Column missed the point of Greek life on campus

TO THE EDITOR:

Abbey Caldwell’s column, (“Greeks provide us one week of bliss,” Aug. 28) was a delightful exercise in self-centeredness.

We all love some quiet time with unimpeded access to the couch and DVR.

However, as the president of the alumni association for Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, I can tell you that Caldwell misses the point of why her housemates are involved in the Greek experience in the first place.

Before I toss out the cliché that sums up the issue let me offer this: I’ve been out of college for 35 years and in that time I have interacted with and gotten to know hundreds of college graduates. Only a small handful of the unaffiliated stay in touch with, or even remembejavascript:replaceBreaks();r, a couple of people they met and befriended in college.

On the other hand, most of the Greeks I meet have dozens of close contacts, networks of friends, with whom they are in regular contact.

The wonderful silliness of Animal House and Old School overshadow the basic reason the Greek system was created. Here it is: Caldwell, (hold on for the cliché) it’s about the relationships.

Two years from now the majority of people reading this paper won’t have a clue who Courtland Smith was.

I can assure you that the DKEs who are his brothers will remember him for the rest of their lives.


Mike Collins
UNC ’74