Earlier this month a college woman wrote an article about why she chose not to pursue sorority life. Her article generated controversy from those who felt she was right and those who felt she was wrong. Per usual, the anonymity of the Internet gave people the confidence to be rude and aggressive from both sides of the argument, which furthered neither cause.

I respect this woman's opinions and I believe that her preconceived notions of sorority life should act as a red flag to sororities everywhere. Part of being in a sorority is ensuring its growth and future success: How many promising young women are we missing out on due to mindsets like this?

How do we change the stigma associated with sororities? I think the answer to this question can be found by examining the way that sororities and fraternities brand themselves. I recently attended a workshop about branding, which was coordinated by my university's Greek Life adviser. We discussed brands, which we defined as a name/term/design/symbol that identifies something. It is also a promise that an organization or company makes to the public. When you develop your brand, you align what you want people to think, with what they actually think. At the moment, what we want people to think about sororities and fraternities, is entirely different from what they actually think. The messages they receive from the media and from those whose behavior confirms the negative stereotypes we work so hard to disprove contribute to this. Despite all of the good things we know to be true about our respective organizations, we are overshadowed by all of the negative stigma. This shadow influences people before they enter college and makes it so much harder to recruit quality men and women. We are forever defending ourselves and justifying our existence.

People associate a certain appearance and particular behaviors with sorority women. The truth is, these stereotypes came from somewhere and there are women who enjoy partying and who take pride in their appearance. This only starts to be problematic when that's all they become to an outsider looking in. Many people think that sorority women prioritize their social life above their education. I think I speak for the majority of us when I say that simply isn't true. My chapter's adviser always says, "We are college women first, sorority women second." We are attending university to pursue a degree and being in a sorority is just icing on the hugely expensive academic cake. For me, being in a sorority has inspired me to work harder on my studies. There is a minimum GPA requirement just to be in a sorority and once you are in, there are sisters to study with and older members who can offer advice on classes and professors.

There are also those that believe all sorority women do is go to parties and mixers with fraternity men. I don't know why we always jump to shame women who attend parties. We're young and there is nothing wrong with having a good time, as long as you're being safe. I'm not a big party person, but there are many other things about my sorority that I love and that keep me busy. Things such as sisterhood events, philanthropic fundraisers and service outings. Through my sorority membership I have been able to take on multiple leadership positions and attend various conferences and workshops to improve myself.

This has been my experience as a sorority member of Phi Sigma Sigma. Each woman has their own experience and we all join sororities for different reasons. None of this is meant to shame sorority women who do fulfill certain stereotypes, because it takes all kinds and I know that those characteristics aren't the only things that define you. As long as you are living your values and working towards the greater good, more power to you.

My point is, we shouldn't have to keep defending ourselves for the lifelong commitment we've made to our respective organizations. To redefine the brand of sorority and fraternity, we need to make sure that along with all of the fun we have, we show all of the good we do. If we live our lives according to the values that we were founded upon, there is no one who can argue that we don't have worth. Sororities and fraternities make better women and men. Greek life provides a network for these like-minded people to come together and accomplish the impossible.

So lets stop defending ourselves and instead redefine what being in Greek life means, so that we can change what society associates with us and improve our brand. When we're constantly on the defensive, we stifle our own growth and development. Lets focus our energy away from those with differing opinions and change the expectations others have of us.