Last week, an Odyssey article about "rushing" went viral. Being a sorority woman, I was a little offended when I read it. First and foremost, deciding to go through recruitment, not "rush," is obviously in the hands of each individual woman. If you decide to join Greek life, then that's incredible, and I am so excited for your journey within your desired organization! If you don't decide to join Greek life, then that's cool too, but don't judge me or my peers based on our decision to.
To the woman who wrote the article, I'm terribly sorry that Greek life has rubbed you the wrong way. I am sorry that you have these very wrong stereotypes created in your mind about Greek life. Here is my response to your article.
(If you haven't read her article, then give it a quick read or my article won't make much sense!)
1. I knew I didn't belong.
Like you, I don't own a white lace dress and don't like to wear wedges. This might come as a shock to you, but not everyone in my sorority is "rail skinny with waist-length blonde hair" and as a matter of fact, there's a girl in my sorority with green hair. I have never attended a Zumba class. The only time I get told what to do or what to wear is when I'm attending a ceremony. Lastly, if you have to pretend you like all your sisters, then you obviously joined the wrong organization.
2. Sorority moms.
What is this? I have never heard of a "sorority mom." I don't think you can correlate "wearing Mac makeup, gossiping and wearing Lilly Pulitzer" to a sorority. I don't wear Mac makeup or any makeup for that matter. Gossiping shows someone's character and the way they were raised, not someone's Greek affiliation. Out of the 80 girls in my organization, only about 10 of us love Lilly Pulitzer. (We actually took a group poll last week.) The only thing I can agree with this writer is the fact that both our moms are awesome.
3. The money.
College is expensive. Being in Greek life can be a decent amount of money, but it's not unmanageable like most people think it is. There's also other organizations on campus that you have to pay for, as shocking as that sounds. I'm not entirely sure what goes on at other campuses, but no organization on my campus has a private chef.
4. College was a clean slate.
It's totally fine that you didn't like the thought of "100 'sisters.'" In high school, I was dorky and athletic. I was involved in every academic society there was, spent my time after school at practice and spent my Friday nights on the sidelines cheering on my friends and peers. I always knew I wanted to join Greek life, but didn't join when I immediately got on campus.
Since you keep bringing it up, we are not expected to dress a certain way. The only way we are expected to act is responsibly, respectfully and maturely. I don't pretend I'm "rich and happy all the time." I'm certainly not rich, and most of my sisters pay their own dues. Everyone gets upset; obviously, no one is happy all the time.
5. The social gatherings were a 'nah.'
Mixers? Formal? Count me in! Unless I have a paper due tomorrow. Not every activity is mandatory. We're all taking countless hours and want the perfect GPA, but we have found our balance of fun and work.
6. The process of rushing.
Please stop calling it rush, rushing, etc. It's called recruitment. Yes, recruitment is tiring, annoying and nerve-wracking. We don't offer a spot solely based on a five minute conversation we had with someone; there's so much more that goes into it. We understand that people have off days. You have a headache? I probably do too. You're tired? I have been in heels all day and have continuously been singing since 6 a.m. Please don't try to explain a process you don't understand.
7. The stigma.
Out of all the reasons that were listed, this one offended me the most. Being in Greek life is a wonderful resume booster and gives you a connection to people that others will never obtain. I'm not sure if you were taught as a child, but you should never judge a book by its cover.
8. Time commitment.
There are numerous people who are in the Honors College and in Greek life; some even do a sport and other organizations on top of all that. Obviously, time is going to be taken out of your busy week to partake in events for the organizations you are affiliated with. Greek life doesn't take as much of your time as people assume. Once a week, I have Chapter for about an hour or two. Other than that, there's random events throughout the month that you know about months ahead of time. To you, a sorority isn't beneficial or worth the experience, but to me it's worth more.
Do not judge something you don't fully understand. Being Greek is very special to everyone and anyone involved. It's an experience I wish everyone could have, but I understand it's not for everyone. I certainly don't judge you for being a non-Greek, so please don't judge me for deciding to be. I love my sorority and could give you thousands of reasons on why I went Greek and why you should go Greek, but I'll save that for another article.
I strongly encourage everyone and anyone to go through recruitment. It's a process that will make you feel a vast amount of emotions, but will be worth it in the end. If you decide to go through it and don't enjoy it or think it's for you, then you can always drop out with little to nothing lost.
If you're starting college in the fall and can't decide to go through recruitment, then there's no harm in giving it a try.
