Being a member of a Black Greek Lettered Organization (BGLO) is a gift and a curse. It’s a gift because throughout your membership intake process, you’re taught certain things that are to ultimately help you in life. You learn to operate without life’s everyday luxuries. It brings you back to where it wasn’t so good just a week ago. It makes you a stronger person; a harder worker and a more diligent thinker.

The curse is what I call “Hollywood.” People don’t understand the politics behind BGLO’s. Once you have crossed over into the Greek world, peter is no longer Peter; He’s Omega Peter, or Sigma Peter. And with that prefix, there’s no more reckless abandonment. People nitpick at organizations just to find a weak link and exploit them. If Alpha Brian or Zeta Sandy is found somewhere drunk, passed out and throwing up in a room party, it comes back as, “The Alphas don’t know how to hold their liquor,” or “The Zetas are sloppy drunks.”

There are some people that flourish in “Hollywood,” like the Kappa with the 3.9 GPA or the SGRho that’s president of their Student Government Association. But there are also those who die in the spotlight: The Delta that failed out of school or the Iota that had a fight with a Campus Officer.

Hollywood offers everything that glitters and everything that’s gold. The opportunity to fail all of your classes, find yourself waking up with alcohol poisoning in para’ and sleeping with your line-sister’s ex are all within arm’s reach. On the other hand, the chances to exceed all stereotypical expectations, increase community service involvement and win step-shows are also present. However the line that separates the two is VERY thin. Which side of Hollywood are you on?

While in Hollywood, it’s very important to take your Org up another level. If your chapter did twelve programs and a party last semester but didn’t receive Frat of the Year honors, that should be your top priority this semester, especially if you’re a neo! Channel that energy into making your Frat or Sorority the best on campus, then the best in your region. Competition is healthy. The best feeling is when you have to out-do yourself because no one else even compares.

As a profyte, it is your duty to do more teaching than partying. Like attracts like. So if your next interest meeting looks like Rollin’ Sixties Crips rally, your chapter needs a self-evaluation. So here’s my Jerry Springer ending, “Take care of yourself, and each other…” LMAO

Signing off,

Paul Johnson Jr.
Writer/Director Rainy Days Films, LLC

PaulSJohnson10@yahoo.com / @Paul_Johnson_Jr
Mu Omicron Chapter, SP. 2004 / #3

Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity. Inc.