Most of Georgia Southern’s fraternities and sororities require either monthly or yearly fees that often range up to $1000.

According to a study by USA Today College, in 2014, the average new sorority member paid $1,280 per semester and the average new fraternity member paid $605 per semester, not including room and board at the chapter.

Fransisco Lugo, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, explains where all the money is going and why some Greek organizations have higher due requirements than others.

“It all depends on the structure of the Greek organizations and the chapter level. The requirements for the Greek organizations are different based off needs of the organizations, whether it is payment for events or other things, such as insurance policies and coverage of membership events and/or Greek apparel,” Lugo said. “Some dues stay with the chapter and others go to the national level of the organizations.”

Lugo believes that although most Greek life have dues to pay, it’s not much different than having to pay dues from non-Greek organizations and groups.

“If you are part of any group or organization, most likely there is some sort of application fee or membership fee that is required,” Lugo said. “So there are some similarities in a sense, but for Greek organizations, it will be different because of the national level requirements.”

The requirement of dues is determined by the national level of each organizations. In some cases, some Greeks are paying for the full-time staff and traveling consultants which require them to work on the needs of the fraternity or sororities.

In most cases, there are discounted rates given by some Greek organizations depending on GPA or if they happen to be a council member.

Rukayat Popoola, senior middle grades education major, believes the benefits of being part of a Greek organization is bigger than paying dues.

“It’s not what they require with the dues. It’s more about what they plan on doing in that organization. Some of them are used to bring out scholarships and work on projects in the community,” Popoola said. “Although there are a lot of benefits to being in a Greek organization, it’s beneficial to others as well.”

Nykendra Smith, senior multimedia film and production major, thinks that being part of a sorority or fraternity creates a life-long friendships.

Smith said, “If you become a part of a Greek organization, it basically becomes like a brotherhood or a sisterhood. With that, being part of a Greek organization can be beneficial to you in the future. Those people in your Greek organization might be able to help you in the long run and that is worth more than dues.”