on the anti-Greek life scale, it’s not a bad thing to be. It’s not so horrible for sororities and fraternities to just not be your thing. Not being involved in Greek life can lead to other cool organizations like service or honor fraternities – I joined Phi Sigma Pi, an honors fraternity, and it was the best decision I’ve made maybe in my three years at college – as well as different clubs the school offers. There is a puppy club that is quite possibly the best thing about campus.

So, while there is a lot of Greek representation on campus, there’s plenty of other groups to be able to call your own, minus the arduous steps to getting into them.

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