To rush or not to rush...

librababy · #1 09-03-2005, 01:55 AM

Hey all, this is my first post so bear with me lol

I'll be a freshman at Ohio State in the fall and i'm thinking about rushing. but i'm scared of a few things. so i need some advice and/or support.

i am not one to stereotype. however, after being a cheerleader my freshman year of high school turned out to be everything i dreaded (and every cheerleading stereotype imaginable) i have to admit that i am intimidated by the greek "thing". i am afraid of being hazed, despite anti-hazing rules and whatnot. i am afraid of the frighteningly pretty girls. i am put off by the tales of sexist frat guys and the rape stories i hear. and i am most of all afraid that i will find myself in a situation where i feel like i absolutely do not belong.

so you might be wondering why i even want to rush? because i know that some part of what i'm fearing is not true and that being greek has tons to offer. i am very interested in the positives for all the genuine reasons. i am just feeling hesitant of the possible negatives. *i just wonder how much of the stuff i'm stressing about actually exists and how much of it is in my worrysome head* <-- my key question

i'm sure some of you can relate to feeling this way at least somewhat prior to rush period. does anyone have advice? i really am interested and i mean no disrespect when referring to the stuff i'm leery of, because i know it's so much more than that (that's why i'm interested!). i think my cheerleading experience scarred me

thanks to everyone in advance!

p.s. does anyone know anything about the specific osu chapters? all i know about the greek system there is that they do deferred recruitment. i already have the minimun 12 credit hours from taking college classes in hs. but i am figuring i should wait it out til winter quarter b/c not all the chapters participate in informal recruitment in the fall and i want to get a feel for all of them.

AOIIalum · #2 09-03-2005, 08:23 AM

Welcome to GC, librababy.

I understand your concern. It's scary to hear all these stories and think it happens everywhere. There are 14 fantastic sororities at Ohio State. I'm a bit biased, but I truly believe you will be impressed with the overall quality of the sororities. You'll also be relieved to know these are real women! It's not all about size 0 cookie cutter boy crazy bar hoppers

Freshmen women go through deferred recruitment in January, so you have time to learn about the greek system at OSU. It's not a typical "Big 10 Greek" school, so it's my observation that it's just not as high pressured as say Indiana or well, any of them. Please, take advantage of the fall quarter to get to know people and go to all of the introduction events open to Freshmen.

OSU Panhellenic has done an outstanding job in overhauling their website. You can find links to most of the OSU sororities there. There's plenty of information out there. Good luck!

OSU Sorority Recruitment Info

OSU Panhellenic

CarolinaDG · #3 09-03-2005, 08:31 AM

I am trusting that you are genuine. If you are, I apologize for being weary, because there have been several times when the first post from a member has been to "dig up dirt" about chapters.

One the girls from my chapter transferred to the DG chapter at OSU, and my aunt is an AZD from OSU (she's in her mid- to late 50's now). From what I can gather from the two of them, OSU has a wide variety of chapters and pretty much something for everyone. As far as hazing, Delta Gamma has a strict no hazing policy, and our Executive Offices are in Columbus, so you'd better bet that our OSU chapter sticks to it. As for all of the rest, all NPC chapters have strict no hazing policies as well. You'll often see people on this board correct "rush" into "recruitment" or "pledge" into "new member." Well, that's because we are very well aware of our "no hazing" policies, and that is considered hazing.

As far as the other things you mentioned, certainly some girls fit the stereotype of tons of partying and many guys fit the "frat boy" stereotype as well. What you need to realize, though, is that especially in large chapters you can be who you are. You make your own decisions.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

KSUViolet06 · #4 09-03-2005, 09:55 AM

I must say the OSU Greek system is amazing. I go to Kent and alot of my friends are in sororities there. Rush is a great chance for you to put to rest all your sterotypes. EVERY chapter @ OSU is different and full of different kinds of girls. The national governing body of Panhellenic (NPC) has a VERY VERY strict anti-hazing policy, so no worries there. I hope you do decide to rush, best of luck!

dgdramadawg · #5 09-03-2005, 11:03 AM

If I were in your place, I'd look for houses with women who share your major or extracurricular involvement, so that you know that you have something to share. Look for places where you can see yourself eating ice cream with the sisters at 3am with no makeup on.

