Sororities: They’re Not All They Are Cracked Up To Be

If 2 years ago a girl would have come up to me saying she never wanted to join a sorority, I would have agreed with her and said no way. But now, 2 years later, if that girl were to tell me the same thing, rather than join her side I would ask why? I understand that sororities truly are not for every girl but I find that most girls are hesitant because they don’t want to fall under being a “sorority girl stereotype. ” And to be fair who does? I can’t speak for every campus nationwide, but for my university where I chose to become a sorority woman 2 years ago, I came to realize that each of the 5 sororities are filled with incredible, driven women who spend each day proving that they are not a stereotype. Since transitioning from an outside view to gaining an inside perspective of sorority life I have been able to clearly see the realities and the myths of sorority life which have allowed me to become the sorority Greek life supporter that I am today.The Myths:Sororities haze. Panhellenic, the board who oversees every Greek sorority on campus, has a strict No Hazing policy. Members and nonmembers are expected to report any incident where hazing has occurred, which would therefore result in the possible termination of that sororities charter on campus. To further support the No Hazing policy, sororities here partake in events to welcome their new members in a fun and inviting atmosphere that allows them to feel apart of their specific sisterhood.

Sorority women pay for their friends. While it is true that being in a sorority does cost money, I would strongly argue against that claim. First off, you cannot buy people, especially not over 100 of them. Like any other relationship, greek related or not, friendship happens through the time and the effort you put into it. The more opportunities you take spending time each the stronger relationship you’ll have with them. Sororities are a great way to meet people and make friends, but the method of building that friendship is exactly the same as the one that led your best friend. It is a give and take process, not a money exchange.Sorority women are unintelligent party animals. Every sorority has their own GPA requirement that every member must maintain in order to remain active in the chapter. In addition, each sorority has their own amount of study hours that each girl must completely on a weekly basis. To ensure that each member is studying and making their GPA, every sorority has an academic chair whose position is to keep track of each girl’s grades and to take the necessary precautions (appointing more study hours or not allowing her to attend certain social events for a period of time) in helping her out should her grades begin to slip. Since becoming a part of the Greek Life Community, I have never seen a more goal-oriented, driven, and inspirational group of ladies, none of whom are unintelligent.Partying is a priority. As college students, Greek affiliated or not, we do value our social life and going out. However, with that said, partying is not our sole purpose for being in a sorority, in fact it has nothing to do with why we joined. Each sorority on campus had their own respective standards and values that each woman is to uphold. We treat our sororities as a business where our actions matter and our words mean something. It is important to conduct ourselves in a respectable manner, just as one would for a job. If anything is done or posted in a way that is deemed unacceptable or disrespecting, the standards board of that chapter would intervene to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. As sorority women we are taught that our actions don’t just reflect just on us but on our chapter and the Greek community as whole.

While I would strongly recommend any woman entering college to rush a sorority, I understand that it is not for everyone. However, before making that decision, rethink these 4 myths and decide what is truly holding you back from going through recruitment and what you want to gain from becoming apart of a sorority.