With the start of the spring semester, fraternities and sororities are preparing for their incoming members. The usual open-house partying and dancing will likely die down to make way for private activities, and the already degenerate social scene at Hopkins will likely deteriorate further.
For those students eyeing fraternity or sorority membership, the consequences of this more private and exclusive social scene are good. Those uninvolved in the Greek scene will notice little difference in the Hopkins social atmosphere, and will likely remain indifferent. Those still running around fraternity houses who cannot meet membership requirements will likely feel excluded. And those who remain ambivalent, not really involved with Greek life but considering it, will probably remain ambivalent.
Nevertheless, with the exception of Greek students, it would seem to many that the monopoly held by Greeks on social life is unhealthy.
Fraternities and sororities have their plusses, of course. For example, they give Hopkins most of its social life. For less than $5, a student can drink mixed drinks or beer and dance in a generic club-like atmosphere. This idea many not sound like fun to some students, however. But these same students would no doubt go "clubbing" either in D.C. or Baltimore, pay $10 to $20 door charges, and then run the risk of drinking over-priced drinks underage. Students ought to be happy that fellow student organizations offer them safe and economical fun.
But even if the Greek scene benefits Hopkins students, then it also has severe drawbacks. Twenty-three percent of Hopkins undergraduates are in a fraternity, and 22 percent are in a sorority. In total, nearly one-half of Hopkins students are in the Greek scene, meaning nearly one in two is either "in" or "out." Despite this one-to-one ratio of Greek to non-Greek students, virtually the entire social scene at Hopkins is controlled or somehow influenced by them. One need only see the annual "block-party" and freshman orientation to witness this.
By polarizing the student body, the Hopkins Greek scene places a stranglehold on the social life of students, starting with their freshman year. With a fraternity party right around the corner and everyone going to or already at a party, students naturally feel inclined to stay on campus and attend the frat parties, rather then seeking diversions outside of campus or amongst themselves.
Consequently, the market for social activities both inside and outside campus becomes depressed. Inside, students become Hopkins introverts, socializing with the same people and scene. They are either mixing with Greeks, or socializing with mostly non-Greeks in dorms, apartments and houses. Outside, social venues and diversions have little incentive to attract students. Undergraduates spurn outside activity in favor of Greek activities, or whatever activities a group of friends create for themselves.
This social depression begins for Hopkins students in the first year, where many sometimes feel like they either have to go Greek or not. If you do not go Greek, then you remain an unimportant member of the Hopkins social scene except as an occasional visitor to a party. If you do go Greek, then you remain a homebody with your fellow Greeks, worsening an introverted social scene.
The real damage to Hopkins' social life originates with this selfishness of fraternities, as sororities are a little different. Fraternities offer partying and fun for all, only to recoil in the spring into rush week. This is after numerous parties and get-togethers where future brothers have been chosen. By running the social scene at Hopkins in the fall, Greeks pull all the social power of students their way. This undermines any hope of expanding Hopkins' social life later in the year for the other half of the students.
Unfortunately, by offering this on and off social environment, Greek organizations impair the ability of non-Greek students to create an alternative social environment suitable for all. An on and off social scene may be good for Greeks, but it is bad for Hopkins.
By forcing students to choose between Greek or non-Greek affiliation, fraternities and sororities here at Hopkins first fill, then drain whatever little social-life students can put out. If the social scene at Hopkins feels anti-social and routine, then fraternities and sororities are largely to blame.
Michael Huerta's column appears every two weeks.
