The Panther

Issue date: 4/13/05 Section: Editorials

L&H/A&E Editor

This week, while mulling through the hundreds of 20 questions I received concerning probate and the organizations represented at probate, I couldn't help but contemplate the fascination of this campus with who is and isn't "paper."

For those in the non-Greek world who may be wondering what it means to be "paper" or to "skate," in layman's terms this simply means that the person did not pledge or go through a process of "proving themselves" or "earning their letters."

PLEDGE!?! Yes, I said the "P" word, and if you choose to live in denial and act as if pledging only exists in Spike Lee films then you can play the fool if you want to. The real question should be whether or not pledging makes you a better soror or frat than the man/woman who signed some papers and learned the grip in a week.

I confess that in anything there is no better feeling than knowing you worked for whatever you have. I've heard people say that the satisfaction of crossing the burning sands is the same as the feeling you get the first time you purchase an item without having to use someone else's money. Yet I have witnessed "paper" members of organizations busting their behinds conducting programs and doing community service projects, while "made" members only strut around at parties and wear the T-shirts.

While paper may burn, and sands may last forever, it's what you do for your organization that makes you real.

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