Greek Life is a composition of dozens of chapters which exemplify the qualities of community, philanthropy and a bond of friendship that most will treasure for their entire lives. LSU’s Greek community is no exception to this.
We have chapters and individual members within those chapters who embody all of these principles and many more. Unfortunately, there are certain stereotypes that exist for Greek Life in its entirety and for the individual chapters at LSU.
These stigmas exist solely because people say they exist and it is such a shame that a group of people is classified and defined by what is said about them rather than what they truly are.
One such stereotype is that the Tri Delta sorority is exclusive. It is said that we do not “branch out” and make friends with others outside of our little friend bubbles. I am here, obviously, to dispel this misconception.
First, I did not even know that this stereotype existed when I was going through rush or when I pledged Tri Delt. When I walked into the Tri Delt house, they always welcomed me with sincere love, and that was one of the major reasons that I chose it in the end. To think that we are perceived as being closed off to people is just beyond my comprehension because that is not what I have experienced at all.
Second, there are a countless number of girls who negate this stigma within Tri Delt, but I am going to highlight one in particular. Gracie Reaux is a junior Graphic Design major and she is one of the most endearing people I have ever met. When I was approaching her to talk to her about this subject, she was chatting with three precious girls that she ran into and the way she was speaking to and treating them was as if they were the most important people in the entire world. I knew right then that she was the prime example to dispel this stereotype.
I asked some other people about her and one thing that resonated was that she truly cares about what is going on in others' lives. Laura Alexander, the Tri Delta Rush Chair and another shining example of someone who emits love in all directions, said she sees Gracie going from table to table at dinner inquiring about everyone’s week, even remembering the little details about their life like a big test in accounting or the haircut they got yesterday.
Gracie’s infectious spirit goes beyond the Tri Delt walls, though. She has been involved in GBOD - the Greek governing body - since her freshman year, currently serving as the assistant director of PR, having served as a Gamma Chi during rush this year. She tremendously values leadership, so she is involved in copious leadership opportunities such as Empower and the Louisiana Youth Seminar, which both help develop and nourish leadership qualities among individuals.
It is safe to say, therefore, that she interacts with many other members of the Greek community. She treasures all of these opportunities to meet fellow greeks because she says she loves getting on the bus to go to class and being able to chat with friends in other houses whom she does not get to see very often and then, conversely, being able to hop off the bus at her Tri Delta home and catch up with her sisters.
Gracie clearly enjoys meeting everyone in the community, not just those who are her sisters. This is not to say that she does not also value her chapter. Her sisters were there for her in a heartbeat last year when she experienced the unbearable loss of her father and needed a humongous support system to help her endure. When she gazed up at her father’s funeral and saw that both of her littles were there to hold her hand and be anything she needed in that moment, she realized that, “Those ideals that we say before and after the meetings – we uphold them through thick and thin."
She is so unbelievably grateful for Tri Delta and the huge role it plays in her life, but she is also aware that it is not her whole life and that is okay. While she knows she is a member of Tri Delta, she is also a member of the Greek community and she would not have her chapter if it were not for the greater body which comprises numerous chapters who are all stronger together rather than separate. She desires to be a part of something greater than herself as she helps lead our community to achieve goals that would be impossible if we were not united.
Gracie takes the Tri Delta ideal of steadfastly loving one another and completely dispels the stereotype of exclusivity as she runs up and down the row making friends in every house and serving them in any way. I'm so proud to call her my friend and, even more so, my sister.