<p>Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone in college could please tell me some truth about sororities? There's so much that's in the dark - according to everything I can find online, they're these lovely little places where you do community service and make friends. Somehow, I doubt that that is 100% accurate. My mom told me that a lot of people get stuck in frats and then drop out... could someone please shed some light on this subject?</p>
<p>And do you suggest that freshmen join sororities?</p>
<p>I suggest you don't join one because their sisterhood is based upon fame and fortune. Whoever has these "endearing" qualities will have better chances of being inducted into sisterhood, and is therefore the same thing as buying friends. Plus, community service is the "in" thing to do for sororities to cover up their social craziness that's spent off from huge dues anyway. It's pretty superficial and elitist in my opinion.</p>
<p>KatarinaM, I cannot answer your questions, but I want to post here to make sure you realize tenniscraze makes statements about the greek system with absolutely no backing. </p>
<p>I assume you're still in high school, and unless you got in early somewhere, you don't even know where you're going. Wait untill you have some acceptances under your belt before you start to seriously think about the greek system. The many sororities out there are very different and any given sorority is different from school to school.</p>
<p>My mother was in a sorority when she was in college and she absolutely loved it. She later went on to work for the national organization, even rising as high as national president. She met my father because of their work for their greek organizations.</p>
<p>If you have some schools in mind, feel free to post them and maybe someone here who goes there can comment. You can also check out <a href="http://www.greekchat.com%5B/url%5D">www.greekchat.com</a></p>
<p>Honestly, people can tell you the pros and cons about it, and you will still come away with the opinion that you want to have. Every chapter on every campus is different. Some chapters are very strong academically, some are very strong on the social scene, etc. Can you be a little more specific in the types of information you are trying to find? The search button is your friend. Use it. I am a member of a PHC sorority and would be happy to answer any questions, but you need to be a little more specific.</p>
<p>
[quote]
tenniscraze:"in my opinion."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>For once tenniscraze added that key qualifier to his statement.</p>
<p>KatarinaM, going greek has been one of the most positive experiences of my life, and I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. Despite what people like tenniscraze will tell you, being a part of a sorority can be a great way to enhance all aspects of your college career, allowing you to achieve more than you ever thought possible. </p>
<p>The thing is, the first rule of greek life is, EVERY campus is different. This is why Brown's advice is important. There are some campuses where your bank account might matter. But there are plenty of other campuses where it's the farthest thing from anyone's mind because they know you aren't defined as a person by such things. </p>
<p>The best advice I can give you is to check out greekchat - there are a lot of great people there who would love to tell you about what their fraternity or sorority has meant to them (I post there pretty regularly). And when you do have the chance, give recruitment a try. If it's not your thing, then you'll know for sure. I know as a greek that it's not for everyone (or perhaps most accurately, the chapter type you'd fit in best is not on every campus). </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>The only real way to know is to check out what is offered at the school you wind up attending. It's not possible to make a generalization about all sororities at all schools. I was wary about fraternities when I first came to college, but I kept an open mind, visited a few houses and realized that it was a worthwhile pursuit. Had I been at another school though, things may have turned out differently.</p>
<p>Katarina,</p>
<p>I joined an NPC sorority in college and am still involved as an alumna advisor to one of our undergraduate chapters. My D just pledged this spring as a freshman and is having a wonderful time so far. It all depends on the school that you will be attending and the specific chapters on the campus whether Greek Life is for you.</p>
<p>at cal, at least, the sororities are dry, and spend money on exchanges with frats and what not. there's a good mix of cool people in them. the rush/pledge thing for sororities is way different then for the frats which have to go through alotta bs</p>
<p>This is really cliche but greek life really depends on what school you attend and what sorority you're looking at. I think they're great if you're looking to make a big school feel a lot smaller and want to gain a large group of friends. If you do decide to rush, I would do it as a freshman since sometimes its typically more difficult for sophomores. Also, look at if your favorite schools have fall or spring rush; my university has spring rush and it was really nice considering I had an entire semester to learn more about the greek system. PM me if you have more questions.</p>
<p>They can be clique-ish or they might not be. It depends on the sorority and the school. I know some awesome sweet girls that are in sororities, and I also know some total bit.ches... I'm not in one, but if you are going into your school not knowing anybody you still could rush to meet people. You don't necessarily have to accept a bid if you get one. At my school, rush is the week before school starts, so it's a good way to meet people before the chaos takes over.</p>
<p>Katarina: Go to the cornell site and read their thread named sororities(2-12-07). Great insight. Same with a thread in the Washington and Lee site.(2-11-07)</p>
<p>Did I miss something? Where did the OP say anything about those two schools?</p>
<p>I think sax just posted them as places to get info. </p>
