This is now my third year at Ashland University, and the third time I will witness a large part of campus collectively lose their mind as Greek recruitment begins.

I’m not really all that opposed to Greek life. It isn’t high enough on my priorities to join up myself, and I’ve adopted a “different strokes for different folks” attitude towards it.

Except during recruitment. Recruitment seems to have a way of bringing out each and every single negative part of Greek life. The cattiness, the possessiveness, the pathological, obsessive need to recruit people in leave me nauseous as my social media feeds fill with letters and recruitment videos and the feigned excitement.

Here’s my favorite part of recruitment: no one enjoys it. Nearly every Greek I know has complained about recruitment. It is stressful and time-consuming, demanding complete devotion. Everyone must wear the exact same thing, down to the very shade and cut of their jeans. If you don’t have them, better go buy a pair. No one said this would be cheap. Greeks are expected to be in constant recruitment mode for the week, always smiling, and always evaluating pledges. Oh, I’m sorry, new members. Wouldn’t want to haze anybody.

Recruitment seems to be run by the NCAA, and any sports fan can tell you that’s no compliment. Better not have any freshman around, Greeks, or you might be dirty rushing. Lock up your social media too, can’t have anything get out except for whatever carefully crafted messages you have. I’ve known people lose friends through recruitment, watching chapters turn against each other for the honor of adding a new freshman they didn’t know existed just a few weeks ago. It seems insane to me that such animosity can grow from recruiting strangers.

Greeks are determined though; I do have to admit that much. Particularly when new chapters are being started, no one is safe from hounding emails or phone calls. They talk to you with the determination of a fundamentalist Christian with pamphlets in hand, and with the same tone. Greek life offers answers in an uncertain world. It can be the key to collegiate success, landing a job, getting married and living in the suburbs with a white picket fence. I have had the positive of Greek life drilled into my skull, but never are the time commitments and the insane expectations stated. Your chapter must come above anything else, including work or important major work, like this newspaper.

This leads to my one lasting criticism of Greek life. Greek life overpowers members, and fills them with an undue sense of self-importance. Sure, philanthropy and leadership and a better GPA than the rest of campus. I get it, but I refuse to believe organizations that require their members to put their own meetings above anything else are worth my time. Building lasting connections is not about restricting members, or making large demands on their time. There isn’t anything Greek life offers that cannot be found elsewhere on campus for a lot less money and a lot less time. No other campus organization receives the kind of support Greek life does, yet reacts to any criticism like they’re underdogs, or the victims of some great persecution. Feel free to do you, go through recruitment and prove, but I have lost my patience with Greek life. I’m honestly surprised it made it this long.