OT To Greek Or Not To Greek

[justdance14]

Not from Bama but from another SEC school.

There are stereotypes but as always, there are exceptions. I don't believe there were "northern sororities" on campus as much as there were "southern" ones. Ones that were stereotyped as consisting of mostly southern girls. Definitely not a hard and fast rule however, they would get in tons of trouble. And being as large as they were (300+ members) there's no way everyone came from beneath the Mason-Dixon line. My chapter was in no way like that. Just to put it into perspective, our last 6 presidents were from Ohio, California, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and most recently Pennsylvania. Most on campus were pretty diverse as well.

I also go to an SEC school, but because we're not as far south as Georgia and Alabama, a lot of Northerners come here. In my chapter alone we have girls from New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. I would agree with there being certain sororities on campus that are more "southern", but even those have several girls from up north. There will always be stereotypes (ie. the "blonde" sorority, the "sporty" sorority, etc.) but there are always exceptions. My hispanic best friend got a bid to the "blonde, preppy sorority" on campus and joined. I know it's cheesy but you'll end up where you need to be.

 

[ErinS]

I know "northerners" at both Alabama and USC that are Greek... I definitely have to disagree with the southern stereotype statement. I've never seen that to be true.

I could go on and on with the links, but its no secret how the greek system at Alabama operates....or the climate of how minority students at the school are treated in general.... Anyway. The hoopla from last September speaks for itself. And the push to get random black girls to join for damage control....and the fact that black girls actually bought into it and did it.... So sad.

University of Alabama president pushes sororities to end segregation - U.S. News

Alabama sororities blame racist alumnae when blacks rejected | The Daily Caller

Sororities Investigating Segregation Allegations at University of Alabama - ABC News

University of Alabama Moves to End Segregated Sorority System | TIME.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/u...te-sororities-at-alabama-university.html?_r=0

First ever African American sorority president elected at University of Alabama | Odd News - Yahoo News

Black University of Alabama students join traditionally white sororities | World news | theguardian.com

 

[12mowerd]

No offense to any people who are part of the Greek life, reading these posts makes it not so appealing to me anymore. I didn't realize you had to pay money for this. And reading about all the segregation of blondes and what not sounds kind of childish.. maybe I'm just ignorant to sorority life and that's why but idk...

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[cheerKT]

No offense to any people who are part of the Greek life, reading these posts makes it not so appealing to me anymore. I didn't realize you had to pay money for this. And reading about all the segregation of blondes and what not sounds kind of childish.. maybe I'm just ignorant to sorority life and that's why but idk...

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It's the same as most other campus organization, you pay dues. But I can break it down a little bit as to what the money goes towards. It goes much deeper than just a club on campus. Greek organizations have national headquarters with full time employees. The dues go to things like social functions, philanthropy projects, officer supplies, housing dues, headquarter fees, GPA rewards for members, etc. On my former campus, sororities had large houses that had to have the bills paid and a full time staff for each house that had to have their salary paid. This was shared by the members of the chapter as well as the University. Members are also on a meal plan and get cooked meals twice a day at the chapter house. If you're a member of the chapter you also have the option of living in the house, and you pay on your tuition the same as you would if you lived in a dorm.

I can't really speak to the "segregation" of hair colors you mentioned, but I can tell you my experience was nothing like that. No one was ever judged or selected for membership because of a physical attribute. I was never singled out or put into a group for being blonde/brunette/overweight/underweight/southern/northern/red/white/black/brown. Chapters ask girls back round by round after getting to know them and learning about their personality, interests, hobbies, passions, etc. It's also a mutual decision, with girls having equal input on which houses they want to return to. I'm not ignorant however and won't deny at some schools it can turn superficial, like in the case posted above at Bama. It's a very sad situation and I'm glad it was brought to light. Very few chapters at very few schools are run that way, and I think I speak for all Greek Life members when we say the sooner that kind of thing can be eliminated the better. It gives people the idea that that's all Greek Life is about. I believe that's kind of the idea you bought into here and I hope you can take the time to see that that is certainly not the case. My sorority offered me leadership opportunities, friendship, networking, life skills and (as cheesy as it sounds) memories that will last a lifetime.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to PM me or ask anyone on here. My Greek Life experience was honestly life changing and I love to help further people's understanding of what it truly is!

