Also Athens-Clarke County, Georgia is a town.... not just the university in reply to a post I read early on the thread. Sorry I wanted to know more on the show and thought others did too , I came back on and saw all these comments and I really didn't mean to upset people. I just was really curious that's all. :(

Don't worry about it. You didn't upset people. It's just that experience has taught some of us that these kinds of shows rarely turn out well. (Though when you have some time, read through the long thread on ABCFamily's Greek; you see horror at first, followed by "this show is actually pretty good" when it came on.) Couple that with the fact that you're a newbie and it wasn't clear from your name what group you might belong to, and some wondered if you were here to promote the show. No biggie -- don't sweat it.

BetaGirl, you didn't upset anyone. It just seemed a bit unusual that you were so into the show and hadn't posted about anything else on here. That's the typical operating method of people who are trying to promote something.

Welcome to GC. Explore some other threads. I hope your NM experience has been nothing like the trainwreck that I believe this show will be.

Welcome to GreekChat! I hope you're enjoying your new member (or newly INITIATED member :)) period!

Thank you :) I am going to go read through other threads some more now, I feel a lot better. Again I'm really sorry if it came off like I was trying to promote it. Those of you in England let me know if its bad or good and if I can watch it online.

-Becks

They really seemed to do their research here...

"What's a Sorority

Are you wondering what the eck a sorority is? It’s more than just matching outfits and chanting. Oh yes...

A sorority is an all-female, secret social organization for university students and they are a big deal at universities in the US. The idea is that being in a sorority "fosters growth and personal development within its members in two ways: publically through philanthropic works, social events and academic excellence, and privately through the use of ritualistic ceremonies, symbolism and closed member meetings." Oh, and they have lots of parties. ACE

Anyone can apply to join a Sorority, but only the very smart/brave/talented get in. Potential new members are scrutinized by existing sorority 'sisters' and put through a series of challenges to prove they are up for it.


Once they're in and initiated, sorority members enjoy special privileges: they get to go to really neat and exclusive parties, hang out with cool alumna sorority girls, cheaper housing and access to a nice pot of cash"

:rolleyes:

iLaughed. Hats off to all of you brave, brave sorority women.

Double post - sorry - but I had to share. Some gems..."Icing" (yes, as in the practice of the Smirnoff Ice challenge), "Rush Slut," and "Woof." :o

"It's All Greek to Me...

S-I-G-M-A G-A-M-M-A. Do you know your pledge from your rush? Fear not young fellows, swot up on your sorority terms here. LYLAS!

Sorority terms
Pledge: A member who has received a provisional invitation to join the Sorority, but who has not yet been initiated into the Sorority as a Sister. In Sorority Girls, the 14 British girls who move into the Sigma Gamma house are Pledges.

Greek: A term signifying membership to a Greek Society. Fraternity - meaning Brotherhood for boys, or Sorority - meaning Sisterhood for girls.

Chapter: The branch of the Sorority at a specific university. Sigma Gamma Leeds is the first Chapter of Sigma Gamma UK.

Philanthropy: Charitable works.

Rush: The first stage of recruitment to the Sorority to which anyone can attend.


Pref Night: The second and final stage in the Rush process in which the 'preferred candidates' are invited to a formal evening event.

PNM: 'Potential New Member' or a 'Rushee' is the term used by Sisters to describe girls who have applied to be in the Sorority, but have not yet been given a formal Bid.


Bid: A formal invitation to become a 'Pledge member' of the Sorority. Bids are usually represented by a Sorority symbol and consist of an item of clothing or jewellery that differentiates the member from an active. A Sigma Gamma Bid consists of the pink Pledge Pearls.

Pledging: The process in which girls attempt to be initiated into the Sorority.


Presents: (pron: Pree-zents) An official ceremony in which a Pledge class is formally presented as Sorority members to their friends and families.

Social Probation: a probationary period in which a member must perform challenges or is excluded from events, usually as a result from bad behaviour or failing to complete challenges or trials.


Pledge Cut: A weekly meeting in which Pledge's performance is evaluated. During this meeting Pledges can be stripped of their Bids and 'cut' from the Sorority.

Initiation: The formal ritualistic ceremony in which Pledges become active members of the Sorority. In Sorority Girls this takes place at the very end of the series.

Sorority Slang:
Rush Crush: A PNM who is a desirable candidate for the Sorority. Specifically a Sister's 'crush' who they simply have to have in their house.

Rush Slut: A PNM who is not a desirable candidate for the Sorority. Specifically someone who a Sister does not want in the house.

