This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Utah chapter.
There’s no secret that Greek life is a little different down South than what we see up here at the University of Utah. From clothing style to size of the houses and the amount of members, we can see clear differences in U of U Greek life versus pretty much any Southern school. Both have their perks and drawbacks but in a lot of ways, they are worlds apart.
- The clothing: Greek women have very different styles of clothing in the North than in the South. Everything in the South tends to be more formal from Saturday morning brunches to game-day. While we rock the cute flannels, oversized sweaters, statement t-shirts, all with the perfect jeans for every season, most Southern girls take pride in their sundresses in every print and stylish hats–perfect for every derby day! Every sorority girl can name the iconic Greek women brand of Lilly and most can even usually identify a Lilly dress or planner simply by glancing at it, in the South, Lilly isn’t just a brand, it’s a religion and generally worn by every sorority member, no matter her house. Lilly isn’t necessarily a “sorority brand” but it certainly has been taken over by Greek women. From dresses worn to recruitment or just out to lunch to school planners to water cups, you can usually catch a Southern girl rocking some version of that fun, multicolored print.
- The houses: If you’ve never visited or even seen a Southern Greek house I would recommend checking out a Greek Row next time you’re down South. Most houses usually display large pillars, brick, expensive stone, pools and can house up to 70 members. A few of the houses on the University of Utah Greek Row, did not originally start off as houses meant to be for sororities or fraternities. Some houses have been added on and renovated as well as the years have gone by. Generally houses in the North are not as large or lavish. The largest sorority house at the University of Utah can house up to 25 members and the largest fraternity houses up to 32.
- Recruitment/Rush: Recruitment is something that some girls in the South train for practically their whole life. Whether every woman in their family has gone Greek or they have been preparing for recruitment since they were in middle school. Some high schools even offer recruitment preparation courses! Greek life holds as a certain culture and it is a norm down South. In some schools if you aren’t Greek, you aren’t really considered to be involved. Both women and men are told to bring at least two recommendation letters to each house (or at least the houses they are most interested in) when going through recruitment. The process of recruitment is much longer as there can be up to 25 houses for sororities or fraternities. At the University of Utah, recruitment is more laid back as there are only 3 days of recruitment and a day of bid day. Most men and women going through do not bring recommendation letters and there is no requirement to be a legacy.
- Number of Members: Since there are so many houses at a college in the South, there tend to be more members and larger pledge/new member classes. A pledge/new member class at the University of Utah can consist of around 45-60 new members, depending on the recruitment year while a class in the South can have up to 100 new members because of the volume of men and women going through recruitment. Usually this means that recruitment, bid day, big/little, initiation, etc. can be a much different because it becomes such a large affair. Bid day is planned meticulously as you have to welcome home so many members with signs and the perfect theme. Big/little reveal becomes a crafting battle to give your little the most perfect basket, theme and reveal idea. A lot of events that go along with Greek life can correlate with the size of the house.
- Social Events: The social events including, date nights, philanthropy events, formals, Greek week etc. are very different in Southern Greek life. Formals down South entail planning exotic trips for months to beaches, grand resorts and sometimes even spending longer than just a weekend. Fraternities at the University of Utah generally also go out of town/state for their formals as well while sorority events are typically held at event centers in or near town. Philanthropy events require a lot of time in planning, money, etc. The alumni base at Southern Greek life is huge and thousands of dollars in donations are made each year for these types of events.
While there may be clear differences between the University of Utah’s Greek life as compared to Southern Greek life, we remember that all Greeks are gathered for a common purpose. While we may wear different clothes, be in different houses, and have different styles of events, recruitment, etc. we all practice the same values that sororities and fraternities were created on. No matter the letter, we’re all Greek together.