This past weekend I attended a recruitment training program required by my sorority. One of the main points that was made during this event was that people do not join a sorority, people join people. At the beginning of the day, I was not entirely sure if I was going to buy into what the guest speaker was saying. However, as the event progressed I soon realized she was right. The girls who join a sorority are not joining because the matching outfits look cute, or because the chant at the door was just that cool. No, these women are joining organizations where they can be seen for themselves, not the mask they usually put in place.

Attending college can be scary, no matter if you’re at a small or large school. Some days it feels like you could be lost in the sea of students, but sororities allow these women to have a voice. People who join the Greek community automatically have a form of identification and something to associate themselves with. This commitment might make it seem daunting to find the right fit when it comes to a house, but when you start making connections and see the women behind the letters it is so much easier.

Inspire the women, impact the world.

Women today are fighting all across the world to gain equality, respect, and a better future for those who come after them. This comes from women looking to each other to find support in a world that is telling them to sit down and stay quiet.

Prior to this past weekend, I had no idea why sororities were actually created. KJ McNamara, the guest speaker at Purdue’s sorority recruitment event explained how 150 years ago, women were not encouraged to peruse any form of education, and if they did they had the option of being a teacher or a nurse. These women were often ridiculed if they spoke out during class, no matter if what they had to say was insightful. If there was not enough room in a lecture hall, the women were asked to leave first.

Their ability to learn was a privilege, not a right, like their male counterparts. Over 60% of suffragettes belonged to a sorority. These women fought for their rights, and now generations later, sorority women are fighting again.