Wednesday, November 7, 2018 // The Statement
6B

D

o you guys want to hang 
Saturday 
night?” 
I 
text 

some 
guys 
I 
met 
dur-

ing 
Welcome 
Week, 
the 

October 
of 
my 
freshman 
year.

“Sorry, we have to be at our frat party,” 

the reply reads. I already know I’m prob-
ably not getting in, as me being a guy 
would mess up the “ratio” of their party.

Next, 
I 
text 
some 
friends 
from 

home, firing off the same message, 
and a few minutes later my phone 
buzzes again with the same response.

“Sorry, 
we’re 
planning 
on 

going 
out 
to 
some 
frat 
parties.”

This scenario is what I went through 

from September until the beginning of 
March — the majority of my freshman year. 
I’d decided not to rush a fraternity during 
the first month of my freshman year, get-
ting cold feet and sensing I wouldn’t be 
able to fit in. This led to a feeling of exclu-
sion and as a freshman dropped in a new 
environment, it was difficult to cope with.

After a couple months of sitting alone 

in my dorm room on Saturday nights, I 
decided to go down the hall and start a 
conversation with the other people who 
were spending their weekends in the 
dorm because they too weren’t in Greek 
life. That was the point when I started 
to break out of my shell and realize there 
are other ways to enjoy the weekend that 
didn’t involve fraternity parties. And even 
though I may not be friends with most of 
these people from the dorm this year, I 
believe that the initiative I took to start 
conversations in the dorm allowed me to 

step out of my comfort zone and it made 
me feel like I was one step closer to finding 
my place at the University of Michigan.

I had come to realize there are many 

different directions to find a community 
at the University. When starting at the 
University of Michigan, I thought Greek 
life was a common thing that a majority of 
students did, while only about 18 percent 
of undergraduates actually are involved. 
There are other ways for me to make the 
most of my college experience and enjoy 
my time at the University that don’t involve 
having to shotgun a beer in a small, sweaty 
basement in order to impress my friends.

Instead of feeling sorry for myself 

and worrying about what I was going to 
do each weekend, I could stop compar-
ing myself to the people who are out at 
parties with their new group of close 
friends. Most people, myself included, 
don’t become best friends with some-
one the instant they meet them. It seems 
that when you become part of a frater-
nity, you are immediately immersed in a 
community of people who you know you 
will be spending the majority of your 
time in college with. But building friend-
ships took time for me, and eventually, I 
was able to find a community of my own.

Even though it didn’t happen in the 

first couple of weeks, I can say that dur-
ing my second semester I finally found 
my community at the University. And 
that community is the amazing people 
at 420 Maynard St. that spend their 
time working for The Michigan Daily.

I remember walking into a mass meet-

ing as a nervous freshman who wanted to 
get more involved with photography on 
campus. Once I joined the Photo section, I 
began to come in on a weekly basis to work 
at The Daily for production. Each time I 
came in, I spoke to more people. In the 
beginning, it was just other photographers 
who were around me doing similar things. 
As time went on, I began interacting with 
people not only who take pictures for The 
Daily, but also people from other sections 
too, such as Sports, Design and News.

Meeting these people — from fellow 

photographers 
to 
basketball-addicted 

sports writers — is really what allowed me 
to feel part of a community, and perhaps 
form a fraternity of my own. According to 
the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the def-
inition of a fraternity is “a group of peo-
ple associated or formally organized for a 
common purpose, interest, or pleasure.” 
In a way, I realized that I can still be part 
of a fraternity, even if it’s not the stereo-
typical fraternity I initially think of. The 
people of The Daily are always there for 
me when I need it, whether that be with 
academics or not. And I know that the 
building at 420 Maynard can be a place 
to go during both good days and bad days.

Still, from time to time during my soph-

omore year, I am reminded of the fact that 
I am not in a fraternity as I occasionally 
find myself alone on the weekends, look-
ing for people to be with. When I do find 
myself alone, needing someone to talk to 
or do something to ease the stress of col-
lege, I know that I can go to 420 Maynard 
and the people of The Daily will be there.

Finding a community of my own

BY ALEC COHEN, ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

