Choosing to join a sorority is one of the best decisions I made during my university experience. As a newly initiated member of Alpha Gamma Delta (AGD), I am thrilled to be part of an organization full of truly inspiring, thoughtful, and impressive young women. As a sorority woman, however, there are often unfortunate stereotypes that are projected onto you. I am aware that in the past, I have been guilty of judging those associated with Greek life for these same stereotypes and I was wrong to do so. It is my belief that stereotypes are often born from ignorance, however, which is why I decided to counter the most popular misconceptions of what it means to be a sorority woman.
1. You buy your friends
Yes, sorority dues can be crazy expensive and yes, my eyes may have bulged out of my head when I read how much they were, but this in no way means you are “paying for your friends”. The dues go to maintenance of the chapter room (or house at some universities), the philanthropy we support, playing sports and other activities, our formal and semi formal events, international funding, and other things that benefit the chapter and your experience within it. Most organizations need money to function, and sororities are no exception. I want to reiterate that none of the money is going directly to any sister in the chapter so that she will be friends with you.
2. They haze new members
Not only is this completely untrue, but it is also illegal. Movies love to perpetuate this stereotype because it is shocking and may be entertaining to watch, but I will repeat this does not reflect the reality. UBC Sororities do not condone any form of hazing, and I was told repeatedly that if I felt that I was being hazed in any way I need to report it to an official because it is not acceptable. If anything, the exact opposite is true; new members are treated like royalty. I was spoiled with gifts, posters, invitations to hangout, and all around amazing treatment to welcome me into my chapter. I am aware that hazing does still exist on some campuses – not exclusively in the Greek system – but I can say whole heartedly that I was never made to feel uncomfortable or forced to do anything I didn’t want to do for acceptance.
3. Sorority women are vapid
First of all, to be in a UBC sorority, you have to go to UBC. Not only that, but you also need a certain GPA to even go through sorority recruitment. Every sorority is different, but most also have certain GPA requirements for you to remain a member of the chapter. For instance, AGD requires a GPA of 2.5 and above for each member, and a cumulative GPA of 2.9 for the entire chapter. We also have mandatory weekly study hours and scholarship assistance to help you when you are struggling with a class. In addition, we have a huge support system filled with women who have either already taken the class you are going to, or are in a class with you, making studying and getting through your degree a lot easier.
4. All you do is party
I’m not going to lie, partying is definitely an element of Greek life, but it’s also an element of university in general. I also blame movies for the exaggeration of this stereotype. If you choose to spend your entire university life partying, that is your choice and it is not a side effect of joining a sorority. I have never been judged for not going to a party, and my sorority provides members with many other opportunities to bond such as sporting events, charity work, study sessions, group dinners, game nights, etc. Again, this may be an aspect of joining a sorority as you suddenly have 100+ friends to go out with, but it is definitely not an essential or expected part of your membership.
5. Sororities are anti feminist
This stereotype honestly baffles me because sororities were founded as a way to encourage women to support one another and stay in universities during a time that they were expected to stay home, raise babies, and take care of their husbands. I have never felt more empowered as I now have dozens of incredible women to look up to who support me and who I can also support. The benefit of being an all female organization also allows us to run for any leadership position within the chapter without any form of gender discrimination. I have sisters that are currently working on research that will published, creating apps, working at their dream jobs, super involved in other UBC organizations like student government, and basically kicking ass in every aspect of life. Sororities are a place for women to thrive and build one another up in a world that is constantly tearing them down and telling them to compete with each other.
There are other stereotypes associated with sororities, but the ones I discussed appear to be the most prevalent. I would just like to emphasize that judging any group of people – especially with assumptions bred mainly from the media – is wrong and could deny you the chance of being part of something amazing. I am extremely happy that I did not allow my own misconceptions to stop me from joining AGD, and I hope that anyone reading this will have a greater understanding of what it really means to be in a sorority; maybe you will even consider joining one yourself.
All Gifs taken from https://giphy.com/