Greeks,
academics share similarities
Activities:
Students choosing between joining a Greek
fraternity and sorority or an academic association
may find that the two types of groups have
much in common.
By
Dhiya Reyes
On-line Forty-Niner
For
many students at Cal State Long Beach, it
is a tough decision to pick between joining
a Greek organization or an academic association.
There are some who choose to go Greek and
there are others who choose to follow the
calling of their major and join an academic
club.
For
senior Elaine Almazan, the American Marketing
Association was her calling. Almazan,
a marketing major, is the president of the
association. She said that being a member
has changed her as an individual.
"AMA
gave me hands on experience with running
a team, continuously following up with them
in their respective functions and making
sure that we were serving the organization
the best way possible," she said.
Greek
organizations and academic associations
share many of the same qualities.
They are both student-run organizations
that create their own constitution and by
laws.
They
both have officers and hold meetings. They
decide on what events they want to hold
and what fees they want or don't want. They
are both dedicated to the community.
They both develop leadership skills and
skills outside the classroom.
Both
types of organizations are registered to
the school through Student Life and Development.
The advisors there act as a liaison between
the school and the organization, according
to Sam Lingrosso, Greek advisor at CSULB.
Both types of organizations hold several
events, which could include speakers, mixers
and fundraising events.
According
to Anna Nazarian-Peters, the student life
coordinator for College of Liberal Arts,
in order for student organizations to book
rooms for these events, they must first
go through a certification process. Workshops
are held during the first two months of
the semester to show students how to book
rooms for their events and how to publicize
them. The workshops teach students the rules
and regulations for holding an event.
Another
certification process that all student organizations
have to do is a fiscal certification, which
is done through Associated Students Inc.
According to Nazarian-Peters, this is for
student groups that have requested funds
from the school. The workshop teaches them
how to access those funds. Students learn
what forms to use and when to turn those
forms in. This workshop is usually attended
by the treasurer of a group and sometimes
the president. An alternative for those
who are unable to attend either of the workshops
is to take an open-brochure test.
Both
student groups hold a variety of special
events. Greeks hold philanthropy events,
which are fundraising events, as well as
social events. Lingrosso said that the proceeds
from philanthropy events go to an organization
that the different sororities and fraternities
pick.
"The
perception is all they do is throw parties,"
Lingrosso said. "The reality is parties
and getting together are a part of it, but
really they do a lot of social work and
they do a lot of giving."
Academic
associations do community service as well.
For example, according to Almazan, the marketing
association is teaming with Nike's Los Angeles
executives to help the Willowbrook and Watts
community Boys and Girls Club.
"We
are putting in our times to make sure that
their center is in tip-top shape for the
kids to utilize the facility," Almazan
said.
Where
the two types of organizations differ mostly
is their individual statement of purpose.
Greek organizations are social organizations,
according to Lingrosso.
"The
statement of purpose for a Greek organization
is normally going to be to foster brotherhood
or sisterhood," he said. "It's
normally to engender a social, harmonious
relationship within a group."
A
statement of purpose for an academic association
is going to be more narrowly focused.
Academic associations are going to focus
on their field or major. According
to Nazarian-Peters, academic associations
mostly hold seminars, lectures and conferences.
They bring people who are experts to come
and talk about current issues in that field.
Another
major difference is recruitment. Sorority
and fraternity recruitment is very formal,
Lingrosso said. Most Greek organizations
recruit based on what they are individually
looking for. Some recruit based on GPA as
the first step. Many chapters have
their own priorities. Also, for traditionally
housed sororities, students can't apply
for a certain house. When they apply, they
rank each house that they've applied to
and the house, in turn, ranks them.
"It's a dual ranking system,"
Lingrosso said. A computer then matches
the rankings.
Academic
associations, on the other hand, aren't
as formal when accepting members. In fact,
the only requirement is that students have
to be enrolled in at least one unit and
that they are majoring, minoring or getting
a certificate in that field, Nazarian-Peters
said.
Another
difference between the two is exclusiveness.
While it is okay to be a part of many different
academic associations, members of Greek
organizations can only belong to one, Lingrosso
said. The reason for this is that being
a Greek means lifetime membership.
"Greeks
take their membership beyond your involvement
in college," he said.
Students
benefit from being apart of either group.
"Becoming
a member helped my transition into college
tremendously," said Shantal Sandoval,
an alumni member of Lambda Theta Alpha.
"CSULB no longer felt so big anymore.
I made wonderful friends and got to do things
that I truly enjoyed that I would normally
not be able to do if it weren't for the
sorority."
Christalle
Garcia, a member of the Human Resources
Management Association, transferred to CSULB
from another CSU campus last year and the
association was the first organization she
got involved with.
"I
immediately jumped at the chance to run
for the Vice President of Finance position
and with that, became familiar with the
scheduling and fiscal processes at school,"
she said. "I also worked with a great
team of leaders who have helped me get acquainted
with CSULB."
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