Sorority rush is officially underway at the University, and as members of the Wolfpack are rushing to join these organizations, it is interesting to see how the pack psychology of animals mirrors Greek social structures.

In the wild, packs form for the benefit of all members, according to wolfcountry.net. The community is mutually advantageous, whether for the raising of pups or fending off or attacking larger animals.

In terms of campus life, joining a sorority is useful.  There are social advantages for each and every member, whether that of association, sisterhood, or opportunities. This is why the packs form. Something makes that particular pack attractive for survival.

Furthermore, though sorority sisters might never plot to bring down a large animal, their cohesion is potent for attacking predators, or anything that threatens the pack.

Pack members can assemble to take on large projects, which grants packs, like sororities, social power. Sororities apply this power to take on anything from service projects to recreational events.

Caribou migration is another example of the power of the pack. Caribou “may travel more than 600 miles…along well-trod annual routes” leading to the tundra, the National Geographic website said. Together, they are able to do what would be unthinkable for animals, let alone a single caribou.

Also, pack members are more keenly sharpened to face natural selection. The Web blog tastyhuman.com calls this effect “observational learning and modeling,” which is “when the animal learns a behavior through watching other animals conduct.” For wolves, hunting falls into this category.

This is another advantage of pack membership: the acquired knowledge of the leaders. The “alpha” wolf is the highest-ranking individual in the pack, though “they are not ‘leaders’ in the human sense of the term,” WolfCountry.net wrote.

” ‘Leaders’ in all animals control assets more often than they control individuals through the use of force,” said 4 Paws University, a website on training and behavior solutions for dogs.

In terms of the pack, those assets are just as much tangible as intangible. For a wolf, its skills may include knowledge of a certain terrain or hunting ground and the best way to navigate it. For a senior sorority sister, her skills include knowledge of campus, professors, and the other unique features of the University’s terrain.

This system of seniority itself is an important aspect of both packs and Greek life. Without some sort of ranking, a pack cannot function. For example, “the dog is a pack animal and needs a pack leader,” wrote 4 Paws University.

Faran Dulberg, a senior in Public Relations is not in a sorority but a part of another campus organization, Hillel, and is also the president. Dulberg says that being leader of a group has shown her how much of an impact groups have on individual lives. “I never knew how much an organization can impact people. Whether it’s the speakers, the religious ceremonies, the events…people are affected and usually in a positive way,” she said.

The establishment of rank, for wolves especially, is even more interesting.

The order is maintained through a series of “ritualized fights and posturing best described as ritual bluffing,” according to WolfCountry.net. “Wolves prefer psychological warfare to physical confrontations, meaning that high-ranking status is based more on personality or attitude than on size or physical strength.”

The system of pledging and bidding appears is, in many senses, as “ritualized” as the wolves’ process. In both cases, members of the pack are competing for a spot, a spot that will somehow increase their chances of survival.

In humans what strengthens relationships isn’t exactly group ranking but rather fellowship. Hillel has what is called Shabbat every Friday and is a celebration of the Jewish weekend. For Hillel and many other organizations, fellowship, or meeting of the group, is what builds strength.

Furthermore, it is not surprising that a pack’s system of ranking is dependent on social and psychological skills as its power is largely social. Those who have more control of these intangible assets rise higher in the ranks.

Sororities are not the only organizations who bears the hallmarks of pack-psychology. Ultimately, any organization that offers benefits to members and the promise of a powerful and protective community is a pack.

This turns to another characteristic of animal behavior, what “Tasty Human” calls “instinctive behavior” or a “fixed action pattern,” which “[does] not require learning or prior experience for [its] expression.” The weblog cites the cocoon-spinning spiders, who perform 6000 individual, identical motions while making their cocoons.

“All of them behave the same way, and they have never learned this ability,” “Tasty Human” wrote.

As students rush to join the various “packs” on campus, all without being told, a certain instinct becomes apparent. That is the instinct to find and establish community, a place to assert oneself psychologically. Individuals find the places they belong and fit in—their pack rank.

This basic human need for survival, the need to have a “pack,” is more complex though.

Wolves join packs according to the cold equations of basest welfare, according to WolfCountry.net. Man’s drive to search for a pack is much more complicated because his survival needs are more intricate. Otherwise, there would only need to be one pack for humans to join.

Humans have the power of choice, whether choosing between the Wolfpack and other universities, the Honors program or the Scholars program, or even between Alpha Delta Pi and Alpha Omega Epsilon.

These packs are important, not only for the benefit of their members, but also for the power they wield. The strength of the pack is what empowers every member of N.C. State’s Wolfpack to make a difference, leave a mark, and change the world.

“I wouldn’t be able to imagine my past three years with out being Greek…it is so much more than letters on a t-shirt,” Diana Hardy, a senior in accounting, and a member of Delta Gamma said. “It has given me so many opportunities and I’ve been able to work with people who are committed and passionate in everything that they do. I have been able to make friends with truly wonderful people,” she said.