You’ve chosen to come to GW, and it’s expensive. So why would you pay another couple hundred dollars a semester to go Greek? College only lasts for four years and it goes by fast; decisions have to be made quickly. If you are trying to maximize your college experience, going Greek provides you the most bang for your buck of anything else GW has to offer. And if you think all Greeks do is pay for their friends, you’ve only scratched the surface of what Greek life at GW is all about.

So what’s the typical semester like for a Greek at GW? The beginning of our school year starts with us recruiting the best men and women GW has to offer. Recruitment for women is a week where you dress up and meet 800 of GW’s finest ladies. At the end of the week, new members are treated to their first night out with their new sisters and chapter. Recruitment for men is two weeks where you get to meet fraternity brothers through sumo wrestling, poker tournaments and wing-eating contests. It’s the only time where you have the opportunity to be taken to some of D.C.’s best bars and restaurants free of charge – besides parent’s weekend.

So what happens the rest of the year? We do a lot. Every chapter puts on a philanthropy event at least once a year, but does your typical community service event include D.C. fire trucks in University Yard, a plane being pulled across Dulles International Airport’s runway or being handcuffed to sorority girls? We also have an entire week devoted to being Greek – Greek Week – where you can see fraternity men dressed up like Oompa Loompas and can bid on a fellow Greek for a date at our date auction. If that doesn’t interest you, then you also have the chance to strut your stuff as a model in the Greek Fashion Show, which raises money for the GW Mammovan and breast cancer research.

Of course, we have parties, but does your average weekend party include a James Bond, Dukes of Hazzard or Wild Wild West theme? At the end of each semester we celebrate with semi-formal and formal, which is a chance to dance the night away at one of D.C.’s most celebrated and distinguished hot spots.

The Greek presence on GW’s campus is undeniable. The Greek Townhouse Row, located in the heart of campus right across from Ivory Tower and the Health and Wellness Center, shows our physical presence at GW. This showcases one of the best reasons to join Greek life – to become part of our already significant community. Almost all GW Greeks are involved in other University organizations and the Greek presence becomes even more obvious when you realize that numerous members of the Student Association are Greek, including the current Student Association president.

Beyond the parties, philanthropy events and our townhouses, it is the intangible things about being Greek that truly define the experience. Belonging to a Greek chapter can mean finding your lifelong best friends, your girlfriend or boyfriend, and never worrying about whether or not your college experience is going to be a memorable one.

We are a large community, and we include not only eight Panhellenic and twelve IFC chapters, but also the Multi-Cultural Greek Council which consists of eleven chapters on this campus. Multicultural Greek recruitment consists of “Welcome Week” where interested students meet and greet with the chapters.

For all of these reasons, going Greek is a priceless experience. We look forward to seeing many new faces from the GW community at all our recruitment events.

For more information go to http://gwired.gwu.edu/greek.

-The writers, seniors Kelly Shea and David Upbin, are the presidents of the Panhellenic Association and the Inter-Fraternity Council.