The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

Greek Article Response: Alex Gaston

Greek+Article+Response%3A+Alex+Gaston

I would like to begin by thanking Ryan McKinley for his article that encourages increased dialogue on campus. It is so important that members of our campus continues to ask questions and challenge each others’ viewpoints in order to create a greater understanding of each other that will allow us to be a united community. Thank you for encouraging and promoting conversations about Greek life.

However, I must admit this argument is flawed, and I intend to use the rest of this response to reply to this misunderstood description of Greek life involvement and Greek life individuals’ understanding of others at SLU.

First of all, SLU’s fraternities and sororities do have a recent history of “being checked” or “called out” as was seen last year. I am proud of how well my PanHellenic sisters have responded to lack of knowledge about culture appropriation. The Greek community sought to better each other because of this experience through education and dialogue. I am grateful to have had these lessons beside my Panhellenic family.

It is correct that Greek life individuals constitute about 20% of the population at SLU, so we are not numerically large in size. The reason that Greek life seems to be the opposite of “not that big here” is because Greek life members have a huge desire to be involved on campus. I think this is an extremely positive attribute of SLU’s Greek life system. At many other universities fraternity and sorority members are too busy within their own chapters to have other involvements on their prospective campuses. At SLU, Greek students are able to engage in numerous organizations and hold leadership positions in a variety of contexts. I am incredibly grateful to have support and encouragement from the Greek community to follow my individual interests and attempt to strengthen my leadership abilities, both inside and outside my chapter.

It was stated that 50 percent of the SLU Ambassadors (salespersons of SLU) are Greek. Why is this? Why are so many Greeks hired as “salespersons of SLU?” I have an inkling it is because they posses actively listening skills and are able to speak to a wide variety of individuals. These skills are gained through the Greek recruitment process, in which we gain knowledge about engaging in values-based conversations and finding connections with others who are different than us. We also learn how to make people feel welcome and comfortable when they may be nervous. These seem like fabulous skills to obtain and use while meeting prospective students!

Story continues below advertisement

The most offensive statement in this opinion piece when discussing Greek students and SLU Ambassadors is this: “Despite their training, I doubt any know all, or most of the cultural organizations on campus and the wonderful things they do. I doubt they know much about the curriculums of African American Studies, Women and Gender Studies, or numerous other programs.”  This is a very incorrect and judgmental assumption about Greek women and men. The president of my specific sorority is a Women and Gender Studies major, and there are many other Greek students who are in these majors and have involvements in cultural organizations at SLU. For someone to assume that Greek is synonymous with cultural incompetence is not only offensive, but simply incorrect. I am not stating that Greek individuals are culturally competent, as we know that is impossible to achieve. I myself have plenty of growth to do in learning about cultures and belief systems that are different from my own. However, I am stating that Greek individuals are automatically not culturally incompetent, and many Greek students strive to challenge their viewpoints and seek to diversify their knowledge about cultures they are not familiar with.

Also, we do not have “monolithic” experiences simply because we are Greek. You cannot state that because we are all members of an organization, our experiences are not diverse and unique. All SLUdents have very diverse, unique, and individual SLU experiences that we can share with prospective students.

When you state that SLU-higher-ups and wealthy alums allow our growth within the university, you are mistaken. Our growth is based upon the fact that women and men are interested in SLU Greek life because it is unique. It allows individuals to have other involvements and possibly leadership opportunities on campus unlike other universities. It is centered on value-based recruitment and conversations. It focuses on Panhellenic support and encouragement. It also encourages dialogue about ignorance and checking each other’s biases by promoting interest in other cultures, traditions and lifestyle.

I am extremely grateful to be a member of the Greek community as I am encouraged to be the best version of myself, to be a woman for others, to always ask for “the why”, to question systematic injustices, to stand up for what I believe in, and to voice my opinions when I see incorrect and offensive assumptions about my home on campus. Greek on non-Greek, let’s focus on building community and removing the divide.

View Comments (2)
Donate to The University News
$1410
$750
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Saint Louis University. Your contribution will help us cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The University News
$1410
$750
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (2)

All The University News Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • A

    AnonymousSep 23, 2014 at 8:16 pm

    “I am not stating that Greek individuals are culturally competent, as we know that is impossible to achieve.”

    “I am stating that Greek individuals are automatically not culturally incompetent…”

    I have to admit to being a bit confused about what was going on here…

    Reply
    • A

      Alexandra GastonOct 11, 2014 at 3:18 pm

      I can clear up that confusion!

      What I was trying to say is no one is culturally competent. It is impossible.
      However, this does not mean everyone is culturally incompetent.
      It just means that we are in the middle striving to achieve the best cultural understanding we can.

      Reply