E-Pledging: Is nothing sacred?

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As most of our organizations begin to reach that centennial mark and other years that mark our legacy and longevity we are beginning to see the peak of the finest form of flattery: Imitation. From the bona-fide organizations like Groove Phi Groove, to the Sweetheart groups turned Sororities, to the Multicultural Greek Council, we’ve seen it all. Now I have mad love for my MGC Greeks, however it does trip me out to see some of our customs that we made infamous being regurgitated by their organizations. (In an attempt to freeze emails and comment wars, I will concede that many of our customs did not originate with us, but we did make them a major part of Greek life and took them to another level. i.e. Stepping) I think it’s best to take it as a compliment however, and embrace it. Recently however, a few things were blazingly brought to my attention. I don’t want to rant and rave about the Greek organizations for every college major, skill set, and sexuality that mimic our style, oh no… that’s been done to death. I will just simply say that it has

Gone

Too (first pic is some Greek Switch Day thing, which I mean…. hey… if it works. LOL where I come from, we’ve never quite done this so this was news to me.)

But this… no doubt. OD

Far. (Sigma Rhomeos. Not a “men trying to be women” thing, but a little OD to me, but hey….if it works)

What caused me to twist my pearls around my neck and take a deep breath in prayer that my Founders and the Founders of the other D9 orgs were still peaceful in their graves were these two sites:

Alpha Chi Sigma

Phi Rho Epsilon

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Online Fraternities and Sororities? How could this even possibly make sense. These groups are using the online gaming community Second Life to claim some random bond that I truly cannot fathom. Now I have plenty of e-friends and I will go to e-war over them. But only in a way that’s not really all that serious, and still says that I have better things to do with my life. I will be the first to admit that I know very little about Second Life, so if I’m coming across as ignorant, believe me I am on this subject. It’s like the Sims only… YOU are the Sim? Nevermind all of that. Applying this community to Greek Organizations is truly some next level stuff and makes me want to throw my Blackberry in the trash for fear that the Robots truly will take over.

Like a train wreck you just can’t stop watching I read through the websites (read: MySpace Accounts) and it tripped me out that these people were Dead Azz Serious! They have pictures of their virtual cookouts and their crossings. The Sorority is Phi Rho Epsilon but the first Greek letter they use is Pi. So I’m guessing it’s a play on Fire & Pyro, but it’s still all kinds of incorrect and wrong. (Probably because the correct org is already taken) Alpha Chi Sigma is actually a Chemistry Fraternity so they would have a hard time actually incorporating if they wanted to really be serious. The Frat’s page pictured a big buff Sims character with issues wearing a belt wielding a battle axe behind the words “Send me a message if you want to pledge.” This confused me thoroughly. I have so many questions.

For such technologically advanced people, MySpace is the best you could do? How do you determine if an interest is trustworthy? Is there even a need to be discrete in the Second Life? How are line numbers given out? How challenging can the process be? In terms of creating a Fraternal Bond how is this accomplished online when you don’t even know if the people you are talking to are being honest? Bump all of that. WHAT IS THE POINT?

I imagine that in an effort to make online undergraduate school that much more cooler people are trying to get as much out of it as they can. But we don’t even know if that’s the case. Are these people even in school? Do they have degrees? I think some people miss the point concerning Greek Life. I would do an investigative report on this, but I think this blog is about as far as I can allow my mind to embrace this concept.

From the ∏ΡΕ website “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation because your character is who you really are while your reputation is merely what others think of you”
No my loves. Your character is some cartoonish Sims thing that you made up online one day that probably looks nothing like you. It’s almost impossible to know who you really are unless of course you had Set via Skype or Tokbox. Pledge Week? I doubt it. “Spitting” info at 72 wpm at your e-Bate (Probate) will not impress me. Carpal Tunnel, far-sightedness, and the ability to create intricate web avatars does not make you made.

I mean hey, I aint knockin what ya do (Ok.. I am…. I really am. Sorry. LOL) but just know that if these orgs ever come to the NPHC asking for membership I will flee to my private island of the coast of Africa to end out my days. That will mean that they actually incorporated, it isn’t a joke, and Will Smith will be swooping in to save the world on the next July 4th.

I pray that this is a joke. I really do.

***Disclaimer after the fact. This is meant to be in fun. I know people get real sensitive and excited when it comes to Greek Life. I know, not everyone wants to be in the NPHC, we didin’t invent Greek Life, and blah blah blah. Just chill out and laugh and flame only if you must. This is a post from a series of posts I’m doing leading up to the Greek Picnic as I’m one of the official bloggers for the ATL Greek Picnic. Follow them on Twitter and check out the official website.

Tagged as: Black Greek Letter Organizations, Fraternities, Greeks, Pledging, Sororities

Article by Jennifer Garrett

JG* is a small-town turned big-city blogger who once wrote the random yet ever-creative look into the life of a girl entering the Quarterlife. These days as she prepares for her MBA program at The Ohio State University she's turned into quite the "Susie The Riveter." Working with teens by day, cooking delicious meals at night. Check out her blog showcasing her delicious recipes at http://jgrunsthekitchen.wordpress.com. Follower her on Twitter @JGRunsTheCity

Jennifer has written 49 article(s) for us.