Sorority rush at the University of Illinois was an experience like no other. Despite being someone who went into college with a hot air balloon-sized ego, it was immediately deflated when my top house didn’t invite me back. As initiation approaches, before many girls drop out of their houses like flies, I want to provide my unprovoked two cents.
In my preference round freshman year, I essentially had to choose between two “bottom” houses. The funny thing is, I had no idea rankings of Greek houses existed before I heard all of the girls in line grimacing at the idea of having to even talk to the low lives in bottom-tier houses, frantically referencing Greekrank as their bible.
If you’re unfamiliar with Greekrank, it’s a Reddit-esque website where people can review and rate sororities and fraternities. God forbid Sigma Chi plans an event with a sorority that @greekgod labeled as “a bunch of outcasts who smell weird and don’t fit the stereotype. solid 6/10 at the hottest.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. Don’t fit the stereotype? Assuming that means white, skinny and wealthy, I think this is a reason why the university needs more than just a one-time, two-hour diversity training for undergraduates. A bunch of outcasts? Rating their looks? The entire sorority smells weird?
Greekrank, and the Greek life system in general, perpetuates the idea that certain people’s lives matter more than others because of their social status. As a senior who has watched this play out for three years, I can guarantee you: ranking does not matter.
This is easy for me to say now after years of personal development and self-discovery. To give some perspective on my wisdom, I admit, I was engulfed in the saliency of social status for a chunk of my college experience. I was the social chair of my bottom-tier sorority, meaning I had the demeaning job of reaching out to fraternities and pleading for them to make plans with us. I was the biggest social climber in the whole sorority. I also think it’s worth mentioning that out of the people who applied for the position, the two of us who got it were basically the “stereotype”: white, blonde and skinny.
People are more complex than that. We deserve more than our value being placed on our physique and ability to fit the mold.
When you leave college, I guarantee you no one will give you better treatment because you were in a top house. Better yet, if people inside and outside of the university behave differently because of your house’s ranking, they probably are not people you want to spend time with.
Realistically, what matters when you join a sorority is that you feel comfortable. Not only are you investing money (and a lot of it, at that), you are investing your whole self; your time, your energy and the people you surround yourself with. You shouldn’t ever feel like you’re in a house that you have to change to fit into — you are the person you are supposed to be, and if someone doesn’t appreciate that, they are not meant for you.
On the flip side, if you are comfortable within your sorority and people are making you doubt that because of a ranking, let it be known that they have insecurity and validation issues they need to figure out for themselves. Your happiness should not be contingent on the baseless, ignorant and probably inaccurate opinions of a frat bro.
The Greek life system as a whole requires major renovations. In 2021, diversity and inclusion should be the norm, not a standard to shoot for.
All of this is easier said than done at a Big Ten school that fosters such a social hierarchy environment. It may be something each person has to live through on their own to understand. However, if I can help just one person realize the absurdity of Greekrank and the ideologies it fosters, I will have done my job.