SUNY Oneonta: Greek Edition

COLETTE PASSAFIUME- ONEONTA,NY

Various sororities of SUNY Oneonta
Picture courtesy of SUNY Oneonta

    The media has always been known to be a powerful tool in addressing political, social and reform issues. The media breeds rumors, truths and exaggerations of facts. One topic the media portrays in a negative light consistently is Greek life. This can be shown in the upcoming movie Neighbors 2. In this movie, members of fraternities and sororities are depicted as people who only love to binge drink and demean others.
      Although the media effects societies perceptions of topics, one college's Greek community that defies societies stereotypes is SUNY Oneonta. With a total of eight fraternities as well as eight sororities, SUNY Oneonta fosters a safe and growing Greek life on campus. Greeks are aware of the stereotypes the media has of them and strive to defy these everyday. James Dipaoli, a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, believes "the biggest stereotype of Greek life is probably the heavy drinking. Everyone always thinks all we do is party and all we do is get messed up on the weekends and terrorize the town.” This viewpoint, along with one that Greeks only stay in the Greek community and feel entitled are widely believed across campus, but also nationwide. While people not involved in Greek life believe such assumptions it makes people blinded to the truth of what SUNY Oneonta's Greek community really is.

Relay For Life, an event Greeks attend for community service

       Joining Greek life at SUNY Oneonta has truly not only shaped my life, but the lives of others. With ongoing leadership opportunities as well as community service opportunities, Greek life's possibilities are endless. Jayna Nelson, a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority stated that she is “on the class of 2016 E-Board, I work at the Help Desk,  I am a member of Lambda Pi Eta and also a LEAD student.” All of these involvements, she said, have been because of the connections as well as motivation Greek life gives you to succeed.
 

Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority at their annual Philanthropy event

    Regardless of the letters one wears on campus, Greek life at SUNY Oneonta is all the same. Full of motivated, driven leaders who strive for greatness just as everyone else does. It is key to realize that the stereotypes society puts on Greeks are most of the time falsified accounts. No matter what you may perceive Greeks as, getting to know people in the Greek community instead of making assumptions will aid in the realization that Greeks at Oneonta are different than what they appear to be.
   The first step in making a difference is overcoming the negative stereotypes in front of you. The Greeks on SUNY Oneonta’s campus do so everyday by giving a new meaning to and defying what the media displays them as. Try to defy the stereotype you have of Greek life and become greater than an assumption.