I never thought I was the sorority type of girl. I never thought I would fit in if I joined a sorority. I never had an interest in joining a sorority. That was just something I never saw myself doing. But it only took one 30-minute encounter to change all of that, and I could not be happier because of that decision.
My roommate/friend and I went to a meeting for an organization. We hated the club almost instantly. So, we did the only normal response to get out of the meeting, we lied about having another meeting. We didn’t plan on going to this new meeting, we just thought we’d pop in. We walked into the classroom and everyone was leaving. The president of the club was ecstatic to see us despite not knowing either one of us. We walked out of the building with her and we made our way to the College of Business to put encouraging sticky notes in the bathrooms.
While we were walking, she explained the club and gave us a ton of information. It sounded like a lot of fun and it didn’t require a ton of commitment: we would have weekly meetings and a few service projects throughout the semester. Not too bad if you ask me. My roommate and I started getting excited. We finally found where we belong. We told another roommate/friend to join us, and she agreed. The three of us were going to join a Christian service sorority.
Now, three months later, the three of us are beyond happy with the decision to join. Everyone is wonderfully nice, and we have made so many friends. Plus, we were going to be more than friends: we’re sisters for life. Joining this organization has opened our eyes to how awesome it is to be a part of something that is nationally recognized.
However, even in a service sorority, there are stereotypes. Just being in a sorority brings these stigmas into play. And most of them aren’t even true, but social media and society has shown us otherwise. So, I’m here to prove that these clichés are far from the truth.
Social sororities are notorious for having social date parties. But being in a service sorority, we don’t participate in such events because we focus on service projects and volunteering. In my sorority’s Code of Conduct, we are told that we can never accept an invitation to a social event where alcohol is served. And if we choose to party or drink, we cannot wear our official Greek letters to clubs or bars because it could get back to the president and people might assume that we endorse such actions.
The code says we are allowed to make an individual choice to drink or not, based on our faiths and views. Being a Christian sorority, drinking underage could really hurt our credibility and tarnish our name in the community we help.
While we do pay dues, that in no way means we are paying for friends. We are paying to join an exclusive organization. Most clubs and groups on campus require a fee to join, not just Greek life. Why is there such a stigma with Greek life and not other organizations? I was also in Women in Business Leadership on campus, and I had to pay $50-75 for the year to be a part of it.
Sure, most sororities have dues of $500-$2,000, but the principle is the same: you pay a fee to join the club. I only had to pay $80 for my sorority, and that is crazy low for a sorority. And not all members are close with one another. Gaining friends from the sorority is just a perk or joining the organization.
Most sororities and fraternities require their pledges and active members to obtain a certain GPA in order to be admitted to them. Thus, this rule basically forces students to do well in their classes for them to stay in their sorority or fraternity. In my sorority, there are girls majoring anywhere from nursing to education to business to marine biology, and so many more. These are hard classes that require a ton of work.
But these ladies come to every meeting and every service event. They also hold executive positions within the sorority. So, no, people in sororities and fraternities are not dumb and failing all of their classes. It is all about time management and when you’re a full-time student and have several extracurriculars, you learn how to manage.
Overall, I think these clichés are ridiculous. People make joining a sorority sound like such a terrible thing, but it’s not. It’s so much fun and it’s awesome to be a part of something nationally ranked! Joining a sorority was one of the best decisions I ever made!