Confession: I initially doubted going to Georgetown because I wanted to be a sorority girl.
When I was first entering into the black hole of applications, campus visits and standardized tests infamously known as the college process, I invented a picturesque image of myself as a college student. I formed a new college-worthy identity fundamentally different from my naïve, stress ball, dark-circled, uniform-wearing high school self.
College Lacey was sophisticated, intellectual, and chic as she strolled across the green quad to class casually sipping Starbucks, Voltaire in hand, smiling at friends studying on the lawn. College Lacey was also a sorority girl; reveling in the estrogen-filled bonds of sisterhood, serving the community with her other bubbly, well-dressed sisters, mixing with charming fraternity brothers, squatting for photos, the whole bit.
Besides the fact that I hate Starbucks coffee and barely managed to get through my first philosophy class, now as a second-semester sophomore my college identity isn’t what I expected. In a good way. (Clearly still embodying the sophisticated, intellectual, and chic aspects of course.) I was hesitant to choose Georgetown because of the lack of a traditional Greek scene. Yet, ultimately that couldn’t deter me from becoming a Hoya. And I couldn’t be happier that it didn’t.
When I first arrived at Georgetown I immediately joined the club Adelfi to fill this void I thought I would be missing. I loved it, and it was a fun chapter of my life at Georgetown, but over time I also realized that I didn’t need a Greek outlet to be the type of college student I wanted to be. In fact, I think I’m a better college student without the conventional system.
The truth is that Georgetown is not entirely absent of the Greek influence. The campus does have a small Greek-like community. Georgetown is home to a handful of a mixture of both nationally affiliated and unofficial fraternities, sororities, and even a co-ed fraternity: a network that has grown in the past few years. However, it’s hardly the organized community that dominates and defines your experience at Georgetown. Sports teams, the Corp, acapella groups, or any of the endless clubs and activities act in its stead, and help us to find our individual niche at Georgetown.
This isn’t meant to be a diatribe against the evils of the Greek system. In fact, I think the fundamental elements of the Greek principles of brother and sisterhood, commitment to service, and honoring tradition are valuable. However, I think the Greek system at many universities has outgrown that initial mission, and taken on an exclusivist, judgmental, and misguided nature. I’ve watched many friends go through the stressful rush/pledge process, compare sorority rankings, and share stories of freshman friendships ending in jealous spats. The label of three Greek letters, or lack thereof, can quickly become the foundation of a student’s college identity. The reputation and strong, overpowering Greek presence on a campus can prevent students from learning to define themselves outside of it.
Adelfi provided me with a low-pressure venue for the social and service perks I was looking for in a traditional sorority, yet the flexible Georgetown environment gave me the opportunity to explore and develop an identity apart from it. College Lacey’s identity doesn’t fit into a typical three-letter mold wrought with stereotypes or a preconceived image. College Lacey is a Hoya. That’s a label I can be proud of, and the only one I need. Even if I am still a bit jealous of the personalized Lilly Pulitzer sorority prints…