Fraternities seem to be the butt of a lot of jokes at Whitman, and frankly, I am sick of the bad reputation shat on them and the greek system in general. Sure, greek life is a silly idea when you sit down and really think about it (those who are greek all had the same conversation with their parents after freshman year rush: “Hey, Mom, I’ve just joined the Alpha Beta Deltas!

Yeah, it’s this fraternity at school. What do they do? What’s the point? Well…um…”).

But let’s face it: humans are social creatures. It’s pretty simple: we like to be around people and we like to share something in common with the people we are around. We will do whatever it takes to feel a part of a community, even if it means joining a social society whose main purpose is to socially socialize with…each other.

But for those of you who cannot seem to stop teasing greek organizations that exist merely for purposes of “hanging out” with a little philanthropy on the side, think back. Think about when you divided into kickball teams during P.E. in second grade and the team captain of the Sharks beckoned you from across the baseball diamond, calling you to his side. And then, when the Sharks played the Tigers, something peculiar happened to your relationship with the people you now called your teammates. You began to feel a strange connection to them. Even to Greg, who would always arrange his picked boogers into a line on his desk. Even to Sally Snowstorm, who, every time she scratched her head, caused a white blizzard to cascade down her shoulders. You and Greg and Sally: you were SHARKS. Kin. Brothers reincarnated. You fought for the same win; you shared the same name; you were on the same TEAM.

I’m not going to say greek life mirrors the politics of kickball per se, but it’s the same idea.   It’s the same thing that connects you to any community you choose to participate in, be it ultimate Frisbee, theater, even becoming an English major. These are “cliques” (if you want to be all bitter about the ones you are not a part of), but basically they are also (albeit more purposeful) social organizations.

It doesn’t really matter if the community has a point or not: all that matters is they share the same circle, people and experiences. And if that’s true, and fraternities do provide a group of people with a secured sense of place and kinship, who are you to call it illegitimate?

So c’mon: stop greek hating. Who is it hurting?