After writing these last nineteen blog posts, you have probably wondered what sorority I am in. Well I am in Alpha Xi Delta at East Tennessee State University!
Joining the sorority is one of the best decisions I have ever made! Joining the sorority has changed me as a person for the better! I could honestly not imagine college any other way.
There are many myths and stereotypes surrounding sororities and fraternities. These myths come from movies and media exaggeration. In movies like Animal House, Legally Blonde, and Van Wilder they make greeks out to be snobby, promiscuous, partiers. Greek life is so much more than that, but that is what many people beleive sororities to be like because thats all they see on tv and movies.They fail to shine the light on what good they do for the community and campus. These stereotypes are not completely wrong, because some members of sororities or fraternities could be like that, but so could a person who is not in greek life.
Some myths are:
Sorority girls are all the same
All sorority girls do is party
Its buying your friends
Sororities will haze you
I can personally say every single one of these myths are wrong. In every sorority girls are different, there are groups of different types of girls in every sorority, everyone has a place. Obviously sorority girls do more than party, no further arguement needed, You are not buying your friends, you are just paying a semester bill to pay for things like t shirts and mixers, and sororities don not haze! There is even a week in the fall called hazing prevention week.
Sororities and fraternities are like one big family on college campuses. Throughout your four years in a sorority there will be countless events with fraternities. Fraternities and sororities come together for things like greek week, homecoming, mixers, date parties, and formals.
Fraternities are basically just the male version of a sorority.Boys go through rush at the beggingin of the semster and pick their fraternity. Fraternity rush is different from sorority rush because it is a lot more casual, and the boys have more of a pick of who they join, unlike girls wherre sororities have more of a say so.
Fraternitites have almost all the same events, other than informal. Their formals are different from sorority formals because often they are at different places like the beach.
fraternities are also similar in the way that they have an executive board and their own version of panhellenic, called interfraternity council.
One interesting thing about fraternities is they have sister sororities. So you have a fraternity that matches with your sorority, for example my sororities matching fraterity is sigma nu.
p>When i think of fall semester one thing usually comes to mind and that is homecoming. Homecoming is one of the most fun experiences I had my freshman year. Every greek campus has homecoming, It is something that has been going on since sororities and fraternities first came about.
The way homecoming works is all of the fraternities ask sororities to go with them, in a lot of cases they even ask more than sorority so that they will have options. Then sororities will vote within the chapter on who they would like to go to homecoming with and then they will accept the fraternity’s invitation by singing to them or bringing them sort of gift as a thank you. After it is decided who everyone will go to homecoming with practice begins. Everyone does a skit and dance that they begin practicing usually about a month ahead of time. Then once homecoming week comes everyone participates in activities like flag football, canned food drive, skit, and dance. At the end of the week officials will tally the scores and announce the winners, along with the winning homecoming queen and king.
Greek Week is very similar to homecoming except the greek life advisor chooses who goes together. Also the school is not involved in greek week like they are with homecoming. The sororities and fraternities compete in activities throughout the week and then a winner is picked at the end of the week.
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The only way I can think to describe a formal or informal would be like a college prom, only more fun. Formal is the most formal social event you will have, and informal is just a less fancy version of formal that is usually themed. Formal and informal are nicer events than a mixer or date party so it is usually more expensive. Because they are more expensive you sometimes have to buy tickets to cover the cost of catering, the hotel, and in some cases alcohol.
Formals and informals are different from normal social events because they are held at nicer venues like hotels. They also have caterers the provide a full meal and drinks. Also at these there is usually a bar for guests and sisters that are 21 or older. It takes a lot more effort to plan formal and informal because you have to book a hotel, catering, dj, plan a theme and provide some sort of entertainment other than the DJ. These events are like a college prom because the night is set up basically the same. You sit down at tables with other girls and their dates and you eat, dance, and there are awards like sister of the year and things like that.
There are also honor guards at these events, but they seemto be less strict at informal and informal.
With being in a sorority there are so many social events that you will have the opportunity to participate in. There are mixers, formals, date parties, informals, and just casual parties at fraternity houses. You are not required to go to any of these events, but they are very fun so most people do. Being involoved in all of these social activities gets you more involved in the sorority and also helps you get to know fraternity men on campus better. If you are 21 you can drink at any of these events, but if not there are honor guards that make sure people who are underage do not drink or show up drunk.
Honor guards are girls from the sorority that volunteer to be honor guard for the event, so they show up earlier than everyone so they can see every one come in, and stay after everyone else. Being honor guard is a good option for someone who does not like to get drunk or drink at all because they feel less pressured to drink since they are not allowed to anyways.
