I wondered that too. The author is a Phi Mu, right? Phi Mu is very Southern, in my mind.

Yes I did ask that question earlier in this thread, just went a bit off topic.

I wonder how many other people would share this view.

Yes. If the book is anywhere as racist as the movie is, I'm glad she didn't mention Phi Mu, but I think she should have just made up letters or something.

My daughter was married last Saturday, March 3. The groom's sister was in a sorority in a prominent Big 10 school. I knew the reputation of her group (like it or not) because of positive comments from members of my fraternity at their chapter at that school at a recent national convention. I complimented her on the strength and prominence of her sorority, and placed a guess at which other houses she returned to for her final three. She nearly dropped her plate--"How could you have known that?!" I told her it was a lucky guess based on strength and reputation of her own chapter and which other houses they competed against.

So strongholds on certain campuses (and towns and states) do not change quickly, and she had been out of school 10 years. We had a terrific conversation about Greek life on her campus and--now that she lives on the East Coast--how much she values conversations with her sorority sisters and how much those bonds mean to her. She was thrilled that my daughter was also a sorority woman, and commented in a positive way about my daughter's sorority chapter at her school. When I saw this thread, it just presented the opportunity to mention my recent experience and help prove the point of this thread

Even though I was surprised about Whistlin' Dixie, I was glad, too. Didn't really like the book, and the main character wasn't that sympathetic.

I've made connections with other women who are in a sorority, but it was not dependent on which GLO and/or chapter.

Example: When I was in grad school I had to turn in some paper work to the auditor for grants in my department. I walked in her office wearing one of my lettered sweaters and she asked if I was in a sorority. I said yes, and then she told me she was in one too, AGD. After that we became much better friends. We bonded over the fact that both of us are in sororities. And, I can't tell you the number of women who frequent my favorite needlepoint shop who are in sororities - there a lot of them!

This has happened to me more than a few times now. I was attending a large benefit event in Louisville sponsored by a date's place of employment. We were seated at large tables where the men all knew each other from work and none of the women at the table had met before. I was seated with an AGD from Georgia and a Theta from Kentucky. It gave us something to break the ice and it ended up being an enjoyable evening even while our dates were working the room. Even though our schools are different and we were from different groups, we definitely had shared experiences.

I kind of equate plder alumni truly caring about another's affiliation (to a point where they're "bat shit crazy".. and mean, in some instances) with the people who never left their hometown and still talk about people from high school and who's dating whom.

Who cares.

I actually get excited when I see/meet a member of a GLO other than my own.. and I imagine others do too, as you'll notice in the 'Finding Your Letters Somewhere You Didn't Expect' thread, where everyone talks about seeing letters other than their own most of the time.

As someone mentioned earlier, we all have a connection (even if it's a minor one in some cases) and an understanding of what it means to be Greek.. That should be what matters.

I certainly agree with you. If I met you, in person, I would be excited, since I've never met a member of Alpha Sigma Tau.

Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner.

For those of you who think these things no longer matter in places in the south, I have three words for you: Mountain Brook Alabama.

one of my all time favorite quotes
 

“Build a fence around the South and you'd have one big madhouse.” ― Florence King

Anne Rivers Siddons, an Auburn Tri-Delt, also does not make her characters Tri-Delts, even when they are based on her own life (as in "Heartbreak Hotel"). In one novel, the protagonist is a Kappa and her best friend is a Pi Phi; in another, she calls the characters' sorority "Tri-O."

"Designing Women"
 

“This is the South and we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic, we bring them right down to the living room to show them off. No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask what side they’re on.” --Julia Sugarbaker

I would love to read a thread about this. It just intrigues me that people would actually do this. Does anyone know if there are any existing threads about this? Or is anyone willing to share anecdotal information if they've witnessed it? :D

And I'd be excited to meet you, even though I already know a few Chi Omegas :D

Exactly. LOVE that quote. And I can say it is especially when you are from "The Most Southern Place On Earth," like my family.

http://www.amazon.com/Most-Southern-...1075907&sr=1-1

And Florence King had it down pat. Unfortunately, she decided she preferred computing to writing and has changed professions:(. Ellen Gilchrist is another good Southern author who has the genre perfected :).

And it would be interesting to know how often it works out with the transfer.

I'm the person who started this thread. I find this stuff endlessly fascinating. I enjoy Greek Chat because of the stories and learning about the different aspects of Greek life around the country. I learned quite a bit from this thread. Thanks to everyone who left a comment! :)

I did a search and this was interesting given what OldRow said up above...

Probably not what you're looking for, but I know of at least two GCers who have transferred schools because of unsuccessful rushes. One got a bid at, I think was her 3rd school. The other failed miserably at her 2nd school because of numerous "no-recs" received.