Frat: Fraternity; a brother organization to a Sorority consisting of male university students.

Raid: An event with a Fraternity in which Fraternity members attack the Sorority House and select a girl to be their date on an evening out.

Fraternity Sweetheart: A sorority member selected by a Fraternity that represents their ideals of the perfect Sorority woman.

Icing: The act of presenting a Sorority or Fraternity member with an alcopop. Greek tradition dictates they must get on their knees and chug said alcopop.

Shack: The act of 'sleeping over' at a boy's house after a night out.

SNSG: "So Not Sigma Gamma" An expression of disapproval.

Sorry ‘Bout It: "I'm really NOT sorry about it".

PLCs: "Poor Life Choices" When a Sorority member or Pledge makes a bad decision, usually involving behaviour.

Woof: Ugly, referring to face or outfit. E.g. "That skirt is really woof'.

Sorostitute: A derogatory term for a Sister or Pledge who dresses or behaves in an inappropriately sexual fashion.

Slooter Cahooter: A teasing term for a Sister or Pledge who has dressed or behaved in an inappropriately sexual fashion, but does not usually do so.

Wawaweewa: An informal expression of pleasure, specifically when a Sorority Sister looks sexy.


LYLAS!: "Love You Like a Sister!" An expression of endearment amongst Sorority members.

Oh, for heaven's sake.

LOL at all of this.

Where is my pot of cash?

I was wondering the same thing...:rolleyes:

What's sad is that this show can actually get on the air because some people BELIEVE that this is the way Greeks are.

Makes me wonder why more GLOs have not tried to colonize chapters in the UK. I know we have alumnae associations in the UK. Also a few exchange students from the UK have joined our chapter.

I am unaware of any NPC sororities that have chapters there. I think there is a NPHC chapter but don't remember which one.

We have chapters in Canada why not the UK?

My big fat pot of cash was handed to me straight after initi...... oooh damn, is that secret?!?! LOL


Too True Mevara, I think, if done correctly (i.e not for reality tv) Sororities would do really well over here, student life over here isn't all that different to back home...

From the Canadian perspective, I can tell you that we take a lot of flak for belonging to "American" organizations. (sorry). Also, from the nitty gritty point of view, it can be a hassle to pay your fees and have to convert them into US Funds / get a US Money Order etc. Yes, it's easier now that things like Pay Pal exist but we do take a hit when paying from Canadian funds into US Funds. I'm sure that there's other reasons too, but the "being too American" is one reason that some anti-GLO types love to crow about.

Also, collegiate chapters need the benefit of locally based alumnae support, which you would challenged to find in Europe.


PS I, too, would like my big pot of cash, or better yet, have access to the unlimited funds, resources and a lovely Ferrari like Paul Walker did, in "The Skulls".... (eye roll)

ok, so 17 minutes in and all i can say is.....



Stereotype Much?

I don't know about the other GLOs but I do know Kappa already has alumnae associations in the UK.

It is also a chicken and the egg situation, you won't have many alumnae associations if you don't have collegiate chapters. Although you need alumnae support to help a collegiate chapter grow.

I would also imagine that the costs could get out of hand.

On top of alumnae support in the form of members in alumnae associations, you also need National Staff members to be able to travel to those chapters.. For my GLO, we had at least one visit by an Educational Consultant and one by our District President each year. That gets expensive when you have to send people overseas. And it also makes for some major jet lag.

Also, for those collegiate chapters to send members to convention and other regional and national conferences would cost a pretty penny. And this, along with everything else I've mentioned, would require passports for all involved.

It would be much easier nowadays with conveniences such as the internet, but there are many obstacles to overcome as well.

From the perspective of someone who graduated from a British university...*And a disclaimer that I'm speaking in generalities*

It comes down to that old factor of "Campus Culture". British universities are much more...focused(?). Generally I'd say that students are more interested in the academic environment than the collegial/community environment (see also why many students choose not to stay in halls of residence past their first year or first term in some cases). American universities have this history and culture of a campus community, whereas in British universities this is generally a function left to the student unions, and to a lesser degree student clubs (rowing, chess, future vets, etc).

Further, the culture of alcohol is very different and I can imagine that the students at my university would have told Risk Management to go fly a kite. Alcohol is freely available through the university unions, through pubs, through the offy, through the grocery stores, and students, just like american students, drink...a lot. To have spaces where alcohol wouldn't be allowed would be very strange.

Not sure if you will be able to watch it over in the states, but just in case you can and you want to, here is the 4OD link.....

