When you first go off to college, you’re exposed to so many different types of people than you might be used to back home. With those different people come different habits, different traditions, and especially different slang. If you go to an out-of-state school, that’s a whole regional adjustment in itself, let alone the mere differences between life in high school and life in college. One of the big things that I noticed immediately when I started my freshman year was the use of the term “geed”. I could never tell exactly what it meant, but I knew for a fact that it was derogatory in some way, shape, or form.
Once I was exposed to Greek life, it didn’t take me very long to figure out the meaning behind the word. If you’re unfamiliar, a “geed” is a person who is not in Greek life, derived from the abbreviation “GDI” – which stands for “God-damn independent” – according to Urban Dictionary. While I do not personally fall into the “geed” category, I also understand that at one point we were all geeds. Our first couple of weeks on campus before rush were filled with naive experiences that likely make us cringe when we look back on them. But, in the moment, these same cringe experiences were exciting and new. Your first college party might’ve been in some random upperclassman’s house that you would never return to now, but at the time you loved it.
My point in saying all of this is to hopefully get more people to empathize with the geeds. At a vast majority of schools, students in Greek life take up a minority of the entire student population. Sure, at any SEC college, your fraternity or sorority will determine your entire college experience, but I’m speaking generally here. Just because you’re in Greek life doesn’t mean that you’re better than any given geed. For some reason, popular culture likes to portray high school as a rigid social hierarchy, when in reality college is much worse as a result of Greek life.
Don’t get me wrong – I love being a part of my fraternity and Greek life in general. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve made great friendships that will last forever and even better memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life, but that doesn’t mean the system isn’t flawed. At schools with big Greek life, your fraternity or sorority completely determines your social status. Rather than finding a house that will be the best fit for them, many freshmen will just rush the fraternity or sorority that is considered “touse” on Greekrank. I’m not oblivious to the fact that the top fraternities pair with the hot sororities and vice versa. But, that doesn’t mean you should be simply putting up with your so-called “brothers” so you can hook up with some random smoke every weekend.
By no means am I calling everyone in a “top house” shallow. Some of the best people I’ve met since being in college are in highly-regarded fraternities. But, you’d be stupid to think that there aren’t extremely superficial people in these houses. I don’t need to beat a dead horse by calling Greek life “toxic” – the Bama Rush already took care of that (poorly). However, I do think that sometimes it’s necessary to remind the boys why they joined their fraternity. Hopefully, you didn’t join so you could get the “geed” pass (although it is fun to use, at times). This upcoming school year, enjoy the time you get to spend with your brothers because after you graduate, it’s all too easy to fall out of touch with people.
So, the next time you think about yelling “GEEDS” at a group of kids in the library on a Friday night, remember that you too were once a geed. Although you might be more fraternal than the average Joe, you’re not better than anyone simply because you’re a Ligma Chi. Appreciate your days in college and treat everyone with equal respect – even the geeds.
