<p>I've heard on other campuses that once you go Greek, you wouldn't ever associate with someone who wasn't Greek. I didn't find it to be that way at Northwestern. I happened to associate mostly with my friends who were in my house, but that was just me -- no one would have looked down on someone whose friends happened to be in a different house or not in the Greek system. Is that your experience, too, NUGraduate, given that we are contemporaries?</p>
<p>I hung out mostly with kids in the Greek System, but mostly because they were the ones I lived with, had parties with, etc... I was, and still am, friends with some who weren't in houses also. I don't think anybody ever looked down on people who weren't in houses - they just didn't come into contact with them as often.</p>
<p>BTW, the rush video was interesting, but misleading. Some people are judgemental, some aren't (whether in fraternities, sororities or gd-dmnd-independent.) Some judge on looks, some on humor, some on intelligence, etc... You can make a negative story out of any data, it's all in what you show, and what you don't.</p>
<p>Remember, fraternities and sororities have their own cliques as well aside from the clique I hung out w/in my fraternity, I often hung out more w/ friends (from my frosh year) who joined other fraternities or didnt go greek.</p>
<p>From my impression, the Greek system at NU is not about crowning people as most social or most beautiful (as the stereotypes say about Greeks in other places) but rather providing people (anyone) structured space for socializing. They're not exclusive in that people who are Greek are still friends with non-Greeks, and non-Greeks are welcome at Greek social events. Also, it's impossible to tell who's Greek or not because the stereotypes about how Greeks are supposed look and socialize are NOT TRUE at Northwestern (as much as some of them secretly like to ride on these stereotypes). If anything, a lot of the non-Greeks feel confident enough in their social skills to have a decent social life without having to rely on a structured social group and are, in this way, more socially adept. Greek or not, Northwestern students are assertive, classy, confident, humble, and nice. My main reason for not joining, though, is that as a gay male, I cannot see myself socializing with mostly straight males who talk mostly about heterosexual stuff.</p>
<p>Huh, so in other words, everything we told you about turned out to be pretty much like what we told you :-). Glad to hear it, Sanjenferrer, and glad to hear that you're liking NU just fine.</p>
<p>sanjenferrer,</p>
<p>Did you join any LGBT student group?</p>
<p>I was going to disagree with the assertion that we talk about "mostly heterosexual stuff", but I suppose depending on your view point that could be true. I mean, at my house we certainly don't talk about girls all that often, but we do spend a lot of time talking about sports, watching bond movies, and playing Halo. And I've not had many theater related conversations, even with the theater majors in the house. Of course, those are all blatant stereotypes I know to be unfitting, but that's more or less the only thing I can imagine you meant.</p>
<p>Regardless, I'm glad you're so positive about the school (and the greek system!) as a whole!</p>
<p>I'd like to remind everyone that all of the kids in the greek system at Northwestern are still Northwestern students, and they are far more stereotypically Nerdwestern than they are greek. </p>
<p>Also, for all the people who bash the greek system, know that there are a lot of us in the greek system who meet good people, have a good time, do well in school, and do good things for the community. There are certainly partiers and whatnot, but I think a lot of the mentality here is really work hard, play hard. Also, I'm surprised no one mentioned this, but you'll usually find that the most driven, ambitious, and, in my opinion, happy people, are in the greek system. It's easy to attack something you're not a part of, but if you want to know what it's like, pay extra attention to people who are actually a part of it.</p>
<p>join it if it is your thing. if it's not, then don't. work hard, play hard. you will still live on and graduate. and greek life is not exactly like what you see on TV or movies.</p>
<p>if you ever come visit, just grab any one of us who is wearing letters. we will be more than happy to tell you what its like to be a greek and show you around.</p>
<p>Hey everyone! I do not go to Northwestern, although I'm about to decide if I should go there for my MSJ. Anyway, I was part of a sorority for undergrad, and I'd like to just say that it was the best thing that happened to me. I know that greek life has a pretty negative reputation, and trust me, I NEVER wanted to join one. I'm from Europe and I only knew what greek life was based on certain crazy american college movies.</p>
<p>I can say this: greek life is going to differ on EVERY campus you go to. it's already been made clear to me that different chapters of one organization can differ ENORMOUSLY as well, although of course everyone holds the same core values.</p>
<p>my sorority holds high standards of scholarship, community service, as well as social life, which is not just parties parties parties at all. No. It's lifelong friendships, a huge alumni network, and therefore, another way to get a job!</p>
<p>i joined because i did not find a close circle of girl friends and i missed the close friendships. i had been on my high school's basketball team, and most of us had been in the middle school team. college was a complete change for me in terms of culture, language, and values.</p>
<p>i went through rush just to meet people. but that turned into me finding an amazing group of very diverse women who all studied hard, cared a lot about helping others, and who had fun together. yes we had parties. but non-greeks too! we didn't only socialize with each other. the mostpart of my friends from my sorority were involved in a dozen other groups on campus and therefore had non-greek friends abound! we helped each other study, we hung out, and did community service together.</p>
<p>for me greek life is something which is judged upon too quickly. there are some places where hazing occurs but just as a reminder this is ILLEGAL both in the views of greek life administration as well as by law. my sisters looked out for each other a lot more than it seemed like other non-greek kids did. my freshman year i was shocked to see so many kids get taken away by stretcher to the hospital bc they drank too much alcohol! (And i didn't go to a party school by the way!!) we looked out for each other and if someone was taking partying to the extreme, she would have 49 other sisters to remind her that she probably needed to draw the line.</p>
