Just about everyone knows what Greek Life is, and you see the organizations everywhere on campus: Alpha Lambda Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Omicron Tau, Sigma Lambda Gamma, Zeta Tau Zeta, Phi Kappa Psi, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
That’s where Greek Council comes in! All of Oxy’s Greek organizations are represented on the council. Presidents from all organizations are there, all of the Greek Council Vice Presidents are there, and we share a hearty Marketplace (or Cooler, no judgement) lunch while we chat about Greek Life, the pros, the cons, all of it. For example, when it comes to financial aid for individuals in Greek life, we are more than happy to deal with it. That’s one huge thing that Greek organizations here stress: do not be intimidated by dues, that should be the least of your worries at Oxy!
As the Vice President of Sorority Recruitment, I get to work closely with the Vice President of Fraternity and Gender Neutral Recruitment. We get to plan all of the recruitment activities and Greek-wide events like Meet the Greeks. I think the biggest plus of being on Greek Council is getting to know people from the other organizations and working with people you may not even know.
With Recruitment week coming up (Feb 12-16) Greek Council is gearing up to accept even more of the Oxy community into Greek Life. We are really excited to kick the week off this year and welcome some PNMs (Potential New Members) into the community! Between getting to know them and eating LOTS of food, the primary goal is for everyone to have fun regardless of who you are. I won’t give too much away as it spoils the many surprises of rush week, and while it’s a long week for the council, in the end it’s totally worth it. Jam-packed with conversations where you end up memorizing a specific introduction, mine being: "Hi I’m Carol, I’m a sophomore, Religious Studies and Group Language double major and I’m from Northern Virginia! Tell me about you!" It’s a great time.
I adore watching PNMs bond with current members of sororities or fraternities and predicting the future big-little pairings. One of the biggest influences of my time at Oxy has been my big, aside from being part of a separate and comforting community in general, I’ve really found someone I can connect with. The big-little pairings are always exciting for everyone. Even if some of the PNMs don’t end up joining any organization, you get to know new people and make meaningful friendships. I’ve definitely seen Greek members with people who didn’t end up rushing getting a classic Delia’s breakfast burrito on a Sunday morning! There is absolutely no pressure to join a Greek organization at Oxy but it’s definitely encouraged, and if a student decides to make this decision, they know that the Greek Council members of each organization are there to help. Although we do do the brunt work, we’re always here to support students and their Greek experience at Oxy!
Together in Greek Council we’ve been setting goals all year. As a whole, we are working on becoming more visible on campus, getting out into the community and re-branding the common stereotypes of Greek Life - all things really encouraged at Oxy. Occidental College has a wonderful Greek community, and you should definitely consider going out for recruitment to meet some incredible people! If you want to learn more about this fantastic community, follow our Instagram and like us on Facebook (shameless plug). I may be a little biased when I say that Greek Life at Oxy is one of the greatest parts of my experience here, but no matter who you are, or how you identify, there’s a place for you in one of the organizations.