If you're like me, and you go to a small liberal arts college, you know that while there is a small amount of students there, that there is a lot of clubs and organizations to make up for it. At my school, there are less than fifteen hundred students. Personally, I am involved in the only Greek life we have on campus, and it has made me into the woman I am today. Being in this organization has given me so much experience and skills I could have never learned from anywhere else. I am devoted to this organization more than I ever thought I could be and I get to be president of my chapter in the upcoming semester. Students at our school aren't usually exposed to Greek life and these questions are the top five that I hear on an actual daily basis. All true. And yes, I counted.
1. "Wait, we have a sorority here?"
No, I'm wearing random greek letters for the hell of it. Seriously people, Use. Your. Brain.
2. If you're in a sorority/fraternity, where is your house?
I hear this question every time I go outside with my Greek letters. Okay, just because we have a sorority, doesn't mean we have a house. In fact, the town where I go to college has passed a law forbidding Greek life to have houses. And please let me reiterate:
Not every college has sorority or fraternity houses.
3. Aren't you supposed to be hazed?
What is the obsession with being hazed? Let me say this now, and forever hold my peace: HAZING IS NOT OKAY. In New Hampshire, and 43 other states, hazing is ILLEGAL, in every single form. There are serious consequences to hazing, including suspension and most likely expulsion from the college or university, severe fines from the state, multiple lawsuits, and possibly jail time. With our sorority, we sign contracts at the beginning of every semester, and review our code of conduct to each sister to make sure we understand the consequences of hazing. We attend seminars on how to steer clear of hazing, and how to get the public to see that not every greek organization hazes.
4. "Why do you call each other bigs and littles?"
According to tradition, we call our bigs our "bigs" because they are like our big sisters. They help us learn about the sorority's history, and essentially become their role model and mentor. Littles are called "littles" because they are the little sister in this duo. We try to show the new sisters the way of life around campus, and to make them feel comfortable. The first two months of my freshman year I was a sobbing mess. I can comfortably admit I am an ugly crier however, getting myself out of my room helped. I went to a recruitment event, something I never even considered, and the first person I met happened to become my big. She made me feel comfortable and feel at home here at school. Two years later, I am the big and I try to make sure everyone who comes to the recruitment events, or becomes my little, feel like they are meant to be with us.
5. "You won't get a real job if you're in a sorority."
Oh really? Because the leadership skills that you learn and the responsibility you take on gives you more experience than working in any job for ten years can give you. Plus, Mariska Hargitay, Erin Andrews, Nancy Grace, Jennifer Garner, Kathy Bates, Katie Couric, Carrie Underwood, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patricia Heaton, Kristin Chenoweth, Hoda Kotb, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, Sheryl Crow, Bette Midler, Laura Bush, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sara Blakely, Barbara Bush, Senator Barbara Boxer, former Senators Elizabeth Dole and Kay Bailey Hutchison are all women who were in a sorority in college. And I'm pretty sure they had no problem getting a job.
