The Greek Network
http://cornellsun.com/section/opinion/content/2012/02/01/free-be-you-and-greek
During fall semester of freshman year, my close friends consisted of my hall mates. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them, but my network consisted primarily of a wing in Donlon. There were over 3,000 students in my class, and I was acquainted (weak ties) with fewer than 5% and friends (strong ties) with maybe 1%. The article touches on the most important factor that drove me to rush and eventually join a fraternity, the potential opening of a new world of “experiences and friendships” to me. Within two weeks of the pledge process, I had formed 20 new strong ties. By the time I was initiated, I had 50 more. Like the author, my Greek organization “create[d] a niche for [me].” I was integrated into a network with a stable structure where everyone has a close tie with everyone else. The article claims that Greek life will “help shape your college experience” and my fraternity truly did, providing me an avenue to form a plethora of bonds I never thought imaginable.
Despite its many stereotypes, the Greek system offers incredible benefits that the author touches upon. A perk that many don’t realize is the connections within the community that form between different Greek organizations. During mixers, I would meet multiple girls in a sorority. As our two groups continued to mix and see each other on campus, we would begin to become friends and form ties. My friends within my fraternity would start to meet my new friends in the sorority, in a fashion following the triadic closure property, and we would eventually all become mutual friends. Our two tight webs of friendships, at first connected by a few bridges, would eventually all connect. As a fraternity mixes and has events with different sororities, this effect continues to happen and grow in breadth. Over time, my personal network became massive with close friends in multiple sororities and fraternities, many who were met simply due to mutual friends. There is now never a time where I can walk into Trillium and not find anyone to sit with or go into the first day of class and not see someone I know who I can sit next to and study with.