I think several of us are posting strong opinions about what the people who have been in Greek life are saying about how people are chosen.
@SJ2727 There is some truth with finances. But the main reason why thatās a factor is the chapter predicting whether or not the person can pay dues. Greek life can be very expensive as there are many hidden costs beyond dues such as trips or other events that are extra. Chapters donāt want members dropping due to not being able to pay so for the spots they have they want to give them to those that can be active for 4 years. Social media is used as another factor just to give a background on a person. If someone posts a lot of pics from high school with alcohol, drugs or raging parties thatās a sign they could be a potential liability if thatās their main social media presence.
Funny you should mention this. I went to the ICCA West Coast Regionals (or whatever round it was) last Saturday night and I can safely say, no, no dress code for A Capella groups. Unless capes count. =))
Are you suggesting that itās a problem that people who are critical of fraternities and sororities are posting here, and that we could solve the problem if the only people who posted were people who had had good experiences? This is genius!
The problem with threads like these and the internet in general is the people that are posting the strongest opinions of opposition have not had personal experience with the Greek system. Or perhaps they had a bad experience and assume everyone else will too or simply harbor resentment.
I am one whoās daughter had a bad experience. Do I harbor resentment? You bet I do. Does that mean I canāt share my experience. The system sucks and is not all rosy. Iām sure there are positives but there are also negatives and I feel people should be allowed to hear both sides.
āThe professional photos sororities ārequireā is similar to senior pics most people take. Itās just to put a face with a name.ā
Naive if you think thatās all itās used for. Just my opinion.
I had a funny discussion this weekend in a car with D1 & D2 this weekend. D2 was explaining to us on how the 2nd year law internship recruiting week was going to work. She said it would be a week long of activities. The students would meet all law firms that are recruiting on campus, then the law firms would rank all applicants and applicants would put in X number of preferences. The computer would match applicants up with firms based on each otherās ranking/preferences to match them for interviews. I was driving at that time, I blurted it out, āHey, it just like a sorority rush.ā Both girls laughed and said, āWe knew it would come in handy.ā
Wait, what? Most people have professional photos taken for their senior girls, with a head shot, a three quarter shot and a full body shot? This is not my experience. It sounds expensive.
Sidebar- unless you are a professional actor or model, you should not be applying for ANY job in the US which asks for a photo (itās different in Europe).
It is a highly discredited practice to ask for a photo, and has been shown to correlate highly with discriminatory hiring practices in terms of race, age, gender, etc.
Whether these forms of discrimination exist for voluntary organizations (i.e. sororities) which ask for photos I leave to those more savvy than I. But the link between a photo and job discrimination has been well established in human resources.
Carry on.
And I donāt know anyone who paid for professional photos for their college kids- except for an actor. We took pictures at graduation of the kid in the cap and gown, that seemed to work fine. Who pays for senior photos anymore?
@blossom I was mistaken to assume everyone does senior pictures then. Itās common back at my high school for guys and girls. But good info for applying to jobs. Makes complete sense.
What they mean is a head shot picture, not one at a party or waterskiing or dressed in costume. A passport type picture.
One skill I learned from Rush was how to talk to anyone for 5 minutes.
I am so glad my kids mastered that skill in high school. Along with manners and appropriate dress. It can be accomplished without college Greek life.
"The professional photos sororities ārequireā is similar to senior pics most people take. " - So can they just use senior pictures? (Iām assuming most high schools have yearbooks / senior photos). If itās just to keep track of names/faces, it seems that would be sufficient.
Absolutely they can use their senior pictures. Most did in the olden days, but now with cell phones some print one of those.
I donāt think either of my kids submitted pictures. One was rushing at a campus that has a chapter of my sorority and she had 4-5 letters of recommendation from people who have known me and her since she was tiny. No pictures.
What Iām getting here is that poorer first gen students are at a big disadvantage. Trying to reconcile that with earlier protests against the impression of elitism. (Iām also wondering how much of the āself segregationā that takes place is due to these kind of factors.) Certainly this and the other thread are enlightening in respect of how important family social standing/connections/networks are, I had somehow (naively I guess) thought students would be judged on their own merits, even if some of that is superficial.
Iād be interested in learning more about the more philanthropic/service etc type Greek life that someone mentioned earlier. Iād assume the characteristics required of those would differ?
Iām a sorority/fraternity hater, but I confirm that regular sororities raise money and contribute labor, sometimes a lot of it, for worthwhile charities.
@SJ2727 Our fraternities at school raise quite a bit for charities. The sororities do as well, with fraternity participants in the sorority philanthropy being the main source of funds. For a fraternity āteamā to participate they have to pay a large amount to the respective sorority philanthropy. Community service is also required at most chapters.
But are there charitable chapters that primarily bid on people showing interest in these aspects rather than photos and parent connections, is what Iām trying to get at? I know there are some that are a bit more focused (without knowing details of how it works, for example Iāve heard of a sorority mainly aimed at cinema/performing arts) - Iām assuming these will be more meritocratically focused? Or is that still naive?
Also though I realize Iām probably drifting too far off topic now. If someone could point to some informative websites etc that would be helpful.
There are organizations called āservice fraternities.ā One is Alpha Phi Omega. Theyāre focused on philanthropy.
@oldfort - I just recently remarked that sorority rush was excellent job interview training!
I donāt know anything about photos/headshots for recruitment. It was not a thing back in my day.
I have written several alumnae recommendations for several young women in the last 10 years. The information asked for is either factual (address/ HS attended) or related to academics and character.
I was personally a first gen student ( I knew nothing about legacy), community college transfer with limited money when I pledged. That was decades ago, I know but I also know first gen women who have pledged recently.