This is why Ole Miss has recruitment in the middle of Fall Semester. It improved Freshman retention and reduced the amount of money Ole Miss had to refund because of people jumping ship.

Doesnt happen often, and I Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Sometimes it might be a side effect if going to transfer anyway.

Crazy. Absolutely crazy - but in an intriguing, fun way. I think this reinforces some of what's been said in this thread.

I was in a high school sorority.:o

We had chapters in TN, AR, AL, and LA.

“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi,” once said William Faulkner.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/201...16-OXFORD.html

amen!

How did this thread become a thread about the south vs the rest of the country?

I think it is because the only "strongholds" of any org are in the south.

OK. What about the groups that have little to no reresentation in the south? They have to have pockets where membership is more dense than in other areas.

Right, but nobody cares before rush or after graduation, so it's not so much a stronghold, even if they have a lot of chapters there.

Illinois, one of the biggest Greek systems in the country, has very little tent talk, because nobody shows up in Champaign knowing a damn thing about any of the sororities. Sure, the internet has made things worse, but it's not like it meant anything when I went home over break and told my high school friends where I'd pledged.

I've posted on here several times about a student at my university, but for those who have missed it, here it is again. It is about someone who lived a few doors down from me freshman year.

Susie PNM shows up on campus for Fall Recruitment with her mind on ONE chapter only, XYZ. Nevermind the fact that there were 10 excellent organizations. She decided that she was only suited for one of them, and it happened to be one that was a very strong recruiting chapter. For numerous reasons, this was not the best fit for her. While the rest of us could see that, she could not.

By day 2 she had been cut from this chapter, so she completely dropped out of rush.

Next fall she registers to rush again, and tells everyone that will listen that she plans to be an XYZ. In her eyes they were the best chapter on campus and the only one good enough for her.

She was cut after Round 1.

Our rush was the week before school started, so Susie packed up her stuff and moved back home. She then enrolled in the hometown commuter school, went through their smallish recruitment, and yes got a bid.

So, guess who shows up back on our campus Junior year with the exact letters that she desperately wanted for 2 straight recruitments? Yep, and she even tried to affiliate. Surprise, surprise, the chapter voted to not affiliate her.

For those of you counting, yes that is 3x the chapter denied her membership.

For the next 2 years she continued to wear her precious letters that she had longed to receive. However, those letters came with zero sisterhood. To this day I wonder if it was worth it to her. I also wonder her involvement level as an alumna.

She could have been happy in any number of chapters on our campus had she given them a chance. She was a very nice person, but rather insecure and this came off in conversations, her behavior and her personality. I also wonder if finding a group that was similar to who she was, instead of who she longed to be, would have helped her confidence.

We will never know.

Ah yes, and Ellen is a proud Chi Omega!

Here's the issue that I have with the logic of "no one cares."

1. For decades, women in all parts of the country have been involved alumnae, not just in the south.

2. There's a boatload of non-southern GC'ers who are no longer collegiate members.

Some non-Southerners appear to care.

Regarding the no-tent talk at Illinois, that may be the case at Illinois, but freshman girls will be freshman girls. I know for a fact that tent talk was alive and well when my childhood best friend went through rush at Northwestern (not in the South), and her roommate from Seattle (also not in the south) was heartbroken to find out that she got a bid to XYZ. This stuff isn't limited to the south. I'm not saying that it happens everywhere, but it happens.

Love me some Ellen Gilchrist. She is awesome!

I didn't say "no tent talk", I said (or meant) less. People still pick up on things like 2-on-1 rushing, or events with the most popular fraternities, or older siblings, or whatever. My point is that a large number of girls show up on campus with no idea, and when you talk to someone from another school, it doesn't mean much to them, either.

And of course I didn't mean nobody cares about their sorority past graduation.

I hope she will! :D

Not to mention, she probably really hurt the sisters at the chapter that she pledged at when they realized the degree to which she was using them.

Twat.

I agree with all of this, but the bold part I emphatically agree with. When I say that I'm in a sorority to friends here, they ask which one, then immediately say that they don't understand the difference between them. No one knew whether Sigma was the 'hottest' sorority or 'weirdo' sorority, whether at Penn State or otherwise. To me that was a huge relief in a way, knowing that my decision would only be seen as going Greek versus not going Greek, not "I went Greek and joined the wrong organization". That, to me, would have prevented me from going Greek, most likely. I don't know if I could deal with that kind of pressure, even if I did love the women in the sorority.

Also I would love to know in what states different sororities have the most chapters. I know that AST and Sigma are PA, ZTA is FL, Alpha Phi is CA, would anyone else care to chime in?

The state with the highest number of Kappa chapters is California, which has 16. I would say that we're fairly evenly distributed throughout the country.

States with the most CHI OMEGA active chapters
 

13 - Texas
11 - North Carolina
10 Ohio