The best fit line does show a decline since 2010, regardless of whether you look at the last pre-COVID-19 year of 2019 or the COVID-19-affected years of 2020 or 2021.
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I’m talking about the best fit line from 1970 to today. Does that help?
Qualitative research might also inform the trend over the last ten years that you are referencing as well. I don’t have any personal insight into that one.
It would for D20; throw in some coding, D&D campaigns and Marvel film outings and she’d be hooked 
IAS she and I were discussing this documentary last night. She said they discussed UA and other schools’ fraternities and sororities in her Honors Seminar course about cults and secret societies. While most were classified as secret societies, she said the students made a case for some at UA to cross into cult territory. We’re curious to watch it for that aspect, but realize it will likely be very one sided. The psychology of it all is fascinating and somewhat frightening all at the same time.
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The Real Housewives of NYC do not portray the reality for most women in NYC either.Television shows focus on the outlandish not the typical.
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Most women who would fit that stereotype wouldn’t agree to be on that show franchise because the lifestyle that it requires would cost them more money more than it would benefit them financially.
Not to mention, the network wouldn’t choose them because their lives are just far too boring to entertain their target demographic.
Just like the average girl at U Alabama isnt represented by the show either
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Anyone with a basic education and average intelligence should know that the people- of any race, creed, gender, etc.- that agree to be on these shows are doing it for the opportunity to perform. I’m sure U Alabama has theater and performance arts students in Greek life that will put on a show that will entertain some. And I’m sure at least a few will get the careers they are hoping for out of it, at least until HBO network execs decide they aren’t making them enough money.
Good for them, but I’m not watching, and I don’t have HBO.
I make a distinction, perhaps incorrectly, between documentaries and reality TV series. I’m guessing there is a group of people who would be comfortable with being in the former but not the latter. While there may be some students who agreed to be in this doc to perform or to parlay it into a career opportunity, I’m not making that assumption about everyone in it. Tons of people agree to be in documentaries for motivations other than fame.
Just because this documentary concerns a subculture that is stereotyped as superficial and performative, it doesn’t mean that the filmmakers have the same goals as some reality TV producers who are straightforwardly selling salacious drama. Most people give the benefit of the doubt to filmmakers who produce documentaries on more “serious” topics. I’m not making any assumptions about the motivations of the team behind this doc. I’ll make guesses about that after I see what they’ve made.
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If not, then a libel case would seem likely.
That looks intriguing. And it highlights all of the reasons why D24 doesn’t want to be in a sorority and why she won’t be applying to Alabama.
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I read somewhere that the university did not sanction the project so it will be interesting if there are repercussions for the participants.
I haven’t watched the trailer but may watch the show since I have HBO. I attended another SEC and was in a sorority so understand the basis for these stereotypes… but also that they by no means are 100% representative of Greek life or even the university experience for the majority of students. Additionally, the sororities at these schools are large and include a wide range in their memberships. My personal experience was similar to @sursumcorda 's, and I appreciate the leadership experience and life-long friendships that were born of that time.
There are legitimate concerns about access and inclusivity that thankfully are being acknowledged and addressed… although not as quickly or as successfully as many would hope. My D did not want the “SEC Greek experience” and would not have participated, but it would not have prevented her from attending one of those universities if they otherwise were a good fit.
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This documentary is taking an extreme example (arguably THE most extreme example) of sorority rush and making money off the shock value. No surprises there. Alabama rush has had a popular Tik Tok presence for a while now, highlighting the same things as the documentary will (I’m guessing Tik Tok was the inspiration).
People are going to think what they want to think about Greek life, at Alabama or elsewhere and there is little that will change their minds. There are negatives, absolutely, which we see blown up in the media but what’s never shown are the many positives - the dedication to serving in the communities in which their colleges reside, the millions of dollars raised by Greek orgs for their philanthropies, the hard work by those who run the day-to-day operations at their chapters, the leadership and networking opportunities, etc. Greek life can be vastly different from university to university. YMMV.
It’s not for every kid and that’s perfectly fine. There are hundreds of other club opportunities at the average university (some of which, as others have pointed out, have more brutal “rush” than the sororities). Both my girls went through rush at ACC universities and joined sororities. Neither of them have personalities anywhere close to the girls in the documentary. They enjoyed their time, held leadership positions, made friends and are none the worse for wear.
It’s sad that Alabama will probably always be known first and foremost for this sorority rush nonsense rather than for its many academic benefits like those that tsbna’s son has experienced.
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Documentaries like this one are often used as large-market screen tests for adaptation to reality TV. Given the topic (or, really, clear lack of an obvious topic, like a particular true crime case or story in the media), that is what I would assume this so-called documentary is. It is far cheaper to produce one long episode for steaming after the idea passes the first production hurdle than it was to produce limited release movies in theaters prior to the advent of steaming services.
