Lucy says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20081:03 pm 

Haha, this sounds like a very angry post.

I'm thinking I might pledge though. Sounds fun.

lmt says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20081:48 pm 

The author's snotty tone and self-centered attitude are exactly the reasons I disliked the sorority girls in college. Thanks for confirming what I believed all along. K, get over yourself!

Stephanie says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20082:49 pm 

Amazes me how you can pick up a "tone" from a post online. Great post K! I think I might pledge my junior year !

James says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20083:34 pm 

You can't compare college admission with sorority pledging, because college is predominantly an academic institute, while a sorority is social. Making friends is important in college, but not a requirement. However, if you don't make friends in your sorority, the entire concept of Greek life is undermined.

I'm not saying that you bought your friends, but making friends through the Greek system is kind of like online dating: there's nothing wrong with it, but it's just a tad less wholesome than the usual way.

Jay says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20085:15 pm 

The whole Greek system is a load of bullshit.It's for shallow materialistic snobs.

Lauren, University o says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20085:31 pm 

Wow so much greek hate. We dont hate you for not being in a house, why must you waste energy on us? We just made a choice – if you disagree, fine. But don't get all high and mighty because you didn't have the same fun activities and social events taht we did.

Mary says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20086:39 pm 

soooo if people who are not part of a sorority called independents, does that make sorority members dependents? hmm, interesting. i think i'll continue being greek-free then, thanks.

Nicole says:
Thu, 24th Jul 20087:42 pm 

I only disliked the sorority girls at my college for one simple reason: they fell head first into the stereotype that they have to be stuck up and party all the time. Anyone who was not in their sorority was either A) a loser or B) ugly in their minds. And I heard that straight from their mouths. I do not believe that all sorority girls are like this but thanks to the lovely 'sisters' at my college I do not generally like them. But you know after a conversation and finding out what they're really like I change my mind. I just suffer from believing the stereotype most people believe. Stereotypes unfortunately suck people in.

Brittney says:
Fri, 25th Jul 20084:20 am 

I agree, there was an angry, hostile tone to this article and at the end I simply ask "who cares?"

Groups always have that (surprisingly small comparing to the whole) percentage of people who live up to the stereotypes of that group. To set yourself away from them is to continue to walk to your own beat, and not to another person's beat.

LucyInTheSky says:
Fri, 25th Jul 20086:11 am 

I also get a lot of judgment from people (especially GDI guys) when I explain that I'm still involved with my sorority as an alumna. I am on the advisory council of my collegiate chapter, and I still go to a lot of meetings, workshops, conferences, etc. It's something I really enjoy… but a lot of guys see it as lame that I'm still doing it. Oh well!

K-NYU says:
Fri, 25th Jul 20086:22 am 

Nicole, I loved your commentary, and agree with others who realize that hey, we're not all the same. Yes, there are some horrible people in the Greek system, anyone can see that. But that's not indicative of everyone's behavior. You can't judge us all by one terrible person, we're all (shockingly) individuals.

Belle says:
Fri, 25th Jul 20088:39 am 

I don't think there's much delineation at all along the Greek/Non-Greek lines. All types of people join houses (and don't join) so I don't see how you would be able to make a judgment based on the fact they decided to rush. What house they were in however, might tell you something. But that's true of any grouping – what school they went to, where they're from, what their family was like… Stereotypes sometimes ring true…so what.

Tiffane says:
Fri, 25th Jul 20088:55 am 

Gaaahhh. THANK YOU. As a recent graduate and sorority alum, I am so sick and tired of having to defend the Greek system.

If the independents don't have to defend their choice not to be Greek, why should I have to defend my decision to be?

And don't even get me started on all the stereotypes that popped up after the drug bust at SDSU last year. One bunch of douchebags are not representative of an entire nation of fraternity and sorority members.

Elise says:
Fri, 25th Jul 20089:04 am 

This is kind of like that time I admitted I was a Christian online. Everybody goes OMG BUT FRED PHELPS IS EVIL and assumes my life is composed of equal parts guilt, hate and stupid.

