Animal House. Revenge of the Nerds. National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. These are just some of the countless movies that have come to make Greek life on the university campus famous, or rather infamous.
Non-stop partying. Barely clothed girls/guys. Never-ending kegs of beer. These are the necessities for any successful Greek fraternity and sorority according to Hollywood.
FAU’s Greek Affairs Coordinator Daphnee St. Val begs to differ.
“Greek life is most definitely not what you see in the movies,” she says. “It’s much more serious than that and people don’t realize it.”
St. Val realized the importance of Greek life ever since she joined the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority as a graduate at Simmons College in Boston.
Here at FAU, Greek life consists of community service including helping such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and the March of Dimes. Each chapter creates its own projects like giving out scholarships to members and students. Perhaps the most noted part of what they do is the social activities like semi-formal dances.
“There are so many advantages to becoming a member of a fraternity of sorority,” explains St. Val. “You have the opportunity to gain irreplaceable friendships and meet people you may never have met otherwise.”
Serving as undergraduate advisor to Iota Alpha Chapter at Florida Memorial College and having the opportunity to observe FAU through other colleagues influenced St. Val’s decision to apply for her current position as Greek Affairs coordinator.
“I was working at PBCC and I knew some people at FAU – it just made sense to come here as an extension of what I was already doing with the Greek chapters,” she remarks.
One of the elements of coordinator St.Val attends to is trying to market Greek life to the students and public. She is currently brainstorming ideas to bring in more money to the chapters and make them more visible when fraternities and sororities donate money or help out the community.
For instance, most recently, one of FAU’s sororities donated money to the American Heart Association. St. Val is going to make it her priority to let everyone know what the chapters do for not only FAU, but for society as well.
With the upcoming Rush Week at hand, a student’s thoughts turn to what initiation processes he/she will have to complete before gaining entrance into a chapter. Unlike some other universities across the country, FAU Greek life does not involving dangerous hazing rituals. “It’s very fortunate that nothing has happened here,” she feels. “Each organization has its own rituals, but they do nothing to endanger lives or demean people.”
Although housing for Greek chapters is not currently available, future plans are in the works to build fraternity/sorority housing on campus. However, don’t start ordering the pizzas yet. St. Val says that, “Nothing is set in stone. Housing is a part of FAU’s master plan, but Greek life on campus has to be expanded more before any housing plans can begin.”
For those thinking about joining a fraternity/sorority this semester, St. Val has a few tips to ensure a successful membership in Greek life:
- Do your research – see which chapters are out there and find the one that fits your needs.
- Realize that joining requires a time commitment and hard work.
- Most chapters are national and some even international, which will help you meet many kinds of people all over the world.
- Greek chapters are a great way to get a well-rounded education and to be part of a society that is national as well as local.
- Opportunity to make a difference in the world.
- A great asset for rí©sumí©s along with the ability to network and learn job skills.
Surrounded by a wall of Greek chapter t-shirts and a desk calendar full of trips to Atlanta, Texas and Maryland, St. Val looks forward to being a part of FAU’s Greek life for a long time to come.
“Sororities and fraternities are like a microcosm of the larger world at FAU,” says St. Val. “There are a lot of good things being done and there will be even more to come in the future.”
For more information about Greek Affairs, email St. Val at [email protected] or call 561/297-3269.