An inside look at Greek Life

"I'm not just Darrin Enemuoh anymore, I am Darrin the Omega," saysthe junior chemical engineering major.
 As we watched new Greeks probate at the spring yard show this past semester, we are left to wonder how much they will change or if their letters will create a new character, a new person.
 Nearly half way through a new semester with a new identity, have things changed? Will they change years after graduation?
 Two men of the divine nine, but men of opposing Greek affiliations, at least stereotypically a nasty Que Dog of the Bloody Rho Theta chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and a pretty Zoo Boy of the Zeta Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., Darrin Enemuoh and Brandon Green respectively.
 A neophyte and prophyte in two very different places in their Greek experience but have their experiences made them?
 The divine nine represents a small percentage of the overall student population at Prairie View, thus forcing them into a stance of student leadership whether they are aware of it or not.
 "Being a part of the divine nine means being a campus leader and role model of not only interested students so you must always carry yourself in that regard because people are always watching," said Green.
 With such a heavy yet inherited role, it seems inevitable to see personality change, but you choose your affiliations, thus your posture as a Greek man or woman. Right?
 Well Omega did not choose Enemuoh instead he choose Omega. "My uncle, a father figure of sorts, is an Omega man, but when I came to the hill there were not a lot of Omegas on the yard, yet they still had an effect on the community, that is why I chose Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.," said Enemuoh.
"Kappa does not make me. I am Brandon, the Kappa not Kappa first then Brandon," Green said.
Again, two men with different patterns of letters, two men in different points of their experience yet they share the notion that letters should not be something to elevate you as a person but rather you elevating the organization.
Yet how do the party personas of a Que Dog or a Zoo Boy lift an organization?
"The older I get, I understand the other side of Kappa other than just throwing bows in the party. The older I get, my love of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated has grown...it is an amazing feeling to know that you can count on so many to support you through everything, good or bad; it is a big family that is always there," Green said.
"Que Dogs are simply social, but to be an Omega man is to be able to put on a shirt and tie to be able to do things that will help you succeed in life beyond the hill; well-dressed, well-spoken, and well-learned. An Omega man is a role model, that incoming freshmen can look up to as well as upperclassmen, someone to stand as an example of a true man," Enemuoh added.
The Que Dog and the Zoo Boy balance the Omega and Kappa men, but do not define them in their totality as men.
Looking beyond the high of first earning any Greek affiliation, a few brothers like Enemuoh and Green agree that letters can never make a man if he was never a man before. If he is complete and stern in his convictions, the letters will fit around him rather than himself around the letters.