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Going to an event off the infamous “frat row” helped me to conceptualize the similarities and differences between the proverbial “us” and the infamous “them”. Being a member of a fraternity recognized by the IFC, or International Fraternity Council, it was quite an eye-opening experience to attend an AGC, or Asian Greek Council, formal.

Upon leaving the house, satires of the Sundance Film Festival’s newest buzz movie, Better Luck Tomorrow, raced throughout my head. Stereotypes of south campus rebels partying like the Greeks on fraternity row, while still maintaining impressive grade point averages bombarded my psyche. As the night went on my preconceived notions proved to be comical and almost entirely false.

The “overachiever” stereotype was squelched immediately upon entering the (pardon the pun) Asian Scene. Most of the dates were ready to pre-party and take pictures in order to wild-out at the event’s numerous after-parties. Quickly I realized that just as houses on fraternity row support each other’s social events, so do the various AGC fraternities and sororities. After hearing the cheers of encouragement and pride chanted by the rival houses in attendance, my fantasies of enemy gangs and kanji tattoos translating to yakuza or triad vanished into thin air.
As it turns out, Greeks of all races are quite similar. There is always the clique of friends who get trashed before everyone else even gets started. There are cliques of potheads, hardcore alcoholics, and even straight-edge partygoers. The music was not stereotypically electronic, and there was a good mix of familiar hip-hop and rhythm and blues.

The night almost defied all classifications of Asian social stereotyping until the valets brought everyone’s cars to the lobby. Modified Integras, dropped Civics, and yes even the token Supra were all in full throttle. Holding true to stereotype, a majority of the AGC members smoked cigarettes. But the way I see it, every social group containing young college students has a noticeable population of smokers; so what else is new?

After a night of drunken debauchery followed by a morning of headaches and binge water consumption, I can clearly conclude that difference is sometimes simply a construction of the individual. I could have easily noted that I was one of three non-Asian dates in attendance and been a pissy party pooper. Instead I found that Asian Greeks are just like the Greeks on Hilgard and Gayley. They may ask, “Are you affiliated?” when an individual living on fraternity row would phrase the same question as, “What house are you in?” but that is simply a difference of perspective. Any close-minded individual could dismiss Asian Greeks as simply south campus geeks turned wannabe party animals. I concluded, however, that regardless of race, Greeks will always be Greeks and geeks will always be geeks.