<p>Does anyone have experience with the sororities in Pepperdine? I've been reading up on a lot reviews of the school lately and what I've found is a lot of suggestions to join a sorority. I never pictured myself as a sorority girl, but I've also read that Pepperdine's Greek system is far different than the traditional Greek system at other colleges. So if anyone can offer anything about their sororities, I'd appreciate it. Thanks</p>
<p>The Pepperdie website recently posted this announcement about its Greek system:</p>
<p>Greek Organizations Recruit New Members for 2008</p>
<p>Recruitment 2008 recently concluded for the 11 Greek organizations of Pepperdine University. During the recruitment process, the four national fraternities and seven national sororities introduced prospective new members to the opportunities that exist for Greek life at Pepperdine University.</p>
<p>“Our Greek system is an incredible place that is constantly supporting and developing great leaders on our campus,” says Sabrina Jones, president of Pepperdine's Panhellenic Council. </p>
<p>Student Affairs director Jacob Gross reports that approximately 600 females and 300 males make up Pepperdine’s Greek community in any given year, accounting for about one-third of the Seaver College population. Members do not live in traditional Greek “houses,” as Pepperdine does not offer formal residences for fraternities or sororities.</p>
<p>Pepperdine University sororities include: Alpha Phi, Delta Gamma, Delta Delta Delta, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi. Each chapter holds a charity event every year to support its respective philanthropic mission. Causes include women’s heart disease, St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, Service for Sight, camping for girls, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Reading is Fundamental (RIF), and The People’s Burn Foundation. </p>
<p>Pepperdine University fraternal organizations include: Alpha Tau Omega, Psi Upsilon, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Phi Epsilon. Each fraternity also holds philanthropic events throughout the year like beach clean-ups and blood drives, and supports causes ranging from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to Youth Aids. </p>
<p>The sorority recruitment is a nationally mandated process including five days of events. Prospective members visit each “house” and a mutual selection process takes place until the prospective is paired up with a house on the final day. This year’s bid day took place September 15.</p>
<p>The fraternity recruitment process is slightly longer, with events held September 11 to 23. Each year interested male students register at an orientation held at the beginning of the school year, and then each fraternity sets a schedule of events over the two-week period, which any prospective member can attend. At the end of the two weeks, fraternities offer an invitation of membership to their chosen applicants, which they can accept or decline.</p>
<p>Locally, the Greek system at Pepperdine is overseen by a Panhellenic Council of elected officers. In addition, Pepperdine moved to a national Greek system in 1997, thus bringing a second level of supervision to issues such as hazing.</p>
<p>Gross says that hazing is “not a big problem” at Pepperdine. “Each fraternity and sorority must operate within the standards of Pepperdine and their national organization, and those are typically just as high as ours are,” he says. “If we were ever to face a situation where hazing was to occur, we’d move forward in partnership with the national organization to make sure it doesn’t happen again and the appropriate judicial sanctions are taken.” </p>
<p>Upcoming Greek events for the Fall 2008 semester include “Ante Up,” “Up Til Dawn,” “Queen of Hearts,” “Pie with the Pi Phi’s,” “Derby Days,” “Fashion For Life,” and winter formals.</p>
<p>I might be able to help because I'm a current student and I'm in a sorority. Pepperdine's social scene is definitely not dominated by the Greek system. Although I have lots of friends in almost every sorority/ fraternity on campus, I probably have just as many friends that aren't in a Greek house. If you don't think a sorority is right for you then it definitely won't be a problem if you're worried about not making friends or whatever. However, I would suggest going out for rush anyway. There is not a stereotypical sorority girl at Pepperdine and there are all different types of girls in every single sorority. I know a lot of people that probably wouldn't go Greek at other schools that are in sororities here and absolutely love it. Part of the reason for this is because there is a strict no drug/ alcohol policy here (even at off-campus Greek events) so a lot of the Greek events are focused on just having fun, meeting new people, and working on philanthropic events. Just be forewarned: rush can be very stressful but if you go in with an open mind about all of the sororities you can get a lot out of it. Personally, I went in thinking I would hate the sorority I'm in now but I ended up loving them and couldn't ask for a better group of sisters. If you have any more specific questions feel free to message me. I hope this helps!</p>