Throughout my time at Marshall (I am currently in my third year), I have struggled with the thought of joining a sorority. I felt as though joining a sorority was the best way to get involved, but did not feel like it was really for me. I had heard all the stereotypes (all they do is party, no one is nice, all your friends are fake, etc., not really anything good), and I felt like I needed to believe those stereotypes. During the last few years, I have become friends with many of the sorority girls on campus, some of them even becoming my closest friends. That’s when I realized that every stereotype I had in my head was wrong.
By expressing my struggle, I have found that other girls are intimidated to go through recruitment because they have heard the stereotypes and do not want to be put under those. Now, I tell everyone to go through recruitment. Going through recruitment does not mean you absolutely have to join. If you get a bid and decide that it’s something you really want to do, sign it. If you decide not to accept, no hard feelings, it just is not for you.
Marshall currently has four sororities: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Zeta, and Sigma Sigma Sigma. I went through recruitment so I could write this blog and convince other intimidated girls at Marshall to participate, because you may surprise yourself; you just might be a “sorority girl”.
My journey starts with the Sorority 101 meeting that was held during the first week of recruitment.
Sorority 101 was exactly what I expected it to be about; the basics of being in a sorority. We learned about the four different sororities and what their chapter, flower, colors, and everything else were. We briefly went through what the recruitment process would be like and what to do if we end up getting a bid on bid day. It was all very informative and if you want the fine details, you should just go in the spring when that recruitment begins!
After going through the slideshow, all the girls in attendance were broken up into seven groups and given recruitment counselors. We met our counselors and played a couple games that helped us get to know everyone just a little bit and meet the other girls in our group. Every girl that I met last night was very helpful. My counselor was very natural and made sure that all of our questions were answered by someone, if not by her. She has even made sure to contact us via text and Facebook messaging to make sure that we know she is there for us.
So far, not intimidating at all!
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The next event in week one that I attended was the philanthropy event in Marcos (basement of the student center).
At this event, each sorority had a table set up that featured pictures from their philanthropy events. Philanthropy is a huge part of sorority life, and each sorority supports a different cause. They spend a good amount of the year planning events and raising money for each cause that they support. Some of these events include 5ks, cleaning garbage on highways, donating clothes, Xi Man, Rocking for Robbie, Relay for Life, and the list goes on and on. This event was a great way to meet the girls and learn about their community service, as well as their sisterhood, as some had scrapbooks out for people to look through.
Weeks two and three of recruitment consisted of ‘parties’. Now, don’t go thinking that we attended a rave every night for two weeks. They weren’t THAT kind of party. Think more of a tea party. Each night consisted of two parties for two different sororities. It was the girls’ choice which parties they attended. Basically, whatever sorority you were interested in, you attended their parties, because, the more girls you meet, the better your chance of getting a bid on bid day from the sorority you wanted.
Now, the parties are what really matter. Each sorority has a different theme for each party. Some of the themes included philanthropy night, superhero, America, UP, and so many other cute and creative themes. Light snacks (cookies, chips) and drinks (lemonade, water) were provided and you spent your time talking to girls in the sorority about yourself. For an hour. Now, when I found this out, I honestly dreaded it. I thought there was absolutely no way I could sit and talk to someone for an hour about mostly myself. But, as time went on, I began to feel more comfortable with the girls and conversation started to become easier and easier as we began to get to know each other on a deeper level, past the “what are you majoring in” and the “what year are you?” questions.
During my time in recruitment, I was able to meet some exceptionally wonderful women. I found that these women love nothing more than community service and their sisters. I’ve never seen a closer group of girls in my life. These girls will be there for each other through thick and thin. They are not “paying for friends”. When I first began this article, I was strictly going through recruitment just to write an article about going through recruitment. The past few weeks showed me that sorority is not the stereotypes and it is so much more. I made the decision to become a member of the Marshall University Greek community, and I hope this article encourages all girls to at least give it a try. Be on the lookout for spring semester recruitment!