When my daughter decided to join a sorority, I did everything I could to talk her out of it. As a former hippie, I thought fraternities were for dweebs and nerds. Even as a young college instructor, I had nothing but contempt for kids who seemed to be “buying their friends” and surrendering individual choice and responsibility.

My opinion about Greeks has changed from first-hand experience. Now, as a college professor, I can pick out the Greek students on the first day of class. They are confident, sit in the front, ask questions and participate in discussions. In a word, they are the best students, the leaders in the classroom and on campus. They cajole and push one another to perform well on exams and quizzes, and form study groups outside of class, without being told to do so.

I never would have thought that I would be a Greek booster. But that’s what I am now. In fact, I often wonder how improved my own life would be if I had acquired leadership skills like theirs as an undergraduate. The more I learn about the programs, services and values of these groups, the more I respect them. The highest compliment an old hippie like me can pay to today’s Greek students is to say, “I wish I could be one of them.”