Breaking Greek Life Stereotypes

When I first got to Texas Tech University, I didn’t know a lot about Greek life. I always heard bad things from other people, and so I just went with what I heard from others — not the best idea.

As I began to interact with people within Greek life, I quickly realized that a lot of the stereotypes were very wrong in so many ways. After doing a little research on fraternities and sororities, I found that overall they have some of the highest GPAs on campus. Undergraduate students at Texas Tech have an overall GPA of 2.789, while Greeks have an average GPA of 2.959.

Greek life represents around 17 percent of the student population at Texas Tech, according to the Greek life website. The Panhellenic Council represents the top seven spots amongst all Greeks. According to the Panhellenic website, the Panhellenic Council is a national coordinating group of 26 member sororities.

“Locally, the Texas Tech Panhellenic Council is the governing body of the 11 NPC sororities on campus, composed of 11 executive council officers and delegates from each chapter,” the website said.

So, why do they get such a bad reputation? I think it is because the entire Greek system gets the blame for the actions of a few. Here are a few of the many students who are a great representation of Texas Tech Greek life.

Suzie Hannan

Suzie is a senior advertising major at Texas Tech and the current social chair of Chi Omega. Suzie is not only smart but is also a caring young lady who is a volunteer wish grantor for Make-A-Wish North Texas. She is also a member of Alpha Lambda Delta/Phi Eta Sigma Honors Societies and Order of Omega, which is the all greek honor society. A true Red Raider in and out, Suzie has a twin sister and a brother who are currently attending Tech, not to mention two older brothers who already graduated from Tech. Also, she is an athletic young lady who said she was part of the Greek Division Intramural Flag Football Championship team. Currently, she works at the ID office, is the lead campus ambassador for Coca Cola, and is a marketing intern for KTTZ Channel 5. After graduating, she plans on working for a PR or advertising agency and eventually get her master’s degree in communications or business.

Anaitza Santos

Anaitza is currently a psychology major and president of Sigma Lambda Gamma. This pre-medical student is always studying and registering people to vote with her Gamma sisters in the free speech area. She is a member of Unidos por un Mismo Idioma (UMI) and the Pre-Med Society.

Sebastian Ante

Sebastian is a senior media strategies major and current member of Theta Chi. He is also involved with Raiderthon, where he was an executive member as well as Tech PR Team and High Point Village. Sebastian is also a model. He has already accepted a job to do marketing with Enterprise.

Caroline Namazi

Caroline is originally from Dallas, where she sports her Tech gear every time she goes back. This young lady is breaking all kinds of stereotypes. She was a D1 volleyball player before transferring to Texas Tech. Caroline is a senior energy commerce major and current treasurer of Chi Omega. As you can see above, she enjoys the outdoors and studying on Friday nights! She was an intern for EP Energy this summer and has accepted a full-time offer after she graduates. If that isn’t good enough to break the stereotype I don’t know what is.

Blake Silverthorn

Blake is a senior media strategies major, as well as a member of Pi Kappa Alpha and the Honors College. At the young age of 20, Blake is the director of a sports show, Double T Insider, which airs on Fox Sports. Along with being a director for a sports show, Blake has been interning for the Dallas Cowboys for the past seven years. Blake is also a true lover of all photography equipment. He spends most of his time finding new things to do with video and photography, and how can I forget his love for Whataburger?

Nora Jan

Nora is an English major who is a member of Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc, where she serves as a community service and social chair. She is a also a member of Alpha Lambda Delta/ Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa — all of which are honors organizations. She is the current student ambassador for the pre-law program at Texas Tech, as well as a teaching aid for JumpStart. She had an internship with Eldercare Workforce Lobbyist group as a policy and communications intern. When she isn’t studying, she is watching “Law & Order” or listening to Beyonce.

Ashlyn Tubbs

Ashlyn is senior member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She is currently involved with the Association of Women in Communications, Society of Professional Journalists, and MCTV. She is also a reporter for KCBD-Channel 11. During her time at KCBD, she has interviewed many people, including Texas country star Randy Rogers. This world traveler is also a part of Alpha Lambda Delta & Phi Eta Sigma honor societies.

Amber Yanez

A true Red Raider, Amber Yanez is currently a part of Pi Beta Phi. She is involved with Tech Supply Chain and has been involved with the Student Government Association for the past 3 years. She currently holds the journal clerk position in SGA.

Will Arnold

Will is a finance major and a member of Delta Sig, and Delta Sigma Pi, a professional business fraternity. This outdoors man is currently the secretary for the Rawls business ambassadors.

In light of all the criticism and the actions a few members of Greek life have taken, I think we also need to consider that there are good people in fraternities and sororities.

Editor’s note: The author is not a member of a Greek organization.