Sure, yeah. There were sororities at my school that made me embarrassed to be *attending* my school, but there were sororities that– had I not been busted broke and a lucky member of the general nerd group– I'd have been proud to join.

The problem is that the stupid sororities and fraternities are SO MUCH MORE PUBLIC. Because, you know, rude people tend to get in your face more, play obvious drama games more, and be generally nastier to everyone in public than nice, thoughtful, otherwise-occupied people.

So sheesh, guys, give the Greeks a break. If one of them really, really sucks, you can just tell 'em they're the reason everyone hates sorority girls.

Joe says:
Fri, 25th Jul 200811:51 am 

I have met many people in the greek system because my university, Purdue, has the 3rd largest greek system in the US. I have come to find that people in both fraternities and sororities judge you more by the letters on your chest than content of your personality. For you soon-to-be 'sisters' out there, be sure to ask a guy what his name is before you ask him what house he's in. It shows us how shallow and naive you are.

Casey says:
Fri, 25th Jul 20088:42 pm 

I've known some non-stereotypical frat guys (some of my best friends) but I've never had any dealings with non-stereotypical sorority girls. I mean I'm sure they exist but the girls I have know before they joined a sorority changed so much after they joined. They all became the stereotypical backstabbing stuck-up bitches that you think of when you picture a sorority girl. But like I said I just haven't met any, not hat they don't exist (here's hoping they do anyways)

KB says:
Sun, 27th Jul 20089:41 am 

As a sister of a sorority that has turned out top researchers for major pharmacueticals (Wyeth, GSK, etc), several Fulbright winners, a Rhodes scholar, countless Phi Beta Kappa members, and some of the top flipcup and pong players in the Philadelphia region, I'd just like to point out that there IS a balance in there. Some people don't find that balance and have to leave school because they spend too much time partying, but very, very few of those people at my college are Greek.

I'm lucky enough to attend an institution that is accepting of Greeks, and even more lucky that the school is small enough for people who aren't Greek to understand that we deserve as much respect as we give them.

My question is whether or not you people really think those "stereotypical sorority girls" would be any different without letters, academic standards, and strict community service/philanthropy requirements,

Kim says:
Sun, 27th Jul 200811:10 am 

The university that I go to has a very large, and very obnoxious Greek system. In fact, one of the fraternities' houses is the old governor's mansion (I'm not sure if this is common at other schools or not). Different fraternities and sororities are constantly being kicked off campus or reprimanded for their behavior towards their 'brothers/sisters' or to pledges. Quite frankly, I think that's ridiculous. How can you call someone your 'brother' or 'sister' when you treat them the way that you do? I know a few people in the Greek system (my brother being one of them) and I've seen some of the cruelest and most vicious behavior from them.

And yes, there is a stigma that comes with being part of the Greek system. It used to be a very respectable way for people to socialize and network with small mixers and happy hours. Now? Now it is a way for girls to wear short skirts, skimpy tops, do keg stands and for guys to enjoy it all and learn that much more quickly how to demoralize and take advantage of women. Yes, there is a stereotype associated with sororities and fraternities, and for good reason too. Sure, you have your 'study rooms' or 'study hours' or what have you, but you also make complete idiots of yourselves for the sake of a 'good' time. Please. Really? Do you really think that it was worth all of those mornings wondering what really happened the night before or who this guy is in your bed? I really doubt it. I think the Greek system has become a way for high school students that were popular to be able to feel that they retain that same sense of superiority and it's sad.

That's just my $0.02.

And Lauren from Univ. of Michigan: I had a lot of fun events and social activities, as you like to call them, well outside of the Greek system and I didn't have to pay hundreds of dollars a semester to do so. Your insinuations by your statement are entirely arrogant and really do prove that the Greek system produces some of the most self-centered and socially inept individuals in the country.

KB says:
Sun, 27th Jul 20085:24 pm 

Kim, I'm sorry you had to have such an awful experience with the Greeks that you've come into contact with. I can only hope that you and others won't sink to such a level as judging all Greeks by those same standards. You wouldn't dare judge other campus organizations that traditionally come with stigmas (Christian groups, Muslim Students Association, Hillel, Feminist groups, Gay Straight Alliance, etc) that way, would you?

