When people think of a sorority, they usually refer to the Legally Blonde movies or Greek teenage sitcoms. They think of girly girls shopping and having slumber parties in their huge mansion together, parties with the fellow fraternities on campus and the t-shirts, hats and abundant amounts of memorabilia each girl seems to collect and take pictures of for her favorite social network. However, not a lot of people think about being a sorority sister is really about. Although it may seem cliché, it really is about being a friend and support system to each and every sister. And being a sorority sister at Yale is even more of a unique experience.
A small percentage of the student population participates in Greek life at Yale, with only three sororities on campus and another on the way. This changes the dynamic of sorority life quite a bit. First, the sorority sisters are not the average girls most people stereotype them to be. We are extremely diverse in each sorority and come from a variety of backgrounds. When I ask most girls in my sorority, Pi Beta Phi, why they joined a sorority, most answer, “I would have never joined a sorority at any other school, but here it just seems like a good thing to do," or “I am not the typical sorority girl, but at Yale you don't have to be a stereotype to fit into sororities." This is a very special testament to Yale, because Yale students and organizations embrace being different and wanting to get involved.
There is a unique bond between the girls in a sorority that cannot be found anywhere else. It can vary from being as tight as a familial bond (or tighter) to just being friendly acquaintances who say hello in passing. Either way, it gives each sister that many more people to get to know. It is important to understand before joining a sorority that not every girl is a tight as the movies make them seem. It is inevitable that not every single person out of 150 girls is going to be best friends, because everyone is so different. This is such a benefit because one can decide how involved they want to be in the sorority. You are not obligated to develop friendships you cannot maintain. Everyone is involved in so many different activities on campus, and it is such a relief to get the friendships out of the sorority without being weighed down with the pressures of fitting in with each and every girl, as is often the case in larger sororities at larger schools.
Every sorority sister at Yale gains the ability to see familiar faces around campus, or the ability to always have something to do on a Friday or Saturday night, to get involved with a variety of philanthropic activities, and the ability to support the sisters in their dance shows, theater performances, sports events, or a cappella jams. And what goes better with a spring fling outfit than a Greek letter tank top and fanny pack?
