It’s old news that Alabama sorority recruitment isn’t diverse. That’s been hashed to death, and has little to do with other more normal systems that aren’t beholden to “mummy used to belong to this house.”
As someone who used to have a body like that and no longer does, I only wish I’d immortalized it in video form. Lol.
Seriously - some schools are known for airhead blondes parading around in bathing suits and maybe every now and then attending class, others are known for girls with more purpose and ambition (but can look great too). To each her own. This video hardly seems “controversial.” No one expected Alabama sorority girls to be junior Einsteins.
And there’s no sin in being (conventionally) attractive and no great virtue in not being attractive.
This is a ridiculous tempest in a teapot and the guy who wrote that is really reaching with his outrage. He clearly doesn’t get out much.
I’ll assume that you really don’t have any experience at all with southern greek life. You will be shocked, to learn that in states where the hot weather starts in April and extends through October, everyone (not just sorority girls) spend a lot of free time at campus pools, Lake Tuskaloosa and even (gasp) ocean beaches. I attended another SEC school and was a member of a sorority whose house boasted a very nice sundeck on the roof. As a tall (formerly) willowy blonde, I spent a fair amount of time up there in my white bikini. Like Pizzagirl, I also wish I had been immortalized at that stage in a recruitment video
So yes, horrifying as it may be to some, college students at these schools spend lots of free time in swim suits, pursuing water sports, and yes, hanging out with your friends on the dock, enjoying the weather. Putting it in a recruitment video is good marketing for new members who may actually want to have some outdoor fun instead of spending 24/7 in a library.
Honestly, some people on CC really amaze me with their cynicism.
Oh, I’m sorry I’m confusing controversial with utterly embarrassing. Is there a reason why they wouldn’t even make a comment to news outlets or standby a media product in which they obviously placed a fair amount of resources.
Do you mean Alpha Phi at Alabama or Alpha Phi national? National might not even have had a clue what the Alabama chapter was doing in terms of a video.
The most disturbing thing about the video was that it was produced by two guys. Apparently Alpha Phi couldn’t come up with a couple of sisters capable of filming and producing this without outside help.
“I didn’t think the bathing suit parts of the video really reflected what the sorority does. Do we really think they all go down to the dock and hang with ‘just the girls’?”
Nope. I bet with bodies like that, the guys come along too.
Really. They are a social organization so they portrayed themselves doing social things and having fun. Because they are young, cute girls, they portrayed themselves as … Young cute girls. Shocking.
I didn’t go to a school in weather that lent itself to being in a bathing suit all that much, but it totally makes sense that that’s a big part of the social scene at an SEC / warm weather school.
Very little about service to community or other positive contributions Pan-Hellenic organizations love to trot out as arguments for how their organizations benefit the campus and larger surrounding communities.
Interesting…
Was it possible they did so because your sorority served great food and they wanted a good reliable source of free meals or doing research to play practical jokes on your sorority members or all your friends at other fraternities/sororities?
Yes, the guys all applied to be servers at the sororities to play “practical jokes” on the girls and get free food. They had absolutely no other reason for a part-time gig at a sorority because after all, what could possibly be more important than food and practical jokes.
And it seems like some didn’t get the joking tone from the emoticon…and then talks about whether someone’s clued in…
Interesting…
The former is required for one’s basic sustenance…especially considering some 17+ year old men are still growing boys. The latter is meant to provide some mirthful amusement and existential meaning to their college years so they can look back upon it with a huge smile.
Putting aside the diversity issue, I just found this absolutely appalling. Everyone in my family has been a part of a sorority, including me, and I couldn’t believe my eyes, to be honest. Does U of A have a degree in Becoming a Kardashian or a Real Housewife? Because that’s the message I get from this ridiculous video. I would think the University would be embarrassed. It has been fighting a weak reputation for years, trying to position itself as a more academic institution with free tuition to highly qualified student. This (and the other Alabama sororities’ videos that appear to be similar) would seem to set that effort back significantly.
I also can’t believe with all the scrutiny of the Greek system lately, that not one member at least questioned the wisdom of the video. Where is the talk about the successful alumni, philanthropy, and academics? I have always felt the need to defend sororities from the “inaccurate” portrayal of sororities on TV and in the movies, but apparently those depictions are more realistic than I ever realized.
Some on here question why this is controversial. Really? These are college students who seem to have reduced themselves to dolls. Bikinis are necessary? Sucking on popsicles? Tossing your hair around like your head is empty? Sometimes I really believe as women we are own worst enemies.
No, no one played practical jokes - how stupid and immature. Guys wanted to be servers because it was a great way of getting to know cute girls on campus. Hot off the presses - guys like girls and vice versa. Film at 11.
This is the University of Alabama. It’s not MIT. What did you expect? It’s consistent with the Alabama brand - which is about good times, socialization, roll tide / football games, tailgating, etc.
And if this were the MIT Alpha Phi recruitment video the girls would be more diverse ethnically, they’d be more covered up and they’d likely emphasize some aspects of scholarship because that’s what MIT attracts.
You can’t take it out of context of the actual school.
“I also can’t believe with all the scrutiny of the Greek system lately, that not one member at least questioned the wisdom of the video. Where is the talk about the successful alumni, philanthropy, and academics? I have always felt the need to defend sororities from the “inaccurate” portrayal of sororities on TV and in the movies, but apparently those depictions are more realistic than I ever realized.”
Maybe their target audience couldn’t care less about successful alumnae members. Maybe they know their audience well, and the problem is that some of you wish that audience didn’t exist.
Or maybe they are just too blonde, sexy and pretty and therefore need to be taken down a peg. That’s what the UCSB shooter thought, too - he targeted Alpha Phi there (but wound up shooting two girls in a different house who were walking by).
Sorry you are so appalled blprof. What kind of recruitment video does your former chapter put out? Do you really think that there are no successful alumna from the Alabama greek system? Do you think that the average PNM at most schools would watch a video featuring the sisters pulling all-nighters at the library and showing photos of successful middle-aged alums featuring their professional credentials would really inspire the majority of the young women to want to pledge that chapter?
I don’t know why seeing a video of gorgeous young women having fun together seems to inspire such hostility from other women. When I went to school being good looking and having silly fun didn’t seem to keep many of my fellow sorority sisters out of law school, med school or mba programs. Fortunately there are lots of serious, intelligent grown women for younger sisters to look up to who also like to take care of their bodies and hair and wear makeup. No need to be ashamed of looking good and being proud of it.
Wow. Just wow. This video seems to be completely reinforcing the “dumb blond” stereotype. There is nothing wrong with being smart and caring about your appearance. I would like to think I fit into that category, as does my mother, my sisters, and my daughters. What about this video suggests that these girls are smart? Or that they care about anything other than how they look? There are certainly ways to show how fun a sorority can be without turning it into a bikini video. To joblue, there is a lot of ground between showing girls in a library and an ass shot of a girl holding a flag,. And frankly, this video seems to be made to be made to appeal to the fraternaties as much as for potential new members.
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The most disturbing thing about the video was that it was produced by two guys. Apparently Alpha Phi couldn’t come up with a couple of sisters capable of filming and producing this without outside help.
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That isn’t “disturbing”. This house may not have an upper-division film major in it.
Yes, the girls are beautiful. I don’t know why people are assuming that they’re idiots and air-heads who won’t have future successful careers. I have followed many girls like this over the last 8 years. Some have become RNs, speech pathologists, RDs, teachers, engineers, etc, and some have gone onto law school, med school, and other grad programs.
