This time of year, it seems like all of our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds are full of pictures and videos of new bids joining nationally chartered sororities and fraternities. Most schools have sororities and fraternities that are nationally recognized and have chapters on hundreds of campuses with literally hundreds of guys and girls across the nation. But what about those smaller schools that still have Greek life, but aren't nationally recognized? Is it unfair that we get overlooked simply because we don't have hundreds of twenty-somethings wearing our letters all over the country? Even if you've never heard of us, we who aren't nationally recognized are still proud of our "fake sororities", or as we call it, our social clubs.
When I graduated high school, I couldn't wait to be at the University of Alabama and to get involved in Greek life. I went through a long 9 day rush with 2,000 other girls (yup, two thousand freshman girls) and got the sorority I wanted. It was awesome. I thought I was about to get sorority sisters who would be my very best friends and everything was going to be perfect...but I didn't. I barley knew a fourth of the girls in my 100 member pledge class and while we had a lot of fun together, I found it hard to start building friendships with these girls. After a semester at Alabama, I realized I needed to go to a smaller school so I transferred to Lipscomb University. I was reluctant to get involved in Greek life but after some convincing from a friend, I began the rush process. I got the club I wanted and went through a very different process than I did at Alabama. I went through a new member pledging process. Looking back, I am so glad everything worked out the way it did. For me, I needed something smaller and more intimate, and I know I'm not the only one. I have found my life-long friends through my social club and I can't say enough how thankful I am for that process. Now, it's pretty funny to hear others talk about their huge sororities and ask me these questions to figure out why I love my club.
"Wait...you know everyone in your pledge class?"
One of the greatest benefits of being in a social club is the size. National chapters usually have over 100 members in each sorority or fraternity, making it impossible to get to know everyone. Honestly, in a large sorority, you don’t know everyone and you don’t really have to. In social clubs, though, you are given the opportunity to form deep and more intimate relationships. You have some type of relationship with each girl. Since we're a smaller group, it allows us to walk alongside each other through times of joy and pain.
"Wait...what's in the binder?"
New member orientation is called many different things at schools with social clubs or local sororities. Whatever your school calls it, this process requires work to get in the club. At Lipscomb, you don’t simply get a bid, a jersey, and lots of gifts – you have to go through the pledging process to get those things. People in national sororities don't understand that and they're super confused when I tell them I actually have to get "pledged" to be in my club. But I wouldn't change this new member pledging process for anything. The girls I pledged with are still my closest friends to this day. During the process you realize that the only way to get through it is to support each other and work as a team. This is one of the greatest and most beneficial factors of social clubs because everyone has gone through the same process and everyone is respected in the club because of it.
"Wait...how much are your dues?"
Because of our smaller size, we pay less to be apart of our social clubs. The girls (or guys) in the club are the only people benefiting from the money, which makes it a lot cheaper compared to national sororities. We don’t have a house to keep up or nationals to pay, making our dues a lot less expensive. But we do order a LOT of t-shirts.
"Wait...you actually care about your history?"
While history and tradition run deep in national sororities, there is a different meaning in our social clubs. We have the opportunity to get to know our alumni on a personal level and hear about what their experiences were like when they were in their club. It’s also very cool to have something that is so specific to my school, like how many of my sisters had moms that were in the club while they attended school here.
"Wait...you're actually friends with people in other clubs"?
Don't get me wrong, the clubs at Lipscomb are competitive, but as a whole, the people in Greek life have the opportunity to be closer. At my school, many clubs have brother and sister clubs, some clubs have "queens", and each member gets a big brother or big sister at the beginning of the new member orientation process.This is a really great way to create bonds between clubs. Also, because we are smaller we have the opportunity to do different events and functions with different girls and guys clubs.There is somewhat of a united feeling among Greek life because we're all in this together (cue the High School Music tune).
Honestly, you've probably never heard of my fake sorority and that’s okay. There are so many advantages of being a part of a social club or local sorority and I love that I have the opportunity to be a part of an amazing group of girls. I was able to truly find myself and these girls are seriously part of the reason I am who I am today. I know I have made so many lifelong friendships during my time in my social club and I will forever be thankful.
