If you’ve ever driven along Hilgard Avenue in Los Angeles, without a doubt you have witnessed the winding row of UCLA sorority mega-mansions, while teasing out the idea of joining one of the thirteen chapters offered to eligible students. Greek life supposedly fosters instant friends, boosts job applications and curates the dream social schedule, but the crucial question guiding girls’ decisions to rush is yet to be answered — is sorority life truly everything it’s chalked up to be?
In discussing the motivations of girls that choose to pursue Greek life, current and former members of UCLA sororities shared that the social aspect of the organizations was the biggest draw, as making friends at a new school filled with thousands of students proves to be a daunting task. Yet, many are pleasantly surprised with the other benefits that come after initiation into their pledged chapter, such as fourth-year Business Economics major, Mary Bruno, who says, “The positives that come along with Greek life are the fast friends, the community service opportunities, the networking opportunities, the social aspect and the involvement in something larger than yourself.”
Sororities often recruit like-minded individuals that quickly connect with one another due to the substantial amount of time spent together at meetings, social functions and bonding events. And even though many believe a stereotypical day-in-the-life of a sorority girl is simply attending parties and dressing up in fancy ensembles, there are overlooked aspects of the organizations that prove meaningful and quite impactful. Every Greek organization is responsible for selecting a philanthropy to support and advocate for, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation or American Heart and Stroke Associations. Volunteering time and effort towards charitable associations that rely on community support is decidedly an appreciable facet of Greek societies (and should be acknowledged by outsiders much more often).
The benefits of going Greek are clear, as Rush week permits each chapter to broadcast these wonders of sorority life to thousands of girls every year, yet the darker side of these societies typically gets swept under the rug to keep up with reputations and expectations.
Third-year Psychology major, Shannon Vo, joined a sorority and then chose to drop the organization after witnessing the many issues the lifestyle incurred. Surprisingly enough, she found that the negatives uncovered malign truths hidden in the positives, such as the boosted social life, in which Vo commented, “There [are] so many back to back events that require such an insane level of time and energy, and most of the time it felt like the [sole] objective of these events was to meet and court the guys.” The amount of mandatory obligations that require members in attendance adds up quickly and often causes issues of conflicting obligations with other organizations, work and school. Vo revealed that she “constantly felt like [she] was drowning in obligations.”
And while making fast friends was deemed a prime advantage of joining a sorority, the reality of forcing dozens to hundreds of girls to associate with one another is not always as seamless as the organizations like to suggest. Vo struggled with these forced friendships herself, saying, “I [felt] unseen while I was in the chapter because sororities are powered through toxic positivity. Most of my interactions with others felt shallow or scripted.” The stereotyped “shallowness” of Greek organizations is unfortunately another issue for members, as the lack of diversity and equal representation amongst members remains an issue to this day. But to be completely fair, many have attested to the current push for more inclusivity in Greek life, in hopes that chapters will be more accepting of diverse recruitment classes in the future.
Vo’s final critique of the Greek societies was the lack of support for those at a financial disadvantage. Thousands of dollars are expected to be paid by members each school year, with minimal support and leeway from authorities despite the fact that finances aren’t always readily available for some families. Vo shared a story about one of her former sorority sisters that “had to drop because her car broke down and she had to use her money to pay for the repairs instead of the chapter dues. When she asked the chapter heads if there was a way to work around the financial strain, they said she’ll have a quarter to pay but until she did she wouldn’t be allowed to attend any events.” Similar stories often come to the surface in the form of preventative warnings to potential new members looking into going Greek. In short: Sororities are EXPENSIVE, so if this is an issue, the possibility of chapters not accommodating your financial needs should be taken into consideration before you rush them.
While there are plenty of pros and cons to weed through in making your own decision about joining a sorority in college, both Vo and Bruno suggest giving Rush a chance to see if Greek life is ultimately a good fit for you. Bruno added, “Nothing is set in stone by deciding to rush, you don’t HAVE to join a sorority at the end of [recruitment] if you don’t want to…You may not have anything come out of it but you also may find everything you have been looking for in terms of what you want to get out of your college experience.” The popularized and stereotyped “college experience” is nothing more than a lie filtered out to adolescents through various forms of media. Choosing to rush a sorority should not be influenced by expectations or social pressure, but rather should be decided upon because you truly see the value in the opportunities offered by going Greek. Join a sorority — or don’t, just make sure you stay true to yourself in either case.