a few questions

happygurl · #1 07-16-2001, 07:48 PM

Hi everyone! I will be a freshman attending Florida State in the fall. At first, I had no interest in the greek system. I planned to rush only to meet people (never intending to pledge).

I bought into the "Animal House stereotype", but as I began to meet the girls at Orientation, I realized that Greek Life was so much more. From community service to active leadership on campus, I realized that greek life might actually be right for me.

Of course, this IS a decision that I will have to put serious though into throughout the rest of the summer and as I meet the girls during rush week.

No one in my family has ever "gone Greek" so I know very little about it. All I know is what the girls at orientation have shared with me.

Now really, there is a point to this message (I promise). I was actually hoping that you all could answer a few questions that I didn't get a chance to ask at orientation.
Please, Please, Please dont just tell me what I want to hear.... answer truthfully.

1. Do you find that cliques are common in most sororities or just some (or none at all)?

2. Are you able to be involved with other organizations on campus, hold a job, and keep your grades up? (is there enough time?)

3. Are you able to meet friends that are non greek, or do you find that all of your social time is spent with your sisters?

4. Do you find that you are judged negatively on campus because you belong to a sorority?

These message boards have been so helpful. Thank you so much.

ilovemyglo · #2 07-16-2001, 09:07 PM

1. Do you find that cliques are common in most sororities or just some (or none at all)?
I would say it depends on the group. Even if there are cliques that doesn't mean you will bein one. You may get along with everyone of your sisters. Sometimes when there are 100 women they don't all get along, but they still share a common bond.

2. Are you able to be involved with other organizations on campus, hold a job, and keep your grades up? (is there enough time?)
I am also a member of three honor societies, I work at the Campus radio station in an executive capacity and also have a part time job (I am an executive officer in my sorority). Since being in college I have never gotten a C.

3. Are you able to meet friends that are non greek, or do you find that all of your social time is spent with your sisters?
I have friends that are greek, friends that aren't. You meet people in the dorms, in classes and everywhere in between!

4. Do you find that you are judged negatively on campus because you belong to a sorority?
No. There are some people that still have that animal house mentality so they are pretty crappy to you, but then a lot of times they see me out with some of my sisters and see how close we are.

It is very strange.. you sound like me, but I was a sophomore! If you have any questions feel free to e mail me. GC is a great resource though!

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"...and love her for her womanhood."

33girl · #3 07-16-2001, 10:25 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by happygurl:
1. Do you find that cliques are common in most sororities or just some (or none at all)?

No group of 30+ women is going to go everywhere arm in arm

so there are naturally going to be some groups of sisters that are closer to each other. For example, my senior year all the seniors were VERY close but it wasn't like we threw stones at a junior if she wanted to hang with us! I wouldn't call it a clique, in the negative sense of outsiders cannot get in. I was friends with lots of different types of women in my chapter.

2. Are you able to be involved with other organizations on campus, hold a job, and keep your grades up? (is there enough time?)

I was very involved in Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity and the American Marketing Association. There were quite a few sisters that had jobs. My grades actually went UP when I joined because the sorority house was closer to the library than my dorm had been.

3. Are you able to meet friends that are non greek, or do you find that all of your social time is spent with your sisters?

I was able to maintain many of the friendships I made in the dorm. Also, our chapter in general had a lot of non-Greek friends. This really varies from campus to campus.

4. Do you find that you are judged negatively on campus because you belong to a sorority?

There are always going to be anti-Greek people on campus who want to judge you and put you in a box. Some of them will change their minds after they get to know you, some will hold fast to the "Greek = Satan" mindset no matter what. Ignore the latter group and let them live their closeminded lives.

I hope this helped happygurl!! Good luck with Rush!!

[This message has been edited by 33girl (edited July 16, 2001).]

erniegurl00 · #4 07-20-2001, 10:07 PM

1. Do you find that cliques are common in most sororities or just some (or none at all)?

I think there are cliques here in and there, but I was lucky enough to be great friends with a lot of the girls before I rushed. I know some girls who only talked to their sisters when they rushed, but what you do is a personal decision. I don't think cliques are very common with my house since we have a small chapter. We hang out with everyone!

2. Are you able to be involved with other organizations on campus, hold a job, and keep your grades up? (is there enough time?)

