Sorority life has received a lot of backlash due to the stereotypes that pervade our culture. Here is why Greeks are different from the stereotypical image and why going Greek is beneficial in so many ways.Why going Greek is something more than the misconception of "paying for your friends". If you haven’t yet heard of Rebecca Martinson, Google her name. You are sure to come across pages and pages of results detailing the ‘rabid’ email she wrote to her fellow sisters of the sorority Delta Gamma. Within it you’ll find such eloquent quotes as “This email is going to be a rough f'ing ride” and “we f'ing suck,” and the ending advice to anyone offended is to “go f yourself”. I have to admit that when I first read her letter to her supposedly beloved sisters, I laughed. It’s so absurd and abusive it could easily be mistaken for satire had it not been verified as a legitimate email.  Gems also include “stop being a goddamn c*ck block for our chapter” and “people LITERALLY being so f'ing AWKWARD and so f'ing BORING,” but the email also feeds into something that is extremely common on college campuses: a bad sorority image and Greek stereotyping.

Improving academically and socially sounds like a good thing, right? I thought it did, and so in the first few weeks of attending CU Boulder, I decided to join a sorority. Through the recruitment process, I bonded with many girls, some of which were about to become my sisters. I received a bid from Kappa Alpha Theta and accepted. I will not ignore the fact that you pay fees once you join a sorority or fraternity. I can only speak for my own sorority, but I would like to address some misconceptions about this that leads to sororities getting a bad reputation. 

After receiving my bid, I went through a period of six weeks known as ‘new member period’. During those weeks, we were encouraged to spend a lot of time with our new sisters-to-be and many social events were organized in order for us to mix with one another as much as possible. We were expected to pay nothing until our sixth week of being a new member, when we were initiated and officially became sisters of Theta. However, this money goes towards things such as sorority formals, mixers, fun events, some free apparel, and chapter dinner, amongst other things. The fact that you have to pay for membership is of course an elitist idea. 
However, individual payment plans are always available and the dues don’t disappear into thin air; they actually go towards something. At every meeting, the chapter runs through the budget and members are sometimes able to vote on where their money is spent. Furthermore, the misconception that you are paying for your friends by going Greek is extremely misinformed. You could rush, make friends, and not pay anything by declining to be initiated at week six. This was my intention before I appreciated what an experience joining a sorority offered me. 

Another stereotype that is reinforced by films such as Legally Blonde is that sororities are purely social clubs that are pre-occupied with throwing parties and getting hammered. Of course fraternities and sororities have bar nights and drink; any group of friends between the ages of 18 and 22 who doesn’t do this is a fairly rare phenomenon. However, my experience of joining Theta allowed me to also get involved with things I would never have even known about had I not been encouraged and informed by my sorority. A huge part of being Greek is charity work. I took part in an eight-hour dance marathon in order to raise money for Children’s Hospital. I also did the Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics, and volunteered at a soup kitchen for a morning, amongst other philanthropy events. This is not to blow my own horn; I’m just trying to show that there is much, much more to being part of a sorority than being a dumb, image-obsessed doll that is the depiction of a ‘sorority girl’ in many media publications. 

I’m not trying to say sororities are a perfect organization, and they certainly are not for everyone. I am not going to pretend that I am best friends with all two hundred sum girls in my chapter. However, I also do not actively dislike anyone and no one was ever discouraging or disrespectful towards me. I found it inspiring to be surrounded by people who are motivated to be involved on campus and in their community, and I know that my experience of being part of a sorority has already helped change my life in a positive way.

 I am involved with many campus events and programs I would not have been if I hadn’t been part of such an active Greek community, and I’ve also had the most fun of my life with like-minded friends by my side. 
Some sectors of Greek life still have a way to go with issues such as racism, as shown by the University of Alabama’s 2013 desegregation of sororities. Yes, you read correctly; the University of Alabama’s first acceptance of black students into sororities happened just last year, and the call to boycott Greek life does seem reasonable in instances such as this. 
Greek Life has come a long way though. Fraternities were historically all-male social clubs that were dedicated to the growth of the individual through the notion of brotherhood. Emphasis was placed upon striving academically, physically and socially in order to better both themselves and the people around them. However, being developed in the late 1700s fraternities also had the disadvantage of alienating women once they began to attend higher education institutions. Sororities were established in order to allow women a more level playing field and to give women a voice during a time when they were oppressed within society. The tradition of fraternities and sororities has lived on ever since, and various affiliations have developed to allow a wider scope of Greek life.  In the end, all I have to say is “GO GREEK!”