<p>I know its early, but, who all is planning on rushing their 1st year?</p>
<p>I think I might but I'm not completely sure.</p>
<p>maybe, here too</p>
<p>Yeah, I don't wanna go into the process with my mind made up or anything. I guess right now I'd just say maybe too.</p>
<p>What is your motivation behind joining frats/sororities? They just create further segregation.</p>
<p>personally, i'd go to a frat for the social aspect. a place to make friends and such i guess.</p>
<p>i not super familiar w/ frats, so im still keeping an open mind</p>
<p>Stop spreading your stereotypes tenniscraze. Why don't you let us make our own decisions.</p>
<p>Wait, tenniscraze doesn't give into stereotypes. He took some ANTH class, remember?</p>
<p>A lot of people rush just for the fun of it. If you think you're even slightly interested it's worth rushing even if you aren't sure you want to pledge or don't want to.</p>
<p>A friend of mine in college once told me that joining a frat/sororities is literally paying for friends. I don't know how true is, but I remembered this statement.</p>
<p>And that some ANTH really opened my eyes and it's FACT that they do create segregation within the university. This is definitely reflective of the criterias you need to meet in order to be part of the brotherhood or the sisterhood. A famous example is of course paying "dues" when essentially this means you're buying friends. If you can't pay your dues, too bad, you're out. This definitely defeats the whole purpose of a sisterhood or brotherhood. What makes them think they cannot run successfully without the dues? They're there for the drinking, the girls and solely self-interest activities. You're constantly in popularity contests and if you can't keep up with it, you're done. Even so, your dues are often in hundreds per month. </p>
<p>Obviously, they discriminate. Your looks, background and ethnicity matter when rushing in a frat/sor. You can't be a DG if you don't look pretty; you're basically delegated to the other sororities who will be forced to take you in due to quota rules. Your parents have to be rich in order to have connections that hopefully will save one of the brothers or sisters in the future in case of emergency. For the simplest reason really, it's all about money. You almost have to be white in order to get in. You have to prove you're up to par if you're not white by showing other things you're equally just as competent in. </p>
<p>These exclusive rules create further segregation amongst the university community, and obviously shows the elitist attitudes of the greek community. The greek system destroys your individuality and self-uniqueness. I know a friend of mine who talks, acts and thinks SO differently now after she's joined Tri-Sig. It's unbelievable how they all strive for the same thing: elitism.</p>
<p>"If you can't pay your dues, too bad, you're out. "</p>
<p>not so in my house. i know people who havent paid their dues in ages due to financial problems. not only are they exempted from dues, they are given scholarships.</p>
<p>"they discriminate"</p>
<p>every entity discriminates. The United States of America denies numerous visa requests and green card requests each year.</p>
<p>"Your looks, background and ethnicity matter when rushing in a frat/sor."</p>
<p>not all houses, but DEFINITELY at least 1/3 of the fraternities, and 1/2 of the sororities.</p>
<p>"elitism"</p>
<p>a little elitism is allright,too much is bad</p>
<p>question: wat about service frats?</p>
<p>
[quote]
A friend of mine in college once told me that joining a frat/sororities is literally paying for friends. I don't know how true is, but I remembered this statement.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not true. Almost all clubs require dues--is THAT paying for friends? I had to pay hundreds of dollars to play field hockey and cheerlead in high school--just the cheerleading uniforms alone were nearly $200. Was I paying for friends then? A lot of money goes into running an organization like a fraternity or sorority; it costs a lot to maintain a house, pay for parties, pay for t-shirts and merchandise, and pay various expenses specified by the NPC/NIC. The myth of 'paying for friends' is stupid and offensive.</p>
<p>As for Tenniscraze, well, I could go all day arguing with Tenniscraze. Why should you be interested in the Greek system? There's a lot of reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Social networking in college. Being a party of a frat or sorority--or even just rushing!--is a great way to meet a lot of new people. If you choose to pledge, you will likely become great friends with the other people in your frat/srat, and you will constantly be invited to events where you can meet others in different organizations.</p></li>
<li><p>Continued social networking later in life. Once you're a part of a frat/srat, you're a member for life. Any time you meet somebody else who was a part of the same org., you will instantly have common ground and a starting point for conversation, friendship, employment, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Leadership opportunities. Frats and srats have presidents, vice presidents, treasurers, social chairs, Rush organizations, and tons of other opportunities to get involved and be a leader.</p></li>
<li><p>Philanthropy. All frats/srats support a cause and have fund-raisers and events to help it out.</p></li>
<li><p>A social outlet. Frats and srats have all sorts of parties, not just boozy basement Beirut tournaments. There are formals, semi-formals, outings to bars, mixers, golf outings, ice skating outings, dinners, and tons of other fun things.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The idea of Rush is that it will allow to you to find the organization with the people most similar to you. It will instantly take UVa from being a place with thousands of a students to a much smaller world with girls or boys who share similar experiences and interests to yours. Hopefully, a frat or sorority will be a place where you make life-long friends, give back to the community, and attend lots of fun events.</p>
<p>You all realize you can't rush your first year? UVa has deferred rush.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
You all realize you can't rush your first year? UVa has deferred rush.