Jess says:
Sun, 27th Jul 20085:58 pm 

as a transfer from a large public to small private, sorority deactivate-tee, and lavaliered girlfriend of a member of the executive council of a chapter of lambda chi alpha, i've ran the gamut of greek experience, here.

the thing about it is, we all judge, unconsciously even, on affiliations. everything we do tells the world a little more about us and what's important to us. we line our associations accordingly to our morals and views, would you not disagree?

the stigma that greek life has is self-inflicted. there's no way around that. it may not be the individuals' faults within a given organization, because i certainly know the most wonderful, level-headed frat boys in the universe, and i also know (albeit few) good-natured, amazing sorority girls. the attitude of this post (which is obviously intentional) does nothing to credit greek affiliation. K, if anything, you did the exact opposite. if someone truly does judge you negatively for being in a sorority, would it not be more effective to tell them the wonderful things you got out of the experience, instead of retorting back with trite sarcastic comments that fall on deaf ears? i hate to be one of those english majors, but there's a martin luther king quote that you would do well to look up, something about a dirty glass of water, and clean glass of water.

Amanda says:
Tue, 29th Jul 200810:24 am 

Most of the bitchiest, cattiest, sluttiest, most stereotypically "sorority girl" type of girls were not, in fact, in a Greek organization at all. And some of the nicest, most caring girls with high morals that I have met have been in a sorority. And having been on both sides of Greek life, I know that sucky people are everywhere and there's no more chance to run into them in a sorority than in your own classroom.

anonymous says:
Tue, 19th Aug 20084:54 pm 

Women in soritys are so kind and beautiful and sexy and virtuous and knowledegable and helpful and honest and each every girl is extremely loving. We apreciate the sanity that you give and take. But mostly we love strong in the mind intelligent thoughtful women who lead in a good direction offering spontaneous fun and shelter from the hard things. Thankyou for the depth of show,stage,dance and personality. Being unique sometimes in a group like this is important to me because it is a competion I wanted to win.

Love your anymous admirer,

In need of attention

anonymous says:
Tue, 19th Aug 20085:33 pm 

I love men!

Charles says:
Thu, 21st Aug 20083:54 pm 

The Greek system has definitely managed to inflict some stereotypes on itself. This post doesn't help alleviate the problem.

I've met some real great frat guys at my university, and then some real idiotic ones. Pretty much all of the sorority girls have turned out to be idiots, which is sad considering that many of those girls were sweethearts during highschool.

However, I'm sure that there's plenty of kind sorority girls out there as well. Chances are that many of these girls are incredibly unconfident and have developed a tough exterior to deal with it. The greek system at all but elite schools is usually a system designed to get sex from the freshman sorority girls. The guys in the frats pretty much have it down to a science. It seems like the junior/senior sorority girls are more prude, though. We also have a problem with sorority girls not choosing challenging majors, and dropping out early.

Really, the problem is the individual girls who act like idiots, not the greek system.

jack says:
Fri, 5th Sep 20087:52 am 

This makes me hate you even more then i did just on the pretense that you were a sorority girl.

Casey says:
Sat, 13th Sep 20087:52 am 

It's a shame that so many people who know nothing about the greek system are acting like such no-it-alls. Do you really think that a stereotype can fit all the hundreds of girls that are in the greek system?

"Going Greek" was the best thing I ever did. I am normally very shy and was reluctant at first. but the girls at alpha phi took me in and i was just allowed to be who i was.

i have made the best of friends by joining a sorority. I suggest going through rush if you are interested to see what it's like if you're interested.

it's really more than people give it credit for. sisters for life.

N says:
Sat, 18th Oct 200810:17 pm 

Having been a former college RA I've seen my share of the highly immature behavior of frat guys and sorority chicks. Sorority chicks think that they look good when after so much fast living it starts to take its toll. What also annoys me is how sorority chicks fling themselves all over frat guys not aware that most of them are being used for sex. Some sorority girls are extremely mean to people especially if they're not in a frat or sorority. Yet at least the normal students have GPAs that allow them to graduate from college. What is totally unclear is why some people still continue the immature and crazy frat and sorority behavior well after college. Is there a reason why some people have a hard time growing up when they're pushing 30?

