​Who do you know here?

As we move into the last weeks of fall semester, it is time for many first-years to look ahead to spring semester and recruitment for living groups. In the past we have discussed the negative influence of Greek life on Duke’s social culture in “If Greek life did not exist,” but the system remains as popular as ever, evidenced by the more than 30 percent of upperclassmen who are affiliated with a Greek organization or selective living groups. First-years, who up to now have found their social circles without living group selections, are beginning to consider these systems, and we advise them against naively throwing away their fall friendships without due consideration.

In the first semester, first-year housing communities form and benefit from random assignment. Even with FOCUS programs, random assignment allows students to have no preconceptions of their housing community before coming together and building that community in dorms that are free from the social stratification inherent in SLGs and Greek life. Additionally, the physical layout of East Campus housing—dorms with wide hallways and spacious, centrally located common rooms—are highly conducive to forming friendships compared to both West and Central Campus.

Dismissive of the quality and ease of friendships formed, first-years are drawn away by the strong appeal and social pressures of participating in recruitment. The offerings are clear. Greek and SLG life offer a sense of brother, sisterhood and camaraderie; a guarantee of your housing location; and access to an often exclusive social scene. Yet the downsides of Greek life are as numerous. Greek life permeates campus life and largely obscures those who are unaffiliated, from who is represented on student government to what becomes the most visible social scene on and off campus. Greek life also clearly perpetuates a status system based on wealth, race and gender identity that shows in the selection processes. These costs grossly undermine their values of sisterhood and brotherhood.

SLGs may not be any better than Greek life in terms of competitiveness. SLGs do not have the long local and national history of sorority and fraternity systems, which allows them to maintain their own personalities and shields them from many criticisms. While there are some similarities we largely approve of the SLG tendency to host more open functions and actively work towards healthier rush processes.

The anxiety surrounding living groups and social rank are most palpable in January and February as students try to find where they will land and keep up with what their friends are doing. In the meantime, first-years and sophomores should not lose the bonds they formed in their first year on campus, bonds formed when social groups did not depend on the letters on your quarter zip, but on mutual enjoyment, chance encounter and long Marketplace dinners. As we move forward at Duke and beyond, let us remember that groups are not fixed and that we as individuals have multiplicity in our identities. There is social life beyond Shooters and mixers. It is incumbent upon us to reach outside of our comfort zones and take advantage of these opportunities. We applaud DUU and SOFC for making events open to the entire student body and hope to see campus culture change in favor of independent functions and communities.