HBO is a business, and businesses like to make money. That’s all this is.
Documentarians can be very exploitative. This is TV, after all.
I have several friends who are considering U Alabama for their children and even one whose child attends OOS. I’m from the mid-Atlantic. Our in-state flagships have fewer seats per our eligible population, and virtually all of us look to OOS schools like U Alabama as a safety (financial, admissions-based, etc.) over our weaker, under resourced in-state schools. I can see why U Alabama would not sign off on this project.
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The director has historically been a legitimate documentarian not a sensationalist.
The school and Greek community at UA not only didn’t sanction the documentary but punished and banned anyone accused of participating in its creation.
Have you actually seen the documentary or is that a reflexive statement based on your daughters experience?
Reality is UA can be known for multiple things at once and they can all be true. UA has outstanding sports, great merit aid, solid academics in some areas, and a Greek population that 36% of the community participates in that dominates campus culture. None of this is mutually exclusive.
Concerns arise when the positives are constantly promoted regardless of fit in the absence of considering and highlighting the culture and its potential negatives for some students.
100% agreed and thanks for saying it!
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Yes, I think most schools that have a greek system have the same issues that will be highlighted in this documentary. Definitely if your kid does not like the sorority/fraternity system do not apply to ANY schools that offer the culture.
Well “documentary” sounds much more educational and legitimate. However, the goal of this series is to attract an audience and get a season II.
Sadly, yes, yes, and yes. Most pictures of sororities and fraternities that I see are phenotypically monoracial, maybe with 5-10% not of the same race (and usually it’s 0% or 1 or 2 individuals not of the same race).
My impression is that hazing tends to be much more common (or at least much more severe) at fraternities rather than at sororities. My sense is that in stereotypical Greek life, sororities might be much worse on a student’s feelings of self-image while fraternities might be much worse on a student’s physical health. Both can be very damaging to students’ sense of self-worth. I acknowledge that there are universities where the Greek life is not stereotypical and would love to learn more about them. For anyone who wants to share, there is a thread for it: Colleges with Non-Stereotypical Greek Life
That might be the quote of the day. 
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I disagree with this. Having a Greek presence does not indicate the same Greek experience at all schools. For example, Greek life at CWRU is nothing at all like at a large public like Bama.
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Source please? This is a one and done documentary based on the press release.
Interesting that in spite of not having seen it you assume the worst of its content.
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What in the actual victim blaming/shaming are you trying to say? Who is allowing others to harm them?
I don’t think anyone believes that kids from Alabama aren’t getting jobs. People realize that there are smart, hardworking kids getting good educations from Alabama and all state schools and are gainfully employed after.
That is horrific and the most damning thing that they could have done. I can understand the Greek community and Alabama not participating. I can understand sororities/fraternities asking that potential new members and members to not cooperate with the documentarians. Those actions are all within the rights. But if the University of Alabama is punishing and banning students for participating in a documentary, that would be egregious and a violation of the students’ rights.
Greek life in the south, especially at SEC schools, IS different than Greek life in most other areas of the country. At my daughter’s large midwestern state school, the percent of students involved in Greek life is probably similar to at Alabama, and I am sure it has a lot of the same issues that are associated with Greek life in the South. The differences, though, are not insignificant: In order to rush at most SEC sororities, students need to arrive a week or more BEFORE classes even start in the fall. Kids are rushing before they even step into a classroom. Most other schools have shifted to requiring students to wait at least one semester to rush.
The amount of money involved in Greek life at SEC schools is many times more than at either of the schools my kids attend (one in the Big 10, one in the ACC). I compared Alabama’s sorority range to the more expensive of my kids’ schools and the dues at Alabama are about 3X the Big 10 school. That in and of itself is exclusionary in a way not related to merit, as the examples about working for Google or getting into an Ivy are. This difference in the financial base manifests itself in many ways, including the opulent houses at Alabama and other southern schools. I know multiple kids from our northern town who have gone to Alabama and who were in sororities — some in highly ranked ones, and others in lower ranked ones. All of the houses were far beyond anything I have seen at state flagships in the north and Midwest.
And a final big difference between Alabama sororities especially and those outside the south is the extent to which they have utilized social media over the past several years. It’s no surprise that this documentary will focus on Alabama. Bama Rush has been HUGE on TikTok, making stars out of girls like Kylan Darnell. The university and Greek life may not have invited these documentarians in, but they have allowed the public in by the way that potential new members and members have utilized social media. The sororities post their elaborate dances and chants that they perform for rush, not just for those rushing but for everyone to see. Kids post the details of their rush OOTDs, they post from bid day, and they even post when things don’t work out and they pack up and leave the university before school even starts because they don’t want to be there anymore. Some of the situations of alleged racism and leaving the university are likely isolated incidents, but it’s also true that members and sororities especially are using social media for attention and marketing, too.
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