Catherine says:
Fri, 24th Oct 200812:57 pm 

I'm not in a sorority but my roommate is part of Alpha Sigma Alpha – one of the "better" sororities, IMO. They don't drink to have a good time and speaking on behalf of my roommate, they're a group of nice girls, not all like the stereotype.

But at the same time, I think the stereotype does have some truth to it because I've also met a lot of sorority girls that come off as extremely snobby and superficial. Personally, I couldn't do it. I feel like sororities and frats judge you without even really knowing you (and I know, most pledged girls will use the same argument about the rest of us). But to put myself into that situation to be judged superficially on purpose? No thanks, not for me.

Amber says:
Mon, 17th Nov 20088:09 pm 

I feel the same way thanks for putting it out there.

Greeks Rock

Heres a funny thing I found on the net…sad
http://www.dan007phd.com/frat.html

Nate says:
Fri, 19th Dec 20089:33 am 

As a member of a national fraternity, if people ask me if I buy my friends, I tell them I do.

Out of over 100,000 brothers, it comes out to about 2 cents per friend. Where else can you buy lifelong friendships for 2 cents?

Ashley says:
Thu, 2nd Apr 20098:46 am 

I love my sorority sisters. Yes you may think we buy our friends but I would love the girls I live with whether or not I pledged. Joining the same sorority as them just introduced me to them and helped me realize how amazing they are. I have plenty of independent friends at school however when your in a sorority you just spend more time with your sisters; not because they're better, just because there are many Greek activities you take part in over the year. I never thought sororities were something I would ever want to partake in but until you try it, please don't knock it. Sure there are people who fit stereotypes of everything, but overall the sorority girls, at least on my campus, are great girls.

Z says:
Tue, 1st Dec 20098:45 am 

Well at my school the greek life seems to be a world in their own. Yes they have friends outside of the greek system but they only tend to hang with fellow greeks. I went through rush thinking I'd meet people that I would be proud to call my sisters. What I saw was completely different. I am a very good judge of character and those girls were as plastic as every stereotype on T.V. Funny thing is that I got a bid from the top house in the school because I had the "look", but I declined. The way they treated others, with their nose in the air, looking down on people. I just couldn't stomach that, nonetheless spend the next for years being a part of that. That's what I experienced..yea other school are different but not mine.

TJ says:
Mon, 14th Dec 20093:57 pm 

Thanks for your post — I enjoyed it. I actually published something similar on my blog some time ago — link below for your enjoyment, if you want to read it, too.

Re: the folks above who find you snotty and that this just reinforces their opinion of Greeks. I must say…

- If you're looking to find a particular attribute in a person, you'll succeed. My guess is these folks were already prejudiced against Greeks.

- They haven't walked any distance in your shoes (whether sneakers or Choos); if they had, they'd know that you're not necessarily being bitchy as you are just being tired of being subject to the same tired stereotypes.

- Categorizing all Greeks as anything is like saying all blacks are something, all Native Americans are something else, and all people with MBAs are dishonest. Huge variety.

But you know all that. Just wanted to make sure your other posters do, too.

Wishing you well – from another Greek.

http://ironic-pastiche.blogspot.com/2007/08/its-n…

Daywalk says:
Tue, 15th Dec 20096:32 am 

To all of those people silly enough to assert that you can't fit ALL people of a particular group into one stereotype, that's true. But it's also very obvious and proves nothing. You can however find more people of one group that fit into a stereotype or image better than a normal random distribution of people would.

To the girl who wrote this article: Relax, no one thinks you're popular. Your article did nothing but reinforce stereotypes through the things you think are important enough to address.

Btw, no one cares if you're not in college anymore. You're still going to be judged for having been in a sorority because you're still the same kind of person who is attracted to that. Yes, there is a type of person. Why do you think that you and your sisters clicked so well?

