Greek Life is one of the many clubs and organizations that Augustana students can join. Joining a Greek group can be fun, help students meet new people and present leadership opportunities. However, pledging, the process a potential new member (PNM) goes through to join the group, may take a toll on one’s academics. 

Greek life at Augustana can be described as fun, engaging and community-building, which may also be brought closer through pledging, but PNMs must also be aware of the potential impact of the time commitment on their academics. 

Pledging runs from the last week of February until the start of spring break, and each night can be long and draining. By the time the PNMs return to their dorms, they are most likely to go straight to bed and not even think about any homework assignments due the next day. 

With this, I feel it may be necessary to shorten pledging by a day; instead of pledging from Monday through Saturday, the PNMs should be given the weekend off to focus on their academics. 

While joining a Greek group can be a part of a college student’s experience, going to class and actively participating and completing assignments is also part of it. During my time as a PNM last year, there were moments after pledging was done for the night where my only thoughts were how much homework I had to work on for my classes the next day. Some nights were fun, but there were nights when all I wanted was to go back to my dorm and catch up on my homework. 

There is the understanding that it is the student’s responsibility to keep track of their assignments, but with pledging being Monday-to-Saturday, that may prove difficult. 

I also understand that each group has its own traditions regarding pledging and that they themselves have gone through the pledging process they are about to conduct on the PNMs, but Greek groups must also realize that students are here for a degree. A degree can change a person’s life and can bring joy to themselves and their family, but if the long process of pledging gets in the way, it may be a bit harder to receive. 

I must reiterate that joining a Greek group does not necessarily mean that a student’s grades will plummet, but the long process of pledging may take a toll. This is where the shortened process of pledging comes into play, with PNM’s having the entire weekend to work on their homework assignments and take a break from pledging. Pledging can be a fun part of joining a sorority and fraternity, but it must also be understood that a degree is at the forefront of everything that a college student works towards.