The most common social events would be mixers and date parties. A mixer is when a sorority and fraternity come together for an themed event at either a fraternity house or bar/night club. An example would be something like a cowboy and indians mixer or hunt or be hunted. Nobody brings a date to mixers it is just an event to meet the fraternity brothers and mingle. A date party is a themed event like a mixer but you bring a date. This date can be anyone you want you just have to submit their name to the social chair and bring them. These events are usually themes like famous Hollywood couples or similar themes.
When I hear the word ritual I think of weird cults and witches. So when people say something about sororities and rituals people think that its weird. Imagine being an insider looking in. Seeing a room full of girls in white hooded robes with a bunch of candles. This is what a lot of sororities wear for certain rituals. Once you know what is going on it is not weird though.
There are rituals for a few different things. Rituals are strict and very secretive. No details are allowed out of the room, and if you are discovered telling anyone out of the sisterhood about rituals you will be punished.Sororities take their rituals very seriously because they have been a part of the sorority from the very begining of the sisterhood.
When going into a ritual for the firsttime there is no reason to be scare, just like there is no reson for people to think sororities are cults.
Getting my big is one of my best memories from my sorority so far. When girls say something about their big theyre reffering to their big sister. Everyone will get a big sis as a new member. A big sis is someone you see as role model and someone that will always be there for you. Just like an actual big sister would be. The bond with a big sis is different than just normal sisterhood it is the sister that you are usually closest with.
Getting a big is a different process for lots of sororities, but one thing everyone has in common is that you do not know who your big is until the big little reveal. Some sororitie have a mutual selection process, some sororities base it on only what the new member wants, and some let the older girls chose who they want. In most sororities there is big/little week. This is a week where every day of the week is different. The days are like candy day, tshirt day, or dress up day. On these days your big leaves you gifts like letter shirts, candy, and things she has crafted.
Your big can have you as a little, but have other girls too. Some girls can have up to five or littles, it just depends. One thing that cannot change though is how many bigs you have. You only have one big. After being in the sorority for more than a semester a little can be taken, making the sister who got her big the previous year a big to a new girl.
In all sororities there are rules. From big ones like keeping rituals a secret to no cussing in your letters. These rules are necessary to the sorority because there has to be some sort of standards. Without rules the sorority would be extremely chaotic and some girls girls would be going out making complete fools of themselves.
Some basic rules are: no sharing rituals, no letting non sisters wear your stiched letters, no cussing/drinking/smoking in letters, no hazing, no dirty rushing
There are many other rules that are small like no makeup at initiation. These rules are important and neccesary, and if someone breaks a major rule they can be called into standards, or what my sorority calls exec. When called into standards you will be told why you are there and then you will be asked questions about the situation like when, where, and why it happened. You can get called in to standards for breaking a said rule, but you can also be called in for things that are just common sense. For example a sister is on the dance floor at a fraternity event and flashes everyone she will be called to standards. There is no rule written out that says do not show your breasts at a fraternity function, but it is common sense. Every sorority has a limit of times you can be called into standards, and after that set amount you will be suspended. thats why it is important to follow the rules. It makes you look better, as well as your sorority as a whole
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Many people’s resonse to “Im in a sorority” is oh so you pay for your friends?
I hate hearing this so much!! Yes, to be in a sorority you pay money every semester, but that money goes to so many things, not to “buying friends”. I would be lying if I said a sorority didnt get expensive sometimes, because it can get expensive some months.
So when you go through recruitment you will be given papers that give you prices listed out. Those are the semester dues and the dues for the first semester.
The dues for the first semester will always be more expensive because you have extra fees for pledge in and initiation. They are costs that cannot be avoided though. Usually the dues are only about 200 dollars more than the usual semester fee. Sorority dues can range anywhere from 300-3000 a semester. It all depends on where you go. I go to a mid sized university so my dues are about 450 a semester. That sounds ridiculously cheap compared to some, but keep in mind that my school does not have houses. At big schools with houses you would pay more because there is a house so you are paying a housing/meal plan in addition to basic sorority costs.
Sororities will work with you if you have money issues though. You can pay month to month, all up front, or every other month. That way if you do not have it all at once it is not a big deal you can pay in increments. You must pay your bill though. If you ignore your bill you will be put on probation, then if you continue to not pay you will be suspended from the sorority and be taken to collections court for the money you owe.
Sorority Life 