<p>that's my view on it anyway. if i do go to medill, i'll look forward to meeting the sisters from my sorority there, and see how our chapters differ.</p>
<p>good luck everyone! decisions are hard to make but your college or school experience in general will be what you make of it mostly.</p>
<p>T</p>
<p>I haven't read all these posts, but here are my thoughts on Greek life here (I'm a current freshman):</p>
<p>I'm about as uninvolved in the Greek scene here as it's possible to be: I never even considered rushing, most of my friends didn't rush, most of my friends aren't Greek, and I've never even been to a frat party. I met most of the people I'm good friends with here through my dorm (which is small and tight-knit) or through an organization I'm active in on campus, so I never had a reason to want to be involved in the Greek scene. </p>
<p>All that said, I can totally understand why someone would want to join a fraternity or sorority here. The Greek scene here is not evil, I promise. Most people at Northwestern are smart and dedicated to their work and activities, and at least reasonably nice. I feel that Greek organizations on campus are just another thing people are involved in, for the most part. In my experience (and maybe other people feel differently), it's really not something that divides people. I'm saying this as someone who was slightly worried about how Greek Northwestern is before I came here. It's not that big a deal. Join if you want, or don't. There's so much to do here, and you can meet people in many other ways.</p>
<p>Thanks for saying that, liketotally! Maybe on other campuses it's The Great Divide, but it certainly never seemed that way at NU, and I'm glad to hear that it still isn't that way.</p>
<p>"...is that as a gay male, I cannot see myself socializing with mostly straight males who talk mostly about heterosexual stuff."</p>
<p>Sanjen - good to hear that your fears have been dispelled.</p>
<p>Based upon my experience, I don't think the Greeks talked about "heterosexual stuff" any more than a group of non-Greek hetero males.</p>
<p>Could someone provide a realistic description of what "rushing" entails for a sorority? Everyone is so adamant that the video "Rushed" is inaccurate, so I'd just like to know what IS accurate.</p>
<p>Rush process? Bumpbump?</p>
<p>as a guy, i don't know that many details, but can tell you that i know only one girl who was disappointed in the process, and i don't think it had to do with anything in the documentary. the process can certainly be stressful, but its only like 4-5 days and at the end everybody seems to end up really happy</p>
<p>Hey Bustles,</p>
<p>The rush process for sororities is a week-long process. They put the freshmen girls in smaller groups headed by recruitment counselors (members of NU sororities who are 'disaffiliated' during the rush process). You talk to your recruitment counselor throughout rush week about how you're feeling, etc. </p>
<p>The first two days of sorority rush are probably the most hectic - there are 12 sorority houses at NU that you visit: 6 on the first day, 6 on the second day. It's a strictly timed cycle: you go from house to house in your recruitment group, visiting each house for about half an hour. When you enter a house, you'll talk one-on-one with 3-4 girls from that chapter, be served drinks and snacks, and the 30 minutes you spend in that house will go by really fast. You repeat this process until you've gone to the 6 houses you're supposed to go to - the process takes 3 hours.</p>
<p>That's the first day. The second day is the same thing, only with the 6 houses you haven't seen yet. From then on, you'll narrow down your choices and the sororities will narrow down who they like - it's a "mutually selective process." As the week goes by, you'll get called back to up to 9 houses, then up to 6 houses, then up to 3 houses - I THINK, if I remember correctly. And each time, you'll get to know the houses and the girls better, and you'll get more and more pampered as the week goes on. By the last day, when you only go back to up to 3 houses, you should have a good idea of which house is your favorite. After that night, you'll rank those last three houses by order of your preference, and the next night, you'll meet in a big auditorium, receive an envelope, and it will (hopefully) contain an invitation to join a sorority. A lot of girls end up with their first or second choice. I got my first. :)</p>
<p>A couple things to remember:</p>
<p>a.) Don't get swayed by other people's snarky comments. Some people are anti-Greek for completely unfounded reasons. Others have biases against certain sororities based on stereotypes that are complete BS. </p>
<p>b.) Don't take anything too personally during rush week. Each day as you're preparing to go back to the houses, you get a slip of paper telling you which houses have called you back. You might have really liked a certain house, only to find that they didn't invite you back - don't dwell on it, they only have a limited time to get to know you and it's nothing personal. That's probably the hardest part - I had to deal with that when a house I realy liked didn't call me back. Most girls do. </p>
<p>c.) You're going to inevitably feel burned out during rush week - you might end up putting off some of your reading, etc. Just keep in mind that all the other girls (those who are rushing and the girls in sororities) are feeling the exact same way. Once that week is over, at least in my opinion, the result is completely worth it.</p>
<p>I hope that helps. I haven't told you anything 'secret' - this is pretty much what you can expect if you go through sorority rush at Northwestern. I wish someone would have broken it down for me. If anyone has anything to add, feel free.</p>
<p>I should add, as far as how sororities select which girls they like, I'll say this - different sororities value different things in potential new members. What those qualities are, specifically, is not something you get to find out until you're a member of the sorority and getting ready to recruit new members.</p>
<p>Nobody can speak for all the sororities, BUT... if you take a look at the newest pledge class of any sorority, and take note of similarities among the girls... that should give you a good idea of what the sorority feels is important in a person.</p>
<p>...And I'll just leave it at that.</p>
<p>She means certain sororities pre-select who they'll let in based 100% on looks and money.</p>
<p>It's not the majority, fortunately - but for the couple that do, it's painfully obvious.</p>