Occasionally during my free time, apart from working, writing, and spending time with friends and family, I scour Hulu looking for things to watch. I have always been a fan of drama shows, mainly the types were one can become invested in the characters, and preferably ones with good acting (some of my recent favorites are "I am the Night," "The Bold Type," and "Good Trouble" if you're looking for recommendations). The point is, I am a fan of dramatic series that follow the lives of characters through their tough situations.
Recently, I stumbled upon "GREEK" a series from the mid-2000's about two siblings in Greek Life at the make-believe Cyprus Rhodes University in Ohio. If you are familiar with the show, great, but for those of you who aren't, here is a small rundown.
Casey is an established active member of the made-up sorority Zeta Beta Zeta. Her younger brother, Rusty, lovingly nicknamed Spitter because he can't take shots of tequila, is just starting his freshman year. Rusty, a science, book nerd, want to rush a frat. Despite the countless discouragements from his conservative, God-loving roommate, and his sister who does not want her younger brother to ruin her, and her house's reputation, Rusty pledges Kappa Tau Gamma. Each episode presents challenges ranging from Casey's boyfriend troubles to Rusty finding it difficult managing pledge work and science homework.
As I was starting to watch this show, I couldn't help but compare my own sorority experience with that of Zeta Beta Zeta, and I found 3 key differences that portray sororities in a harshly negative light. Small disclaimer, each of these points is based on my own sorority experience for one year. If discrepancies appear, please send me notes.
In the show, they haze their members.
GiphyIn the show, Casey is the equivalent of a "New Member Coordinator." She assigns bonding activities and helps build a relationship between their brother fraternity Omega Chi Delta and the new members. Along this process, there were a couple of occasions that Casey assigned the new members to grind provocatively on the active members of the fraternity, in small shorts with sorority letters on their butts. In another instance, The new members are given lists of items they need to take pictures of around campus before a certain time. However, one new member that Casey is not fond of receives a list stating explicit and inappropriate items such as "a photo of a shirtless faculty member." Finally, the sorority new members of ZBZ are bossed around by the active members, and are called "Pledge, insert the last name here."
Underage consumption of alcohol is promoted at every turn.
Practically every night, parties are thrown and the members drink. Yes, this may be for dramatic effect, because drama happens at parties, however, on multiple occasions, the pledges are shown in the bar "Dobler's." I realize that this show is fiction, and the writers could do whatever they want, however, this is still not an accurate representation of social lives from my experience. At Arizona State, despite its reputation, the board members of my sorority do not promote or condone underage drinking, and hanging out at a bar underage will result in a Policy and Standards Board meeting, or worse.
3. Personal lives are controlled by the sorority.
On multiple occasions, personal lives, in particular, which boys the girls are dating or seeing, is strictly controlled by the president of the sorority. In my experience, the sorority president should not have any say in who you love, or who you interact with. I can say, with full confidence, that this is not accurate, except in the case of hanging with fraternities that have been 'kicked off campus' for reasons severe enough for ASU to feel that the punishment fits the crime.
Until next time,
Energetic dance performance under the spotlight.
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