<p>While it does depend on the school, I definitely recommend going through recruitment. I wasn't so sure I wanted to be in a sorority, and my parents thought it was a bad idea, but I decided to rush anyway, as a way to meet people (plus we got to move in early, which was nice). Not only did I meet some of my pretty close friends during the 3-day recruitment, but I also fell in love with one house, where everything just felt really laid back and normal. I was offered a bid, and accepted it. </p>
<p>Some sororities, if they're not at ceiling after fall recruitment, will have spring recruitment as well. Spring recruitment, at least at my school, is a lot less daunting, because we are the only sorority (out of 3 on campus) that does it, and therefore, if you know which house you'd like to be a part of, you can go to one COB event, and you won't have to worry about blending into a crowd of 100 other girls. It's much more personal and relaxed. </p>
<p>And really, I think most sororities have wrongly been given a bad reputation by the public. For example, there are very few "party people" from my sorority, and we are very much into personal development, intellectual development, community service, and we look at people for who they are inside, not what they look like outside. The members of our sorority come in all shapes and sizes, from skinny to overweight, 5ft tall to 6ft, white, black, and middle eastern, Christian, Jewish, and more. And we don't live in the house (it's forbidden on our campus) which is really nice. </p>
<p>So anyway, to make a long story short, it's been a great experience so far, and I definitely recommend going through recruitment when you get to campus. But as others have said, the experience does vary from school to school. Once you have decided which school you will be attending, check out what other people (both greeks and non-greeks) have to say about greek life at that school. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Sororities are all about image, and if you don't fit their image then you're not welcomed. Check this out on CNN:</p>
<p>Delta Zeta at De Pauw University just kicked out 23 members because they were either minorities or deemed overweight. It's pretty sad.</p>
<p>Tenniscraze-way to bring something you know nothing about into the thread.</p>
<p>The DZ chapter at DePauw was traditionally very, very weak, having only 35 members on average in comparison with the other chapters on campus, having over 100. The chapter couldn't find their niche on campus and didn't know how to COB women effectively, and didn't pull traditional girls in through formal recruitment, so their Nationals came in last fall semester. They posed a vote to the chapter's members: either step it up and COB year round, or don't participate in recruitment at all. The girls that weren't dedicated enough to their sorority or their chapter were given alumni status, but refused to take it.</p>
<p>DZ nationals dropped the ball in letting this become a media fiasco, but not every chapter at every school is going to be viable, and sometimes you need to cut your losses and move on. As an outsider, and a basher of the Greek system, tenniscraze, you need to not interject random stories where they don't fit in. I'm sure that we can find stories about a group you're involved in that are negative.</p>
<p>(Just a side note-I don't go to De Pauw, & I'm not a DZ, but I am a member of a sorority.)</p>
<p>Here is the email that was forwarded to me by a Delta Zeta sister from their Nationals:</p>
<pre><code> February
</code></pre>
<p>26, 2007</p>
<p>Dear <em>name taken out</em>,</p>
<p>I am sure by now that you have read the unfortunate <em>New York Times</em> article which involves our sisters at DePauw University. The article is inaccurate and grossly mischaracterizes the situation.</p>
<p>It is important that all Delta Zeta women understand what has happened and
the steps that the National Organization is taking to bring all parties to
the table to find resolution and to support these women moving forward.</p>
<p>It is in this vein that I ask you, as a leader, to commit to supporting our
DePauw members and Delta Zeta. Your commitment and leadership is an
important part of our healing process.</p>
<p>After years of struggling to recruit, <em>Delta Zeta DePauw members voted in
August to close the chapter</em> at the end of the 2006-2007 school year. The
women's majority vote meant that they could live in the house and be
relieved of active membership duties, including the intense work of
recruiting on a daily basis. The intent was for Delta Zeta to close and
reorganize to return at a later date.</p>
<p>On September 12th the request for reorganization was denied by the
University. The University indicated that Delta Zeta, which has been on the
DePauw campus for 98 years, would not be guaranteed a return. University
officials asked Delta Zeta to undertake a membership review.</p>
<p>Delta Zeta members, who could support the national plan to actively recruit,
were asked to remain active. Other members, who no longer wanted to engage in day-to-day recruiting, became alumnae members of the Sorority.</p>
<p>The sole basis of the decision and the membership review was the women's
commitment to actively recruit.</p>
<p>It is here in communicating the results that we made a mistake. We misjudged
how these communications would be received. Delta Zeta deeply regrets that. On December 2, we informed each woman by mail whether she would be relieved of responsibilities to recruit and become an alumna member or remain on active collegiate status. As you know, active status at a struggling
chapter requires daily recruiting. In hindsight, Delta Zeta national
leadership should have once again returned to campus and communicated the
results in person with each woman.</p>
<p>Finally, we are offended at suggestions that decisions made at DePauw were
related in any way to our members' races and nationalities. We are proud of
the diversity of our members and alumnae nationwide, which reflect the
mandate in our *Constitution *that members will be selected solely on their
merits and without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin or
handicap. On each of our campuses, our faces reflect those of the
communities of which we are a part, and it is irresponsible to suggest
otherwise. Without its diverse population, Delta Zeta could not thrive as
it does on college campuses today.</p>
<p>Article III, Section 3 of the Delta Zeta <em>Constitution</em> reads: "All members
of Delta Zeta shall be chosen for moral, social and intellectual worth.
