Since Rush Week is just around the corner, we asked UWF students all about their experiences with Greek life. We spoke with current members, disaffiliated members and people who dropped. We all know that Greek life is supposed to be your family in this new chapter of life. Sometimes that situation ends up being the case for people, but for others, not so much. Most of the participants chose to remain anonymous. Here are what UWF students had to say about Greek life.
The Good:
Nikki Ong is a current member of a sorority. She joined a sorority because she wanted to make friends but instead made lifelong friends. Her experience with her sorority taught her to open up about her emotions and problems and to rely on her sisters.
“I had no motivation to keep my grades up, and now, I have a 3.5 GPA. That’s something I’ve never achieved in all my years of going to school,” Ong said.
Ong’s favorite part about being a member of a sorority is being involved with philanthropy and campus life.
“[Greek life] is such an awesome way to connect with other people, and let’s face it, college is all about networking at the end of the day. I can’t even begin to tell you how many amazing people I’ve met through Greek life,” said Ong.
We will be referring to the next student as UWF alumna. UWF alumna joined a sorority because she wanted to make new friends. The president of her sorority immediately took UWF alumna underneath her wing and encouraged her to be a leader in the sorority. UWF alumna then became the sorority’s president and stayed a member all throughout her college career.
“While I learned things in class, Greek life taught me so much more about being a successful young professional,” said UWF alumna.
The Bad:
During UWF alumna’s second term as president, she felt like an outsider in her sorority because a lot of the new members didn’t like her.
“Being a leader in Greek life is hard. You are so young, and then all of the sudden, you have to deal with these very grown up problems like sexual harassment, people breaking laws and late night emergency room calls,” said UWF alumna.
We will be referring to the next student as Graduate student. Graduate student was a member of her sorority for two and a half years. Once she notified her sorority that she wanted to leave, they held a vote to terminate her.
The Ugly:
A disaffiliated sorority member that we will be referring to as Nursing major reached out to us with an especially disheartening story about being ostracized and bullied by her sorority. After Nursing major found out that her younger sister was diagnosed with cancer, she went home to spend time with her family. She notified her sorority that she would be unable to make one chapter meeting and that she needed more time to pay dues.
“When I was going through this hard time, not one person checked on me and asked if I were okay. Not one person gave an ounce of care for me. In my time of need as my sister from blood was on the hospital bed, they voted to get me suspended from the sorority,” said Nursing major.
Nursing major told us that her sorority within that same week scrapped the Greek letters off her car and commented on all of her sorority related social media posts requesting she delete them.
“These girls you think you know will be the same girls flipping you off at stop lights and calling you names at the club when you pass by,” said Nursing major.
Well, there you have it the good, the bad and the ugly about sororities on campus. If you are still on the fence about doing Rush Week or not, you should just give it a shot. Rush Week is the perfect time to test the waters and see what these girls are all about. If the sororities give you bad vibes, then leave. It’s better to at least test it out than to regret not giving it a shot. But most importantly, do what you believe is right for yourself.