"Don't judge a book by it's cover" is a phrase we are all too familiar with. Greek life is another phrase which many are familiar with as well. These two phrases go hand in hand with one and other, they coexist. People of all ages judge another based on the letters they choose to identify with. Thanks to media outlets and film, a stigma has been associated with Greek life members. These stigmas lead to predisposed judgments, assumptions made about fraternities and sororities individually and collectively as a whole, before anyone gets to know them. It needs to stop. The faces behind the letters are people too, remember that.
Coming into college, many students choose to go through the recruitment process. I was one of those students at Colorado State University who accepted a bid and joined a sorority. For two and a half years, I was a dedicated sorority sister who had to deal with the stigmas associated with Greek life. Sluts, whores, party girls -- a few of the words used to describe sorority girls on campus. My heart broke when I was associated with these names. I took pride in studying, spending my money on sober activities and respecting myself when it came to boys. Many of my sisters felt the same way, I'm sure they still do. I won't lie, it hurts to be called names, especially by people who don't even know you. How is that fair? How would you like it if the stigmas were reversed and instead of Greek life members being judged, it was you? How would you feel?
After two and a half years of being a member of a sorority, it was time for me to remove myself from the organizations because it had run its course with me. I was no longer a member of the overly stigmatized Greek life. Something that occurred to me when I removed myself from the organization was that people would no longer judge me before knowing who I really was. That felt good. I would finally be seen for who I am instead of what my letters were. But, I learned over time, that stigma never really goes away.
Recently, I was sitting on campus with one of my best friends who is still a member of my old sorority, when a group of students around us started talking poorly about the sorority my friend identifies with.
"They're all sluts," one girl said.
"Even their name disgusts me just saying it," another girl said.
My friend and I glanced over at the girls that were talking badly about our friends as a whole, realizing we had never seen these girls before in our lives. They didn't even notice that my friend was wearing her letters right next to them as they went on and on about how terrible this sorority supposedly was. That's when it hit me. I may not be stereotyped as a dumb slutty sorority girl anymore, but my friends still were.
Before heading back to class, with tears in her eyes and her letters displayed proudly across her chest, my friend approached the girls. Kindly she said, "I heard everything you said about my sorority, and I just wanted to say, please get to know us before saying that stuff about us."
Not every Greek life members is what you think they are. There are one or two sour apples here and there but for the most part, Greek life members are the same as you, just with letters associated with their identity. They're still normal people. They're smart, caring, outgoing, witty, athletic and so much more. Take a chance, step out of your comfort zone, get to know the people you think you may not be like based on predisposed judgments.
Take a walk in someone else's shoes. The judging stops now.