Membership shall not be denied because of race, color, religion, national
origin or handicap."</p>
<p>It is here that I call upon you to commit to supporting these women and
Delta Zeta on your campus. Please take steps at your campus and among your personal and online communities to spread the word about Delta Zeta, our
good works, and our support for DePauw chapter sisters and our National
Organization.</p>
<p>Shortly, I will be contacting many of you to develop specific actions that
can be taken. Please do not hesitate to contact me at
<a href="mailto:leadership@dzshq.com">leadership@dzshq.com</a> with
your suggestions, questions and concerns.</p>
<pre><code> In Delta Zeta,
Debbie Raziano
National
</code></pre>
<p>President</p>
<p>Delta Zeta Sorority - 202 East Church Street, Oxford, OH 45056 - (513)
523-7597
<a href="http://www.deltazeta.org%5B/url%5D">www.deltazeta.org</a></p>
<p>If you aren't going to do enough to save yourselves, why should anyone do it for you? </p>
<p>That's the lesson from the DePauw incident. I've seen it at my alma mater when the one sorority that didn't have a chapter house got a similar ultimatum from their International organization. They had always been at about 30 members while the other sororities were all near 140. In that similar situation they put a ton of effort into recruitment, namely Continuous Open Bidding (for those that don't know what COB means), and have tripled their numbers in just about 2 years.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The girls that weren't dedicated enough to their sorority or their chapter were given alumni status, but refused to take it.
[/quote]
I personally think what DZ did was morally wrong even if it was a choice they are entitled to make. But if you're going to defend it at least have the courage and honesty to defend what they actually did and not some fairy-tale version of it. If your version is to be believed, the reason the girls were dropped is they were not willing to take part in their sorority. As reported in the national media
[quote]
The 23 members included every woman who was overweight. They also included the only black, Korean and Vietnamese members. The dozen students allowed to stay were slender and popular with fraternity men. </p>
<p>The article continues (discussing a recruiting event):
They asked most members to stay upstairs in their rooms. To welcome freshmen downstairs, they assembled a team that included several of the women eventually asked to stay in the sorority, along with some slender women invited from the sorority’s chapter at Indiana University, Ms. Holloway said.</p>
<p>And as one of the mothers wrote in a letter to the New York Times "My daughter is one of the women who were ousted from Delta Zeta at DePauw University. Her commitment to the chapter is undeniable. She was the chapter treasurer, represented the chapter at the Greek Council on campus and participated in all activities. "
[/quote]
The treasurer didn't show dedication? And just how is a girl supposed to take part in recruitment when the National rep banished them upstairs?</p>
<p>In truth the DZ house at DePauw attracted girls who probably would not have been welcomed at the other houses (overweight, etc). And it turns out that at DePauw there weren't that many girls on campus compatible with the DZ girls willing to join a sorority, so the DZ house was small compared to the other houses. National saw that and realized the problem was the mainstream girl who joins a sorority wasn't interested in joining DZ compared to their other choices. So to rebuild membership they kicked out the ones they decided didn't fit the image they wanted and restarted. An action they are entitled to take since it is their club, even if I and many others find it reprehensible. </p>
<p>But to sugar-coat what they did and try to blame the girls they kicked out for not being "dedicated enough to their sorority" is morally bankrupt and verges on the disgusting. At least have the honesty to say "National thought those girls were repulsive and that things weren't going to get better, so they kicked them out". That's really what happened, isn't it? </p>
<p>And the deliberate trivialization of what happened differs in principle not a whit from the justification offered in China during the Great Leap Forward when Mao's policies caused between 20-43 million people to die. Mao said "to make an omelet you need to break a few eggs"; Surfalicious just as callously dismisses the impact on these girls and their lives with the remark "sometimes you need to cut your losses and move on". Losses, indeed!</p>
<p>In case you didn't know, there are always two sides to a story. Nationals has one view, and the New York Times chose to take another. Just because it was reported in the Times doesn't make it right. I'm sorry you feel that what DZ Nationals did was wrong, but sororities are businesses, and sometimes you need to cut away the "dead" parts in order for your overall business to grow. De Pauw's chapter was not economically viable anymore for Nationals.</p>
<p>Recruitment occured after the vote was taken, and the girls with the true dedication to their chapter had stepped forward. If you don't want to put in whatever it takes to keep your chapter afloat, why would you want to be downstairs flat out lying to girls faces about dedication to the chapter? "Oh yes, we all LOVE DZ. That's why we don't want to put forth more of an effort to expand our chapter."</p>
<p>I don't think my post was morally bankrupt/verged on the disgusting. It is what it is-us debating over it isn't going to get the chapter reinstated.
I can't tell you what Nationals thought of those girls, but from what I understand, the girls that were given alumni status were those who did not want to help the chapter by giving more time and more effort into recruitment. Those girls happened to be the girls who didn't fit your typical "sorority women" image. The media has sensationalized this story, because they want to give ALL Greek organizations a bad name. Unfortunately, it's working.</p>
<p>How can you deny such discrimination that exists in the greek system? After all, the articles were reported by the New York Times as well as CNN. The truth is out, and stop criticizing the weak DZ girls at DePauw. It's time to shed light on how discriminating the greek system is.</p>