At 5 p.m Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Harwood Arena was abuzz with excitement as the finishing touches were placed around the room for the night's Meet the Greeks event. An affair that takes place once each semester, Meet the Greeks is hosted by the Greek Senate, a governing body over the Greeks on campus that is also made up of members of different Greek organizations. Together they put on this fun night, where all the Greek organizations on campus got a chance to represent themselves, their values and try to bring new people into their ranks.
Within the Harwood Arena, tables lined the walls as Greeks set up their tables with their organization's colors, informational pamphlets and played fun games such as corn hole. Some of them had things to show the accomplishments of their organization, like Nu Sigma Phi did with their many trophies on display. Meet the Greeks was up and running and people were excited to join in the fun.
One of the first things people think about when coming to college is Greek life. They wonder if it will be just like the movies or if there is something to be worried about by associating themselves with a Greek organization. Kiany Perez, president of Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc. explained that people have nothing to fear when it comes to the Greek community.
"One thing I would say is, it's not like the movies. I feel like there is a negative connotation when people see Greeks and that's not always the case," said Perez.
Perez continued by bringing up the Greeks philanthropic efforts saying, "A lot of Greek organizations have philanthropies. For example: Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc. Our philanthropy is 'To Write Love on Her Arm.' Basically, it's to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Letting women know we're all here together. We all support each other. It's not always about the parties. A lot of it is giving back to the community and just supporting other people."
Support for other people and each other seemed to be a big part of the night. After the first two hours of walking around tables, playing games and learning about organizations, each Greek organization was invited on stage to speak to the crowd, explain their philanthropies and perform for the audience to show them how tight-knit and exciting being a Greek can be. It was one of the highlights of the night as it gave the crowd a chance to see the benefits of Greek Life.
That is one of the many reasons why events like Wednesday's Meet the Greeks are so important. It was not only a night for good music and delicious food, both of which the event had plenty of, but also a time to leave behind negative stereotypes and learn the positive impact joining a Greek organization can have on your life.
Breanna Hernandez, presidentLambda Tau Omega Sorority, Inc. went into great detail about some of the ways Greek Life has improved her life.
"For myself, personally, I was pretty involved on campus already, so the involvement aspect kind of just improved. I've definitely gotten practice public speaking more, which I've done, but it's still in addition to what I was doing already. [It] kind of just [made me] more out going. For example, Meet the Greeks is one of our recruitment events that's something where I have to get up and speak to people rather then waiting for people to come to me type of thing. So that has definitely helped in that aspect as well," said Hernandez.
During the night, the Greek organizations really got to show people the true meaning of being a Greek. It was also a time for the Kean community to come out in droves, support a large part of the community and get to know each other better in the process. From start to finish of the event, groups of people filed into the Harwood Arena, clearly eager to be educated and spend a fun time doing something outside of class.
Many people came to the event due to their curiosity about Greek Life or their want to try something new.
Emani Hill-Burton a sophomore at Kean University, attended Meet the Greeks looking to learn more about Greek Life and the bonds that could be forged by joining one. She also felt it was a great way to build up her confidence- something the Greek organizations do and do well. It was not just Hill-Burton who was looking forward to the bonds and changes Greek life brings.Many students saw the relationships between Greeks as an opportunity to join a life long community.
By the end of the night, the Harwood Arena was packed with many members of the Kean Community watching performances, spending time together and learning about a large part of our campus: the Greeks themselves. While the night was fun, filled with games or delicious candies on tables and plates of food in the lobby, there was still an educational aspect to everything. People left the arena that night with a better understanding of Greek Life, of each other and with new consideration on how they would like to spend the rest of their time as part of the Kean Community.