But definitely rush... even if you think you might not pledge. I know several people who were unsure about rushing who ended up Presidents of their houses as seniors.

FSUZeta · #6 09-03-2005, 11:39 AM

as others have said, all npc sororities are anti-hazing. also remember, you cannot be hazed if you do not allow it to happen to you. for instance, if you joined a sorority and they said that all new members had to come over to the house and do everyones laundry(or anything, of course that would endanger you, make you feel bad, degrade you) you just simply leave-you do not allow if to happen. and you report that chapter to the greeklife office at your school and you call the national office of that chapter. i don't think that you will have to worry about it,though. sign up for recruitment, check each group out and if anything lights your light give it a try. best wishes.

lagirl33 · #7 09-03-2005, 01:25 PM

I also recommend strongly that you rush.

In regards to hazing, most sororities follow the anti-hazing rules very strictly. This is very different from the fraternities at my school. Our pledge period was filled with presents!

The stereotype regarding the sexist frat guy, as well as date rape from frat guys, is sadly sometimes a reality. I personally know 4 girls who, in their first quarter of college, were raped by a member of a fraternity. However, 2 were in a sorority, and 2 were not.

I have many non-sorority friends that attend many more parties than I do (and I'm in a sorority

).

The main issue with that, is to practice caution and self-restraint. Sometimes I felt like the girls who weren't in sororities felt like they had to act/dress like complete sluts to get into the parties (where we were already on the guest lists).

JohnsDGsweethrt · #8 09-03-2005, 02:30 PM

i had many of the same thoughts that you have about greek life before i attended college. my school, furman, also had deferred recruitment like osu. when i got to school i realized greek life wasn't at all like hazing and complete partying like i thought it was. i realized i really wanted to be in a sorority. i went from complete anti-greek before college to loving being in a sorority. i hope that advice helpsi do know an interesting fact about ohio state. patricia heaton of everybody love raymond was a dg there! sorry, that's all i know

good luck!

librababy · #9 09-03-2005, 03:41 PM

thank you so much to everyone so far for the great advice! yes i am genuinely interested in sorority life and not trying to dig up dirt, but i do understand your concern, carolinadg. i really do want to be a part of a sisterhood and make friends with an group of amazing women, and get involved in osu. and i truly mean that.
it's great to know there's a lot of diversity within and between the chapters. that's one of the reasons i chose osu was that there are all different types of people everywhere you go and you can alwyas feel comfortable being yourself.
i have been all over osugreeks.com, the greek life part of the official osu website, and the individual chapter websites as well (as many of them as i can find b/c some have a broken link). i have to say (and i can because i'm anonymous lol) that AOII is really appealing to me so far. i know i shouldn't base it on websites, but from reading all the info i got the vibe that this is a really friendly, genuine sisterhood. (it's hard to explain but you can get a vibe from many factors on a website!) i'm gonna check them out but of course i'll check out all of the chapters on campus to see which one feels right.
once again i hope no one was offended by my apprehension based on stereotypes, because after all my reason for posting is because i know better than to believe all of it and needed to regain my confidence and not worry so much

(on another note, my fear of hazing is because 3 osu chapters got in trouble for hazing last year.)

AchtungBaby80 · #10 09-03-2005, 04:27 PM

Do it!

I felt the same way as you when I was a freshman even though my older sisters were sorority members, but I shouldn't have been worried. Oh, to be a pledge again...we got presents every single week and they treated us like gold!

AGDee · #11 09-03-2005, 11:31 PM

I would encourage you to go through recruitment. It's the only way to get to know the women and make an informed decision!

OSU was investigating two fraternities and one sorority for hazing allegations. Key word is "investigating". Since the group that was being investigated is apparently still on campus, I'd guess that nothing was substantiated and that people will keeping a watchful eye on them anyway, so if they DID haze before, it wasn't bad enough to close the chapter and they are more likely to be keeping their noses clean now.

As others have said, if you do join a sorority and ever feel as though you're being hazed, tell an advisor or someone from your Greek Life office.

Dee