 

[12mowerd]

It's the same as most other campus organization, you pay dues. But I can break it down a little bit as to what the money goes towards. It goes much deeper than just a club on campus. Greek organizations have national headquarters with full time employees. The dues go to things like social functions, philanthropy projects, officer supplies, housing dues, headquarter fees, GPA rewards for members, etc. On my former campus, sororities had large houses that had to have the bills paid and a full time staff for each house that had to have their salary paid. This was shared by the members of the chapter as well as the University. Members are also on a meal plan and get cooked meals twice a day at the chapter house. If you're a member of the chapter you also have the option of living in the house, and you pay on your tuition the same as you would if you lived in a dorm.

I can't really speak to the "segregation" of hair colors you mentioned, but I can tell you my experience was nothing like that. No one was ever judged or selected for membership because of a physical attribute. I was never singled out or put into a group for being blonde/brunette/overweight/underweight/southern/northern/red/white/black/brown. Chapters ask girls back round by round after getting to know them and learning about their personality, interests, hobbies, passions, etc. It's also a mutual decision, with girls having equal input on which houses they want to return to. I'm not ignorant however and won't deny at some schools it can turn superficial, like in the case posted above at Bama. It's a very sad situation and I'm glad it was brought to light. Very few chapters at very few schools are run that way, and I think I speak for all Greek Life members when we say the sooner that kind of thing can be eliminated the better. It gives people the idea that that's all Greek Life is about. I believe that's kind of the idea you bought into here and I hope you can take the time to see that that is certainly not the case. My sorority offered me leadership opportunities, friendship, networking, life skills and (as cheesy as it sounds) memories that will last a lifetime.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to PM me or ask anyone on here. My Greek Life experience was honestly life changing and I love to help further people's understanding of what it truly is!

Well that makes me feel a little better. I know a tiny bit because ny best friends in a sorority. She had like 80 in dues a month I just found out about that the other day. But in Maine it's actually illegal to have sorority houses because they're considered brothels. (Or so I've been told) so it makes sense to have dues them there are actually houses. She's hasn't told me much about it though. She does different charity things but for the most part it seems like they just get drunk with different frats and do charity as side work to make it seem like they're doing something productive. (Speaking of her sorority not all of them.)

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[cheerKT]

Well that makes me feel a little better. I know a tiny bit because ny best friends in a sorority. She had like 80 in dues a month I just found out about that the other day. But in Maine it's actually illegal to have sorority houses because they're considered brothels. (Or so I've been told) so it makes sense to have dues them there are actually houses. She's hasn't told me much about it though. She does different charity things but for the most part it seems like they just get drunk with different frats and do charity as side work to make it seem like they're doing something productive. (Speaking of her sorority not all of them.)

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My school did the dues in one lump sum or broken up 3 times over the course of a semester, which is much better to me than monthly. SC actually has that brothel law too but it's not enforced since our sorority houses are on campus, so they are considered the same as dorms. And to be honestly I doubt that law would be enforced anyway, it's so outdated! haha. How dare more than 4 women want to live together, they must be doing something illegal!

You'll find some people embrace the party side more and some people embrace the leadership/philanthropy side more. In my experience the people who had the most successful/fun experiences are the ones who learned to have a healthy balance of both.

 

[12mowerd]

[quote="cheerKT, post: 825926, SC actually has that brothel law too but it's not enforced since our sorority houses are on campus, so they are considered the same as dorms. And to be honestly I doubt that law would be enforced anyway, it's so outdated! haha. How dare more than 4 women want to live together, they must be doing something illegal!
.[/quote]
That is so dumb and it actually pisses me off.

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[cheerKT]

Also if your sorority doesnt have a house your dues will be cheaper. After this semester my dues will be about 260 a semester which is too bad. This semester they are 561 because of our pin and badge guard. It also depends on how big greek life is at your school.