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sorority-girls/4od

I did some Google sleuthing, and it turns out that one is a Tri Delta, three are DGs, and one is a KD. I so was hoping there wouldn't be one.

So disappointing. Why can't I just make everyone behave the way I want them to?

Nope, not available in our area.

Oh my goodness, I think I may know one of those girls....

Kinda curious.. but can't watch it either

Found 2 clips on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/e4#p/u/1/qyX8ZISoWKQ

http://www.youtube.com/user/e4#p/u/0/nPuFMTX1JAI

How are the American girls "5 of the finest sorority girls" if they are also founding members of this UK organization?

FAIL.

I'm going to start calling myself a BNOC at work. well, that or "Scabs."

Sorry to doublepost, but could any of the girls on the show be asked to resign their membership in their NPC glo if they do something unflattering while filming?

That was like a twisted game called "How Many Risk Management Violations Can You Spot in Fewer Than Two Minutes?"

If their chapter was OK with them doing the show to begin with, they probably won't terminate them. Terminations generally start at the chapter level. For an individual's termination to start and end with the national office would probably make a WAY bigger deal of the situation than it deserve and give more attention to the show. No group is stupid enough to do that.

That being said, that chapter will most likely be watched like hawks for a long time if they do choose not to dissasociate themselves with the sister in question.

Interesting

It's looks a bit like Ladette to Lady but for a sorority

eta: re: having their membership terminated - they are not really representing their own sorority, are they? They're representing Sigma Gamma. It's probably like setting up a local after becoming an alumni - weird, but not termination worthy

"This is a higher standard; this is a sorority". Maybe I'm crazy but I feel as if (what appears to be) forcing them to eat copious amounts of food/drink is *not* having a higher standard. Just awkward.

Oh. Wow. Is part of the competition to try to embody as many of the negative stereotypes of sorority women as possible along with committing the most risk management violations?

And those robes with the hoods they had one in one scene, beyond creepy. I would have run for the exit had the actives shown up in those at my initiation.

Being where I am and having as many British friends as I do, I was ASTOUNDED to learn how much they drink on an everyday basis. I have friends who will not eat at a restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol, full stop (as they say). And yes, there would be no such thing as an alcohol-free party, or dry sorority house. They would absolutely not accept membership in a sorority that imposed any sort of alcohol rules.

But from what little I saw of this, they seem to really focus on the British women being lazy slobs which I find perplexing. I wonder how many completely lovely girls they had to film to find the fried egg chick. Of course, these girls are not stupid - they know the rules of reality TV - and horrifying dress and conversation is one sure way to get yourself on TV.

Here's a link to a trailer for the show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOEPT9isby0

It begins with a voice-over that says, "They're poised! They're perfectly dressed! They like smiling! And they love chanting...A LOT!", and it only gets worse from there...

Yeah, I stumbled across this show on E4 on Tuesday. So dreadful - really wooden, fake dialogue and chat, full of stereotypes (both from the "Sigma Gamma" sisters and the British girls), and showing a teaser for the next episode with what looks to be a lot of hazing. From the website, it looks like three of the five girls are still undergraduates (2 DGs and the TriDelta). How are they doing this without their organisations getting up in arms?? I know they've not mentioned their actual affiliations on the show, but in this age of google, facebook and twitter, when in less than five minutes I found out their last names, universities, chapters/national organisations, they have to know that what they do will get back across the pond...

And yes, the "ritual" stuff was creepy. Those robes, plus lighting their letters on fire on the front step (while in the creepy robes) during the house consecration was a little too much like a bad horror movie.

The one thing I will say, is thank goodness none of them are in my sorority!! (Sorry to the KDs, DGs and TriDelta's out there - I hope they don't do anything more to tarnish your letters!)

Is it possible that the national organizations may not have full details on this at the moment? I would certainly hope they didn't encourage it. I am surprised at the disproportionate number of Delta Gammas represented, though.

ETA: I would also hope that a national organization would not judge their collegiate chapters on the actions of their alumna.

So how many girls start, and how many are "initiated"? Is this actually with a university? So many questions. This can't be like a normal reality show where there's one winner, right? That would be a pledgeclass of one -- MADNESS! What's the prize? Being in SG? Getting to be a judge/sister next year? Do they care about anything but initiation? SO MANY QUESTIONS THIS IS FOOLISH FOOLISH I TELL YOU.

Also, I'm mad that they BLATANTLY stole Pi Phi's robes & our fire letter ritual! How did they find out??????

I Wholeheartedly Agree!