Freshman Guide: Losing Your Friends to Greek Life
Winter is here, and while the flowers have withered, hundreds of freshman (and a few sophomores) have bloomed. They’ve bloomed into Pikes, Pi Phis, Fajitas or Zetas, and what about you? You’re shacked up in Allison, watching your fall quarter friends disappear.
Maybe it’s not so bad. Greek life as an institution is inherently flawed, and all your fall quarter friends are only contributing to the problem. You don’t want to be a part of that, and you don’t have to be! There’s so many other ways to navigate Northwestern, and we’ve got you covered.
Here are five ways to deal with the loss of your friends to Greek life.
Make friends with the other kids on your floor*!
You know that kid you always make eye contact with in the bathroom? Or the one who says hi even though you don’t know their name? These people are great stepping stones to forming a new social circle.
Hopefully they’re not sheep who have rushed though. If they are, you might have to brush up on your sports trivia and defense of libertarian views. If you need help with this, sign up for my peer guided study group for Classics 204: Greek tragedy.
*If you’re in Bobb this probably isn’t an option.
2. Join a new club!
As we like to call “God’s backdoor,” many groups on campus can give you the same socially exclusive experience as Greek life, without the guilty conscience. It’s true! You too can drop your ideological baggage at the door and experience Greek life vicariously through another club. That is, if you can get in.
As you know some of our favs are frisbee, sailing and skiing (RIP) but apparently the Happiness club also gets pretty lit.
Bonus points if your anti-Greek-life Greek life stands for a charitable cause. How can anyone critique a socially, racially, financially exclusive organization if it’s for the kids?
3. Paint the rock!
Painting the rock is a classic Northwestern tradition and what’s better than painting it with your pledge class? Feels obvious! Painting it alone. Call out the institution for separating you from your former friends! Take a stance against Norris calling MOD Pizza authentic Italian! You work better alone, anyways…
4. Restore your relationships with your biological siblings!
As a wise woman of Alpha Phi once proclaimed, “not everyone is lucky enough to have 32 sisters.” So true, Amy!
You technically only have 25 biological siblings, and they all stopped talking to you after you spent months calling them your pledge class, but hey! It’s never too late to make amends. Sure, you have familial trauma that may never be resolved, but that doesn’t mean the 26 of you can’t dress in coordinated colors and sing door songs til the sun rises! Right? Guys? Do you even remember me?
5. Spring rush?
Ya know, when I started writing this, I was firmly against the institution. But the more I describe it... the better it sounds. I love drinking and sports, and it wouldn’t kill me to have a friend to talk to once in a while... so why try to beat em when I can join em?
Just think about it, a community of ready-made friends takes so much less effort. Do you really wanna say your name, major, and home town a million times like you did during Wildcat Welcome?
And I heard Pike is renting out the Skokie Applebee’s for their next formal. Spring rush isn’t ready for me.
