frat parties

If it’s a weekly activity (as it is for many), it becomes less of an activity and more of a routine — work during the week, frat parties on the weekends.

turning twenty-one feels like / i’ve just turned seven three times. / the lessons feel so simple. / but simple is not easy / to do well. being grown up / is but the sum of small parts

Being in Greek life should be an opportunity to surround yourself with people you connect with — a way to spend time outside of school doing things you enjoy. I chose my sorority because I loved the company of so many women in the house, and I still do. But spending my weekends in houses full of strangers, waiting for the party to end made being in Greek life feel more like a job I paid to participate in than the inclusive community I had hoped for.

Living in a sorority began to feel like taking one step toward adulthood and then three steps back. Looking back now, I could never imagine myself in a house where my male friends were banned from my room after 10, and I was subject to an overbearing housing contract. To me, it felt like in order to assure that no girls broke Panhellenic trust, we were simply not given any trust to begin with.

I stood between South Hall and Bancroft Library to watch the sunset, and I experienced that feeling that “this was where I belong."

Whether it’s your first or eighth semester, frat parties may be old news. Luckily, you live in Berkeley, so there are alternatives to beer and sweat.

As the class of 2019 begins their metamorphosis, we decided to create a quiz that will accurately predict which side of college you are on.