Yes, there is enough time unless you try to get involved in every activity!! When I pledged I was involved with school, pep band, and hall government, and I still found time for everything. My pledgeship was a little hectic, but that was only for a month or so. Things die down once you become an active.

3. Are you able to meet friends that are non greek, or do you find that all of your social time is spent with your sisters?

Of course! There is no rule saying that you have to be social just with your sisters.

Last year I hung out and partied with girls in my sorority, in other sororities, and even independents.

4. Do you find that you are judged negatively on campus because you belong to a sorority?

No. The Greek system is big on my campus, so usually I don't get negative feedback. Sometimes I'll get a comment or two from someone who knows nothing about the system and what it's like. It's something that you can't escape I'm sorry to say. Until that horrible stereotype goes away we'll always have to deal with it.

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"We're not good because we're old. We're old because we're good!"

[This message has been edited by erniegurl00 (edited July 20, 2001).]

caddd365 · #5 07-21-2001, 01:06 AM

Hi happygurl,
1. I wouldn't use the word clique, but you will obviously be closer to some sisters than others, it just depends how big your chapter is. You will be most likely closer to your pledge class and form a bond with them.
2. If you are in a sorority, it means that you are a woman of talent, so you what you can handle. Personally i do hold a part time job, go to school full time and hold 2 offices, and most of my sisters are involved on campus. You have the chance to do so with your fraternity, ours has "Campus relations"
3. I have kept my friends from high school, so you have time for friends other than your sisters, but it is hard to meet people at university, like mine has 50,000 people, some classes have 1500 people, it isn't easy..
4. People will always believe what they want to... it is up to you to try and break the stereotype on campus... the people on our campus see us as conformists... they are so stuck on their hangups with animal house and all the sorority movies.. they don't give greeks a chance ... but you just combat that with your chapter programming.. your philanthropy, academics, activities etc.
Hope this helps!
Good Luck and have fun!
Carmelina

LeslieAGD · #6 07-22-2001, 01:27 PM

1. Do you find that cliques are common in most sororities or just some (or none at all)?

IMO, there will always be cliques in ANY organization (greek or otherwise), it just takes an open mind to get to know everyone. In fact, many sisters are happy when girls that they don't hang out with as much want to do stuff. They are usually lumped into a particular clique and it's refreshing to have new conversations with different people.

2. Are you able to be involved with other organizations on campus, hold a job, and keep your grades up? (is there enough time?)

My grades dropped a smidge my first semester in the sorority but then they exceeded the level they were at before. I don't work but most of my sisters do - it just takes time management. I also try to get involved in a new activity each year (ex: orientation group leader, literacy program, rho chi) and I still have plenty of time for my sorority.

3. Are you able to meet friends that are non greek, or do you find that all of your social time is spent with your sisters?

Honestly, many of my friends have also gone Greek so I don't have as many non-Greek friends as I did before, but I also hang out with the fraternities and girls in other sororities.

4. Do you find that you are judged negatively on campus because you belong to a sorority?

Greek life isn't for everyone. Some people are anti-Greek and others simply don't want to join a GLO even though they have nothing against them. Basically there will always be idiots who judge you where it's for being Greek, or your religion, or your political affiliation, or because they woke up on the wrong side of the bed and felt particularly nasty enough to put you down. My advice is to go through recruitment with an open mind and enjoy yourself!

I also wanted to mention that no one in my family has ever been Greek either and they were very skeptical. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any other questions (LeslieAGD@aol.com). Happy rushing...keep us posted!

KayDeeCareBear · #7 07-22-2001, 02:13 PM

On cliques:

Like everyone else said, there wil always be people you prefer to be with, but in a sorority, you know that you can pick up the phone and call any one of your sisters, and she'll be there for you! Our chapter currently only have 20 people in it, so we're a little bit closer than most I think.

On Other Activities:

I have a very time-consuming job doing graphic design, and I'm going to run for Student Council next year. I'm a full-time student taking 15 hours next semester, and my GPA is 3.899.

On Friendships:

I have LOTS of people that I know and hang out with other than my sisters! I am friends with a few of the Delta Zetas on our campus, too. My best friend would NEVER rush. I don't care, and neither do my sisters.

On Negativity:

Hmm, this is a tough one. I did get some negative feedback from a lot of people that though all Greeks were... bad, and they disapproved of me joining an organization like that. It just take a little education and a positive attitude to turn that opinion around!