Just for comparison purposes ours were around $650-$700 in the fall and $450-$500 in spring semesters. That's with a 40 bed house with 5 full time staff members. (3 chefs, 1 housekeeper, 1 house mom). You obviously paid more to live in the house on your tuition (so scholarships or loans could cover it if you had them) and the meal plan was about $1000 a semester. It provided lunch and dinner every weekday and Sunday dinner. It was nice to save on groceries. Dues are also cheaper if you're on "special status", ie abroad, working a full time internship/student teaching etc. They were usually only around 100 dollars and you weren't required to attend events, but could pay per social function if you wanted to attend one.

 

[alliebby33]

Greek life at my school is huge and I will almost feel "left out" if I don't rush, but I am still deciding. Formal recruitment is in the spring for Freshmen and then there is one at the beginning of each semester for sophomores and above so I still have time to think about it. I don't think the law still applies, but sororities here have their own quad with 3 huge buildings (the biggest quad on campus) for housing. When they started, the brothel law applied so they just lived in the dorms on the one quad and I think they just keep it that way because of tradition. All the frat houses are off campus.

 

[TinyBlondie15]

I'm not in greek life here at FGCU but I have friends that are. We don't have houses on campus so that cuts down on the dues. The only houses I know of are frat houses off campus (but those can get really sketchy and the parties nearly shut down because of underage drinking.. One of our sororities is on probation currently because they held a party with underage drinking.). Greek life is becoming even bigger than it was in the past years. However, they are starting to become more selective with whom they choose to extend bids to. One story I heard of from my friend in Chi Omega was that a girl that was partially deaf was denied a bid because of the deafness.

 

[cheeeeer93]

It pains me to see people not give greek life a chance. This time a year ago I was considering joining, I did Spring COR in February, and haven't looked back since. Best decision I ever made for myself.
Reflecting on it now, I don't think I really realized first semester freshman year that I didn't have the greatest friends. Sure, they were alright but they weren't the type of people I could look back and say "these girls will be in my wedding and we'll be best friends forever". I had a lot going on with family that semester as well so when I joined, I literally threw myself into my chapter and it was the best decision I made in a long time. I would actually equate it to when I left my awful school cheer team and went to all-star. It changed my life and made me a better person. I have the greatest sisters who I would trust with anything. I'm SO much confident in myself and can handle myself that much better in any situation I'm thrown into, especially professionally. I've been elected to my chapters council (or exec board, whatever you'd like to call it) for the coming year. I have a sense of direction and what I want to do with myself. And it's been less than a year.
I really can't talk it up enough because it did change my life and me personally so much. I really do urge anyone who has the chance to give it a shot. Or if anything, PLEASE message me or whatever if you have any questions or concerns. I'll give you completely honest answers and clear up any confusion.
But bottom line, it's worth it.

 

[CoachTamara]

I think it's very easy to look at it from the outside and judge and believe it's not for you, but I cannot recall anyone I know that was actually active in Greek life and didn't LOVE it. It is what you put into it, and there are many steps along the way to ensure you find the sorority that is the best fit for you and your personality. It is not about parties and drinking-it's about making friends for life, taking on leadership roles, and learning to work in a large group. The things you learn in Greek life will carry with you throughout the rest of your life. I cannot express enough how beneficial being greek has been for me and tons of people I know. Give it a shot, and you never know who or what you'll find. There is no harm is going through rush and getting a better idea of each group before you join.

 

[cheerKT]

I completely understand people who have decided Greek Life is not for them. It requires a sizable time and sometimes financial commitment.

What I can't stand is people who judge and generalize the entire Greek Life system and all of its participants off one or a couple bad experiences from people they met while in school. Frustrates the heck out of me.

 

[cheeeeer93]

Kind of random but I'm going to throw this in here because it's the best spot...
I'm looking into doing chapter sweatshirts in either a crew neck or quarter zip. I'm looking for some inspiration and some cute but simply done ideas. Panhel sisters wanna help a girl out send me some inspiration that you all have seen or done in your chapters?

 

[Ally13]

Kind of random but I'm going to throw this in here because it's the best spot...
I'm looking into doing chapter sweatshirts in either a crew neck or quarter zip. I'm looking for some inspiration and some cute but simply done ideas. Panhel sisters wanna help a girl out send me some inspiration that you all have seen or done in your chapters?

Not in a sorority, but a lot of girls, and guys, at my school have quarter zips with their chapters crest on them and their letters around the crest. I like them and think most of them are pretty cute!