We’ve all been there. Freshman year at Kenyon can be really hard socially. It takes serious time and effort to build yourself a squadron of friends, and groups that form quickly during orientation often dissolve within months. So it makes sense that when the spring semester rolls around, you rush, you meet people, you make new friends. Kenyon Greek life isn’t as bad as normal Greek life, right?
This is true in many ways. Kenyon Greek life doesn’t demand that everyone go blonde, don a backwards baseball cap or swallow live goldfish. It’s a diverse group of people. You can lead Outdoors Club trips and be in a sorority, or be really involved in theater and join a frat. Throughout December and January, Greek organizations’ Instagrams paint an idyllic picture: At Kenyon, we are more than one thing, and Greek life is no exception.
Kenyon Greek life markets itself as inclusive. Unfortunately, not everyone gets into Kenyon’s Greek community. While it is true that Kenyon Greek life serves some students by providing a Greek experience that would not have been accessible to them at other schools, it still cannot serve everyone interested in rushing. Just like any other Greek organization at any other school, people are often accepted or rejected based on arbitrary and subjective criteria. Greek organizations are exclusive by definition, and no amount of Instagram takeovers or infographics can change that, even at Kenyon. At big schools, admission is based on your looks, money and wardrobe. At Kenyon, it’s based on rumors, reputations and first impressions. It may be marginally less superficial, but it isn’t any fairer.
Current members (allegedly) go to bat for potential new members based on who they ended up talking to, their involvement (or lack thereof) on campus and how deserving they may be of a social lifeboat. No one would argue that it is a perfect process, but members of Greek life still uphold the system because the ends justify the means. We are arguing that for those who get rejected, the ends do not justify the means. It is objectively harmful for those already struggling at Kenyon, who have lost what may feel like their only chance at social security.
We love Kenyon, and we hope first years will learn to love it too. However, we worry that the uptick in rushing and, by extension, of rejections from Greek life, will taint people’s experience at Kenyon. Kenyon is supposed to be a place where you can be weird, but also be in a sorority. But not if you’re “too weird”? What then? We want you to know that there is still a place for you here! Kenyon is so awesome because no matter how small it is, there is a community for everyone! It may not be Greek life, but maybe it’s Lyceum, or Kenyon Consulting Group, or Sexual Respect Peer Alliance. We hope that rejection does not mean giving up on Kenyon, because this very rejection could be how you find yourself in another community, one you would have never discovered otherwise.
We are not arguing that Kenyon Greek life should disappear. We have both seen firsthand how Greek life can be a positive, and sometimes central, part of an individual’s Kenyon experience. It also serves the larger Kenyon student body by playing an essential role in Kenyon’s nightlife. Where would first years be without Wild Wild West and Zeta Highlighter? Even as upperclassmen, we are by no means above making the trek north to the Ganter-Price Hall or the Delt Lodge on a Saturday night.
If you’re wondering what we’re asking of you, fellow students, it’s simple. Instead of paying someone to plan your social calendar, we suggest taking it upon yourself to make community. Kenyon’s Goals and Objectives reads: “Prepare [students] for leadership and for civic and community engagement.” These skills can and should be practiced and perfected beyond academic and extracurricular accolades. You don’t need to be a “social chair” to bring people together.
It’s time for grassroots partying: Text your friends, plan a party, hang out voluntarily with the opposite sex (scandalous, we know)! Go to the Horn Gallery or the Bike Barn. Has anyone ever heard of the Farm? Dare we say, bring back indie! For those of you lucky enough to have a North Campus Apartment, throw a party! But to the rest of us, let’s get crazy. We should be partying in Thomas and Winkler Halls or dartying at the Brown Family Environmental Center!
Our own social lives at Kenyon have been enriched by the organizations we are a part of: Club sports, performance groups and academic clubs have brought us new friends and weekend plans. Let’s nurture that non-Greek aspect of Kenyon. Only a handful of Kenyon’s clubs have a consistent social component, but every organization has the capacity to make a mark in Kenyon’s social scene with a little hard work, initiative and creativity. Where is the English major party? Or the Equestrian all-campus? Why is no one throwing parties in the woods anymore? We would go! These are the social events that break down divides and build community. Greek life is an easy out, we get it, but it’s on YOU to build community.
Maud Karambis ’27 is a political science major with a mathematics minor from Beverly, Massachusetts. She can be reached at karambis2@kenyon.edu.Mariah Szabo ’26 is a mathematics major with a Spanish minor from New York City. She can be reached at szabo1@kenyon.edu.