What does being a Pike really mean?

First off, I would like to apologize for bringing up such a touchy subject, but I can't take it anymore. I feel like SMU is almost trying to completely destroy the Greek system and it is just driving me crazy. This weekend five of our pledges were sent to a Greek IFC convention with five other pledges from each Fraternity and Sorority on campus. The intention of the weekend was supposed to be to teach these young men and women what it takes to be a good active in each person's respective chapters. Well what ended up happening is instead of trying to make these representatives better Greeks, they decided to ask them hazing questions. I am honestly disappointed to sometimes be part of a Greek organization like SMUs thanks to the image that school has created for us. It is PATHETIC! The school was attempting to trap my future Fraternity brothers by forcing them to answer questions about pledgeship. What pissed me off is that the "hazing" that SMU was trying to accuse our fraternity of doing, IS THINGS THAT OUR FRATERNITY DOESNT DO! The school is so gullible in the sense that they believe everything that they hear. When really probably only 1 out of every 100 things they hear about Greeks is probably true.

College students don't join Greek organizations so they can be accused of hazing THAT THEY DONT TAKE PART IN! Young men join Fraternities because of what it means to be in a Fraternity. I can't speak for other houses, but I know for myself being a PIKE is one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself. Being a Pike has given me opportunity to meet great people, to make life long friends, to be a part of an organization that I care about and that I feel passionate about, to compete in intramurals, to be a part of an organization that raises money for the Ryan Gibson Leukemia Foundation, to live in a house with 33 of my best friends, to eat great food from our amazing Chef Nate and his assistant Alex, to improve my leadership skills by spending a lot of time RUSHing to make Pike better, to meet more girls, to dedicate myself to something I care about, to provide me with a better opportunity to succeed in school, to provide me with better job opportunities when I graduate, to allow me the opportunity to be part of the Beta Zeta chapter for the rest of my life, etc. I could fill up this page and endless other blogs with reasons why being a Pike has been good for me and for my other brothers, BUT THE SCHOOL JUST DOESN'T UNDERSTAND!

The Greeks on campus do so much for the school that goes unnoticed. One of the reasons this school is so popular is because of the great Greek system, that I sometimes feel like our school is trying to destroy! IT'S BULLSHIT. The Greeks don't deserve this treatment, and especially the Pikes. You know that out of my Fraternity alone their are six people who are running for a position on Student Senate and one who is running for the Vice President of the school. And that over the last five years Pike has had two Student Body Presidents and one IFC President. We by no means are the only Greek organization that is involved in the student activities. Most Greeks, in general, are very active. Our house prides ourselves on being great SLAGs. We are scholars, leaders, athletes, and gentlemen. I think right now we have a 3.2 GPA as a house. I just told you why we are leaders. We haven't lost an intramural sport the WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR. And just ask the ladies if we are gentlemen. I am certain they will tell you we are.

It just isn't fair to wrongfully accuse the Greeks of doing so many things that we don't do and things that I KNOW THE PIKES DON'T DO! It really ticks me off! It isn't fair. We don't deserve this type of treatment from the school. As I said earlier, the Greek system is one of the traditions that keeps the school strong in the eyes of the public. The school should be PROMOTING the Greek system, not DEMEANING it! I hope someone in a position of power soon realizes all the good that the Greeks do and decides to commend them for their efforts, instead of always trying to shoot them down. The Greeks and ESPECIALLY THE PIKES deserve to be treated better!