There is a lot of stigma that goes into being in a sorority, and there  is a circulation of premature judgement that others are quick to jump to when they see a girl wearing letters. I however, do not care because I  wear my letters with pride and love my sorority to a point where words cannot describe. But I was talking to my co-worker earlier this week during lunch break and she  kept asking me the most ignorant questions: do you guys party every night? do you have sex with all the frat guys? do you do this? or this? or this? It really made me roll my eyes…so let me break it down for y’all. (p.s. excuse my spelling/grammatical errors, I am typing hella fast to get this posted by today. i’ll edit it…someday)

Welcome to Sorority 101.  

What is a Panhellenic sorority and what sets it apart from local/community sororities?

A Panhellenic sorority is recognized as a legitimate [inter]national social organization under the National Panhellenic Conference. There are 26 panhellenic sororities across America: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Alpha Sigma Tau, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Delta Phi Epsilon, GAMMA PHI BETA (WHOO!), Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Phi Mu(woot my bff’s sorority), Phi Sigma Sigma, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Delta Tau, Sigma Kappa, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Theta Phi Alpha, and Zeta Tau Alpha. These sororities have chapters at an array of different schools. So if you are a sister at one school, you are a sister to all the other girls at the different schools in the same sorority AND you are a sister of the panhellenic community. Not only does your sisterhood last for your duration of college, but you are a sister for life. You also receive networking benefits and financial aid/grants through your sorority. There are so many LIFELONG benefits from being in this type of organization. Also, we have rules that we need to follow: no dirty rushing, no alcohol or drugs in the house or used by members not of age, no parties with alcohol, NO HAZING. We are big on no hazing policies. If you hear of a sorority hazing, I can assure you it’s not panhellenic because they will definitely eventually lose their charter. 

The different between panhellenic and local/community sororities, is that local/community sororities are for only four years and they are not under NPC, so they do not have to follow the same rules that panhellenic girls do. 

PERSONAL BIAS: So in this post, I will only be describing from a panhellenic stand point- meaning my reference to the word “sorority” is a direct correlation to only panhellenic sororities. 

Who can join a sorority?

Any current full time female college student. With this said, a sorority isn’t for everyone- just like certain sports or classes aren’t for everyone. However, sororities do not discriminate against race, sexual orientation or style. You DO NOT need to look a certain way or ACT in a certain way to be in a sorority. You do not have to be that preppy snobby stereotype. If you want to join, then join! Don’t let that Hollywood perception scare you off. I know many girls who said they thought they would never join a sorority, but did because they feel in love with the girls in a certain house. 

How do you know which sorority is for you?

You will know by the end of preference night during rush. You will fall in love and they will fall in love with you. It’s a mutual thing. 

I want to join a sorority but I do not think I can afford the dues.

Unfortunately, a sorority is a huge financial commitment. Keep that in mind and figure out a payment plan. You really should discuss this with your parents if you expect them to pay. 

THE RUMORS/MYTHS

SORORITY GIRLS ARE PRISSY, BITCHES, SNOBS, AND SLUTS. 

No matter what organization you join whether it be athletic, academic, or a social, you are going to have different types of girls. Sure you may run into a girl that may be one of those things, but you can’t judge an entire group of people on that one person. And you really shouldn’t judge her either because you only see one side of her. The reason she is a sister is because she is there for her girls, loves them deeply, etc. etc. She may come off to you as a bitch or a priss or a snob, but you do not know the effort she puts into her organization which means the world to her sisters. Also, I find that sometimes girls like these may have joined for the wrong reasons, but I also find that they eventually stay for the right reasons. So you may not want to use her as the best representation of that particular organization. And keep in mind, girls are like this no matter if they are in a sorority or not. 

ALL SORORITY GIRLS WANT TO DO IS DRINK, PARTY AND SLEEP WITH FRAT BOYS. 

Um no. You are buying into that Hollywood hyperbolic portrayal of Greek Life, which no offense makes you really ignorant. How can you say that “oh romance in real life isn’t like a movie” or “oh that isn’t how things work in real life” or “Oh that never happens” about every genre of movies out there, but as soon as you see a movie portraying Greek life you are the first to say “that’s how girls in sororities act”?! Like what the heck? haha. I know more girls in greek life who don’t drink, I know girls who party once in a while but not every weekend, and I know more VIRGINS than I do girls who sleep with a bunch of frat guys. Plus, just because you are in a sorority does not mean you are automatically attracted to frat boys. 

College students party. No matter what organization they are in, they party. So yeah, if you are in a sorority and want to party, you could probably find one to go to. Doesn’t mean that they do that every fucking day. Keep in mind that they are individuals as well, not just a sister. But that does not necessarily mean we’re going hella crazy. Girls need to be careful because if something happens, NPC will shut down their chapter. 

SORORITY GIRLS PAY FOR FRIENDS.

No, but we do pay to be in the sorority. But have you ever wonder what we pay dues for? We do not hand each girl money to be our friend. We pay money to our organization to host charity events in which we do not reimburse ourselves, to our mother house to keep it well maintained, to keep our own house maintained, and to budget out activities like formal and greek week. 

I just want to put out there, no matter what activity you are in: sports teams, clubs, etc. You will pay dues. You will pay dues for equipment, tournaments, etc. And guess what? You will make friends through that as well. Does that mean you pay for YOUR friends?

In general, you have to pay to maintain friendships anyways, not because you are obligated, but because you will want to get your friends things for their birthdays, holidays, for when they forget their wallet, and just because you love them. So no matter what in life, you will spend money on your friends. 

Also, not every sister is my friend. Does that mean I do not like them? Heck no. It means that their relationship with me is something very different than a friendship that I cannot define to you. 

THEY JOINED TO BE POPULAR. 

Not everyone joins for the right reasons, but 90% do. I joined a sorority because I get along with girls better than boys and I feel like I am a good sister. I have so much love to give and why not give that to a sister? Also, their is so much charity work sorority girls do that non-greeks do not realize. And helping the community brings me so much pride. 

So please do not think that every  girl joins for some superficial reason. 

ON TV SORORITY GIRLS ARE JUST LIKE I IMAGINED THEM TO BE.

No that’s scripted hun.

SHE’S IN A SORORITY SO SHE MUST BE DUMB.

No, she’s in college. There is a reason she is there. And you need to maintain a good standing GPA to be a member. 

THEY GOT HAZED THEY ARE JUST LYING.

Um no. Why would you want to be sisters with girls that are mean to you? I do not know any girl that is okay with hazing.

THE TRUTH OF BEING A SORORITY GIRL

Sorority girls will…

go to class, have a regular day with their non-greek and greek friends, go to the dining hall to eat, go to the library to study. once in a while they will go out with their friends and have a good time, but then they will probably be in the library the next day studying for the same test you are. and they will go to meeting every week to discuss what’s going on in the sorority. Then they will hold a charity event and do community service hours. sometimes their families will visit. Then they will go home for break.

yupp. that’s the scandalous life a sorority girl. (that’s sarcasm) 

xoxo, The College Freshman