The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Greeks still the best leaders on campus

Where to begin? This is my last column, as I will be graduating this semester. There is still so much that needs to be said about the greek system here at SIUC. Major changes are in the works and it looks like the University administration is prepared to make a long-term commitment to greek life. I'm sure more on that will be released to the public as it becomes available.

Before I make my final statements, let me first start by addressing an issue that has come to my attention since my last column. Apparently a local business was displeased with being referenced in my last column and the association I made with them and fights that occur outside their establishment. I shouldn't have directly identified the locale in that way, and I apologize for that.

It was not my intention to alert people to the dangers of frequenting that business (of which there are none). My intention was, however, to make people realize that when they see skirmishes outside of that business, more likely than not, it involves belligerent greeks. Not because of anything the business does, but the inherent fact that greeks frequent that location more than others. I hope this clears up any confusion.

Next, I want to reflect on how far the greek system has come since I joined in the spring of 2001. At that time, greeks dominated Undergraduate Student Government. Athletic events were attended with ferocious anticipation and healthy competition between fraternities. A greek has been the undergraduate representative on the Board of Trustees twice since 2001, and a greek has won the highest attainable award an undergrad can win, the Service to Southern Award every year except one.

Today, I'm unsure whether even a single greek is on USG. Athletic events are not the displays of brotherhood and sisterhood they once were. The last two years the student representative for the BOT doesn't even have greek life on his mind, and the most recent winner of the Service to Southern Award was not affiliated with a greek organization, a disappointment to the greek community but a remarkable achievement for that individual.

Here's the good news, however. GPAs are up across the board. Greeks seem to have recommitted ourselves to our academic priorities and recruited new members who share that commitment.

This is also due to the weeding out of members and chapters that did not share in the collaborative effort of the rest of the greek community and the administration. The gentlemen of Alpha Tau Omega are a perfect example. Their chapter has come an extraordinarily long way in the last year evidenced by their hosting David Westol, a nationally renowned anti-hazing speaker. Their image has positively evolved despite undergoing some major changes at membership and housing. Deserving rightful praise, they should be the model for the other underperforming greek chapters at this institution, and they did it all in less than a year.

Finally, as I close I want to speak to the non-greeks of the campus. You are missing out.

All semester I've tried to start a dialogue about the future of the greek world at this campus. Often this included revealing the not-so-positive sides of greek life. This is important. If the greek community is going to be here in 25 years, it's absolutely vital that our prospective membership understands the community they are pledging to join. Everything is not always harmonious in greek life, and that's the reality.

Believe me when I say greeks are still the best leaders at this university, and despite the negatives, greek life still provides the best memories and friends of your existence at this university and beyond. Take it from someone that, for the past three and a half years, has been living the greek life.

Corey is a senior in history education and cinema and photography. Living the Greek Life appears every other Friday. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the DAILY EGYPTIAN.

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