Greek Life is Bad Because it Encourages Companionship, and That is Something I Can Live Without

I wouldn’t be the first to comment on Greek Life at Penn. 30% of Penn students are involved in a Greek organization. On-campus, off-campus — quite frankly, it doesn’t matter. Greek life is damaging this university. But drinking, pledging, and party culture have nothing to do with it. Greek life provides students with a network of friends and acquaintances, and that is wrong. The cycle of companionship needs to be stopped, because I don’t need it. 

I know that students seek out Greek institutions to find support systems, but I, for one, don’t need that. I’m like Henry David Thoreau — Self-Reliance. If you find yourself stressed out and in need of help from your peers, you should probably just do what I do. Run away from your problems and blame it all on your astrological sign. Classic Pisces. 

People can be annoying sometimes, why would you want to get tangled up in all that? Greek life forces you to interact with humans, sometimes on a daily basis — and that is not okay. Why would you willingly join an organization that puts you in the proximity of numerous living, breathing people? Every day I wake up and thank God that I do not have to talk to anyone besides my Google Home.

Evolution happened for a reason. Survival of the fittest. If someone tells you, “Helping others is helping yourself,” get the hell out of there. Yes, I’m sure it’s nice to have people to talk to in your time of need. And yes, it feels good to help others and bond over common problems. And yes, it’s probably fun to gather is big groups to laugh and dance and smile... but we are not a pack of wolves. Fend for yourselves. 

I personally could never go through life with the herd mentality Greek life promotes. People might ask me to share my snacks, and, in that situation, Greek life would be 100% to blame.  

Greek organizations need to stop making false promises. Friends forever? If I’ve learned one thing at Penn, it’s that we are born alone and we die alone. What is so hard to understand about that?