All sororities were created equal, each uniquely their own yet equally special. However, at colleges all across the nation, Greek Row is somehow ranked and filed on online forums, some houses considered lesser than others. But through what qualifications? Looks, GPAs, wealth, and which fraternities like them—because that’s what sisterhood’s all about, right? Wrong. This isn’t shouldn’t be why we rushed, and this certainly isn’t why our founders created these organizations.

Every year during recruitment, girls in search of belonging and sisterhood begin their Greek journey by going through formal recruitment. Yet an event that should lead to personal conclusions through independent experiences is often muddled with preconceived notions. Thousands of potential new members are handicapped from drawing their own conclusions on houses based off of rumors, reputations, and reviews from others girls in line and by anonymous trolls online.

One potential new member may fall in love with a sorority’s philanthropy, but then feels the need for validation from another in line, suddenly reconsidering when she hears “that sorority is full of sluts.” Another girl might laugh it up during meet the chapters with her recruiter about their love for pizza, yet suddenly questions the sense of belonging she felt when she Googles the chapter’s reputation on campus. Far too often in our Greek world, PNMs are swayed by the top house caste system that surrounds us. They feel scared when their favorite house isn’t considered “popular” on campus, beginning to reevaluate what felt like a good conversation and sense of belonging, all because of the constant pressure to fit into somewhere “cool.”

We need to put an end to this insecurity we’ve created and perpetuated year after year. We need to drop this high school popularity contest and begin to support one another as Panhellenic women during these exciting weekends and beyond. We welcome thousands of PNMs into our homes to show them the beauty of sisterhoods of all shapes and sizes, and that is a wonderful thing. Why we all feel the need to compare our houses and attempt to win PNMs over through seeming better than another house is beyond me. With more than a thousand different women going through recruitment, who’s to say they each belong to the same sisterhood or that their preference in sorority is uniformly carbon copied from online ranking sites and reputations heard through the campus grapevine?

Recruitment is such a lengthy yet rewarding experience. To have a PNM’s favorite house trashed by another’s opinion while sitting outside waiting for the next party is too common of an occurrence. Furthermore, the ranking websites and reputations spread by frat bros and GDI’s worsens the situation. Rushing is such an independent and emotional experience, and to have the unqualified and irrelevant opinions of others sway such nervous and malleable minds as those of a potential new Panhellenic woman is heartbreaking. But how do we keep this corrupt form of influence from happening?

It starts with us—all of us. As Panhellenic women, we must build ourselves up rather than tear each other down. We must break this sorority stratification and start viewing each other as distinct yet united under the common bond that is being Greek women with philanthropic hearts, intelligent minds, and rich tradition. We must resist the urge of ranking, comparing, and judging other houses, as it will only lead to superficial members who neglect the true meaning of sisterhood.

Nothing makes one single sorority on our campus better than another; we are all simply unique women who found our homes in different houses all along Greek Row. We have different causes we fight for, each equally notable. We have different rituals and history, each uniquely theirs and equally rich in tradition. We have different houses of different sizes and decor, each housing distinct and full of charismatic women who laugh, study, eat, and relax together. We have different sisterhoods, all full of women who empower one another as we strive for success on campus and beyond, never forgetting the sorority as the years pass.

Our PNMs must search for a sisterhood based upon their experiences. Our love for sisterhood, philanthropy, and our histories must be the qualifications for the preferences these women make. If we perpetuate the idea of competition and comparison as prevalent in our campus’ Greek culture, we will continue to recruit sisters who do the very same.

The sooner we stop fretting over being a top house, the better our sisterhoods will become. We must band together to ameliorate the caste system stereotypes of our organizations. Through this, we will become better sorority women and recruit better sorority women. We will strengthen all of our organizations tenfold.