I have to admit, I was a little nervous as I volunteered to write this column, because I wasn't sure how the perspective of an international student on the decision to go Greek would be different than that of an American. I tried to imagine having read something like this my freshman year: I would have thought that the perspective of any affiliated student was biased, that Greek life had somehow brainwashed him or her into mainstream college America.
When I arrived at Dartmouth from my home country of Romania, it was my first time in the U.S., and I had only heard of fraternities and sororities in movies. Fraternity brothers I imagined were the coolest-breed any campus had to offer, and sorority sisters were their female counterparts -- walking and in pink velour track suits and furry heels, a la Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde.
I expected Greek guys and girls to be good looking, rich and about as sharp as a marble (with the exception of Elle Woods). Not surprisingly, I didn't think I would fit into that picture, and I was content to be on the outside looking in. I had heard horror stories about rush and I thought it was an unnecessary evil that should be avoided.
My freshman fall, I met one of my best friends at the College. She was nice, kind and smart, and I never saw her wear pink. Yet she went ahead and started the seventh sorority at Dartmouth, Alpha Phi. Now, I don't know if it was because seven is my lucky number, but I felt really differently about this one.
When I told my friends from Romania that I was joining a sorority, their reactions ranged from "So, you're, like, going to be a sorority girl? Like, oh my god!" to "You already have a sister, isn't that enough?" I assume they meant to be supportive.
I also assume my father meant to be supportive when I told him about it on the phone and he responded, "So you're going to pay to hang out with people? What a winner!"
My mother had only one question. "Honey, what's a sorority?"
Bottom line: Why would an international student want to join a Greek organization? Let me give you my list of seven (lucky) reasons.
(1) You meet lots of new, American people. I got out of my exclusively international circle of friends and met some wonderful American women that I've become really close with, and that I would have never met otherwise.
(2) You make friends for life. I will always be part of my sorority, and there will always be a special connection between my sisters and me. That's special and invaluable, and worth holding on to.
(3) You gain a built-in support system. Who else is going to deliver a humidifier to your room, just one hour after you e-mailed all the members of your house that you are on your way to the grave? A sister in need is a sister indeed.
(4) You get to go out more. Having events planned for you multiple times a week is a great incentive to party -- after all, everyone else is going!
(5) You always have someone to go out with. Just blitz out to your house, there's always someone who was planning to go out anyway.
(6) You always have someone to study with. We're Dartmouth students, so studying is a given, but who's going to fight tooth and nail to save you a spot in Berry during finals if not your sorority sister?
(7) All the awesome gear. I don't know about you, but I love my sorority paraphernalia. It took me a long time to build up a sizable collection, but better late than never. I'll be sporting new APhi sweatpants my senior spring!
Reading back, I think a lot of my American friends could have written this same article. The point is that, once you join a Greek letter organization, the experience is not dissimilar for internationals and Americans.
The preconceived notions and expectations about Greek life often stop many international students from joining. I'll admit that, yes, some stereotypes will be confirmed, and no, you won't gain 100 new best friends overnight. However, you will learn to navigate and get a better understanding of the American culture and society.
After all, as international students, we chose to make this our home for four years -- don't we want to get to know our roommates?
Diana Dinescu '09 is a guest columnist.