[/QUOTE]
Students can rush in their 2nd semester of the first year.</p>
<p>I am curious of the ability of kids that are doing varsity sports to participate in greek life. I went greek at U of GA eons ago and loved it, but I did not participate in varsity sports. I know my D has expressed some (tentative) interest but realizes her sport and academics comes first so she is def. taking a wait and see attitude...my thought is that she should wait at least a year and see how she feels then based on her UVA experiences and desires. Is there any reason sor. would discriminate against those who wait?</p>
<p>Well tenniscraze, I'm an Asian girl at an all white sorority, so mine didn't discriminate or segregate. But yes, some do.</p>
<p>For me, I rushed purely on a whim, to see what the whole thing was about. Surprisingly, I found a group of girls that I liked, and they liked me, so I accepted the bid. I'm in the sorority because without it, I would not know these 150 amazing girls. Sorority events gives me an excuse to forcibly clear out my schedule and make time for them, otherwise I would not have the initiative to roll out of bed and meet them for even lunch. In a way, being in a sorority is something like being in college. you 'apply' (rush) and the adcom (sisters) decide if they like you and accept (extend a bid) to you. Once you're in, you have a whole new community (greek life) open to you and you make friends that last quite a while.</p>
<p>mckin43: Sororities do tend to prefer first years as that means the girls will be in the sorority longer. There are some that discriminate a bit towards second years (but then again, why would your daughter want to be in those anyways?) but most are very welcoming. I thought I would wait but no... second year means extreme busy time for me, so I wouldn't even consider rushing. I would say let your daughter rush in second semester first year so she knows what's it's all about. If she finds a group she likes that's all good and well, and they'll definitely understand a busy schedule, if not then no big loss. =)</p>
<p>The fact of stating that you're in an "all white" sorority attests to the discrimination within greek life. Why does it have to be a "white sorority"? These characterizations of greek is very true - that minorities are welcomed, only minimally however, and their chances of being offered a bid increases if these minorities conform to the characteristics of a white person. You even said that you have "more white friends than asian friends". Obviously, a huge extent of it is because you're in a sorority. While it's true that college is like a sorority, colleges are definitely more diverse in terms of their racial background, as opposed to what you would see in greek life. One good example would be Delta Gamma, which only has 2 black girls and 1 asian in its pledge class - AND 40 or so other pledge girls tthat are white.</p>
<p>Hmm, maybe I should have explained more why I thought it was all white. A lot of Asians, especially international students (and this doesn't mean I'm just limiting to Asians) don't understand the greek system. Soror - what? Frat? Did you misspell fart? So I'm exaggerating a little, but a lot of people genuinely don't understand the concept and have the stereotype that EVERYONE in greek orgs engage in drunken debauchery EVERY night etcetc. </p>
<p>So when rush time came around, they didn't give it any thought. In general, the whole Asian community is quite anti greek as they see it as the antithesis of their cultural values. (Can't speak for other ethnic identities of course). So to answer your question, it doesn't have to be a white sorority. It just happened to be that way. If the IFC or ISC was marketed more specifically to non whites, there would be a dramatic increase in the number of rushees. </p>
<p>I'm not so sure about your statement that minorities are welcome only minimally. At every single house I was welcomed, even those with the reputation of being a party srat. I genuinely feel that I was not invited back to various houses because of obvious personality clashes, you just know when you don't click with a group of girls. I am proudly and loudly Asian, and often go on about American customs and food in a jokingly derogatory voice. So in that regard, I don't really conform. </p>
<p>Just like some colleges are known more for a mostly white or non white population, so are the different sororities. For instance when I rushed Chi Omega, I was bowled over by the amounts of Asian girls and Indian girls I saw in my one little living room. </p>
<p>So to sum up because I feel like I'm rambling here: sororities are white because the Asian (and possibly other ethnic group) communities shun greek life, they're white because they happened to be that way, though I do agree there is some discrimination but not near the amounts that you think there are.</p>
<p>"If the IFC or ISC was marketed more specifically to non whites, there would be a dramatic increase in the number of rushees."</p>
<p>Even without being marketed to whites, frats and sororities ARE already dominated by white students. What results is the exclusion of minorities. </p>
<p>"I'm not so sure about your statement that minorities are welcome only minimally. At every single house I was welcomed, even those with the reputation of being a party srat."</p>
<p>What sorority girl would want to appear as discriminating when hanging out with rushees? That would just be seen as a horrid act. </p>
<p>Just FYI, I feel like there are certain sororities which don't conform to the general stereotype, but very few. I would include Chi-Omega as one of them since I personally know a couple of girls who are pretty nice. I'm also making a statement that every sorority is themed differently at every university. The chi-omega reputation at UVA for example is known for smart, hard working girls while Kappa Kappa Gamma girls here are southern and conservative. However, the KKG chapter at Stanford is liberal and athletic - almost ironic so to speak. What I find unsettling, however, are two things: 1) The reinforcement of genderization, as is evident from the zero possibility of a "sorority party"; girls, especially welcomed, territorially enter the grounds of fraternities through their parties. 2) The idea of being close to 150 girls who most, if not all sorority girls, claim to be amazing and one which "would not have happened if it wasn't for xxx sorority". This is absurd because it is impossible for every girl in a sorority to be as close to one another as they claim to be. Often a such a blanket statement clouds the view of a rushee who anticipates this eagerness, but later becomes disappointed to learn of this misconception. </p>
<p>Sororities like Delta Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta here are just a few sororities from which I can draw examples of their extreme elitism. KKG and KAT are known to check rushee's coat brands. Obviously, there is little denial that they are targeting rich (and pretty) girls so that they are financially sustainable in the long-term. KKG buys doughnuts and ice-cream on rush night; a rushee's account describes that if a girl eats both a doughnut and an ice-cream, she won't be eligible for a bid - the chances decrease as you are tempted by these sweet treats. Earlier at O-Hill today, I was standing in a line behind two DGs who were complaining and bittcching about other girls who stole their guy while we were waiting for food. The constant whining was intolerable and these girls were reminiscent of high school girls. </p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that when you rushed, you had to present some sort of evidence or account of being a good, hard working student.</p>
<p>Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh</p>
<p>btw, girls in Theta arn't considered "hot" -- just rich. they're are plenty of ugly girls in theta ;-).</p>