You can't say all gangbangers are the same, but you can probably find quite a few similarities between most.

wtf says:
Fri, 18th Dec 200910:17 pm 

What the, TJ you say categorizing all greeks as anything is like saying all blacks are something? I don't think so. Are greeks being forced into slavery or being denied basic civil rights institutionalized by society? No. It's not the same thing.

TK says:
Tue, 16th Feb 20101:23 pm 

Here's the problem with sororities IMO. Girls/Women have certain qualities that were the cause of all the repression since ancient times. They are less physically capable, they feel more pain and they are biologically wired to pay more attention to other people than to real world threats and issues.

The end result is they are on average more passive, more easily intimidated etc. When you put them in a situation that makes them feel empowered the end result is usually passive aggressiveness and not any kind of leadership skills.

Meaning you put them in a sorority and they start sharing all their insecurities and reassuring each other… but in a bad way. Instead of figuring out the real cause of problems in their lives and addressing them head on, they form hate groups and do things like spread rumors about people behind their back. On any college campus at any given time there is probably some ignorant sorority girl ranting about something to her friends that she doesn't even remotely understand.

Women who behave like this are the weak links of society, and in my experience 90% of the time they came from a sorority meaning this isn't something that ceases to be an issue after college but rather sororities seem to have a diseased influence on society as a whole.

Men have to go through a difficult path in life to become effective leaders in which they learn first to be assertive and stand up for what they believe in, then do a complete 180 and learn to be open minded, honest, and fair so they do not butt heads with every other guy trying to be assertive. Finally we learn to be expressive of ideas that we have learned that made us successful and encouraging of those around us, so that we can increase the effectiveness of the people around us.

Men have rules developed as part of these goals that include things like confronting someone in an honest and fair manner if you have a problem with their behavior. If you break these rules people (and even some laws) tend to look the other way when things revert back to the stone age and you get aggressively dealt with.

Women on the other hand don't want to follow these rules and yet still expect special protection from any kind of direct consequences for their actions because of their physical frailty. Women want to compete in this world without developing any of the necessary skills and call it gender bias if they don't get to.

If you want to feel empowered, what you need is knowledge and any sorority that studies morality and leadership to look for ways to deal with their issues I don't have a problem with. As for the rest, IMO burn them down and make them go back to living with their daddies until they get married.

Jack says:
Mon, 30th Aug 20101:55 pm 

The best part about a sorority girl is they did the walk of shame with dignity. You could kick them out of the house and they didn't complain, unlike the girls looking for a relationship. Really, who tries to find love in college.

The rest of you are gay and over think things. This is just an angry rant from a girl who gave it up like it was free and is angry now, because people remember the time she licked chocolate off another girl. I learned more in Highschool then I did in College. College is just a check in the box, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

ANGRY says:
Tue, 14th Jun 20116:29 pm 

I had sex with one guy in a whole year, who wore a condom the whole time. He had sex with a sorority girl not long beforehand. Dumn sorori-sluts make sex not even worth it. (My GPA is lower than yours because my major isn’t a complete joke.)

No greek says:
Mon, 29th Aug 201112:26 pm 

Fuck you k

taylor says:
Thu, 3rd Nov 20115:19 pm 

chill out. sorority, fraternity, or god damn individual…..you made the choice and no one is shoving their beliefs down your throat. (:

that being said…being part of a srat or frat gives you networks that can create great job opportunities. The top money makers in the world, such as the ceo of facebook, and an abundance of movie stars were all part of greek life. it creates connections. it gives back to the community. it creates lifelong friendships. i love working with our philanthropy to help kids in need. i really do not know what i would do if i didnt have such great kids to help out with campfire usa. it breaks my heart that people are so ignorant towards sororities and fraternities. if you were never part of will, you can never understand and will never understand. maybe you never wanted to, but we aren't bashing you for not being part of greek life..so don't bash us. not until you have experienced it yourself.

adpiiiiiii says:
Thu, 3rd Nov 20115:21 pm 

the correct term is sorostitute…&
and no, i attend uga..and i can assure you that my major, pre-med…
is not a complete joke.

geeds.

Ellen says:
Sun, 5th Feb 20128:12 pm 

I hate sorority girls as much as you, but that was SO misogynistic. I'm happy you're so satisfied with men.