“You’re always wearing your letters.” I’m sure it’s not just my house that I have heard this from. Our chapter president and standards like to constantly remind us that wherever we go we are representing our house and should behave accordingly. And it’s a good thing they do because we want to be good representatives of our chapter and not reflect on an entire house of women negatively. However, we always say that you can’t judge a person by their respective sorority or fraternity and you can’t judge a sorority or a fraternity by one person. What we don’t realize, though, is how being in any sorority or fraternity can look when we’re walking in the store, the airport, the gym, and, most importantly, in classes and on campus.
I’ll admit that in the past I haven’t given much thought to wearing letters on campus. As a college student, I have absolutely woken up ten minutes before my class, thrown on jeans and the first sweater I can find, and gotten out of my apartment as fast as I could. However this year, I started taking a few upper division courses, and first noticed different behavior when people would look at the letters on my shirt. I had an experience where a male student in one of my 5000 level classes looked at me on the first day of class in a sorority formal shirt and asked which class I was looking for. I didn’t think too much of it until I responded with the name of the class, he looked surprised then laughed and said, “Wow, I wouldn’t expect to see a sorority girl in here”. I didn’t end up responding because I didn’t want to make a bad impression on the professor on the first day of classes, but what he said stuck with me. Do people really assume that an entire community must be unintelligent because we belong to a social organization? I’m sure the student didn’t realize that Greeks are involved in every single major across campus, many members of each house are on the honor roll, and that we hold a higher GPA than most other organizations and campus as a whole…but I realized that wasn’t the point.
I understand that many people, including Greeks, have not had negative experiences with treatment on campus, but, unfortunately, this issue is still extremely prevalent. I had a sister share with me her experience of waiting at a Trax stop wearing her letters, and a group of men whistled at her and said, “Damn, a sorority girl! I hear you all have a lot of fun? Does that mean you’ll do anything?” This may not have been a campus-related incident but it is still absolutely not okay. Women and men should not feel unsafe or uncomfortable simply for bearing the letters of their organization. Nor should they be judged on their intelligence, interests, or personal life because of what people have seen on TV or perceive to be true. I’ve had the privilege to work with Panhellenic sisters who have interned with the White House, published research in science and medical journals, and started their own companies. The letters they wear on their chest should be a positive correlation and reflection on their house and on the Greek community. However, we should remember that the end of the day, you’re always wearing your letters — but they are not there to define you.