I agree with AnchorAlum.

In my area, your college has more clout that your GLO (and even then, that's pushing it). As she said, bringing up GLO affiliation results in smiles and reminiscing, but I have yet to hear "GOOD GOD WE'VE GOT AN XYZ GET THE BEST TABLE IN THE HOUSE BECAUSE SHE DEMANDS RESPECT"

I am going to have to agree with NutBrnHair. We have had girls transfer schools if they don't get into dream chapter on the first try. This does seem to be more of a small town thing than still a big deal in the big Peach or the big D, and it would have been totally ridiculous to the girls I knew in Cali. Maybe y'all just aren't south enough?

I also think that in the larger cities that just happen to be in the south, such as Atlanta, you have many, many transplants from other parts of the country, who bring their traditions and points of view with them. What you end up with is a hybrid of points of view and traditions.

I lived for 10 years in Atlanta; at no time during my time there did I work in a place where the majority of people were native to the area. Even at church and other non-work activities, the majority of people there are transplants. You can't compare experience of living in a large urban area that happens to be in the south with the rest of the south. (Well, you can, but you won't get far with it.) It just isn't the same.

Maybe it's a small-town South thing, but I haven't seen this in any of the big places I've lived or visited.

And hopefully Texas is south enough ;)

Forgive me, but...
 

It's like anything. "It depends..." It depends on where you live. It depends on the social circle in which you are a part. It depends on the law firm you are a partner in. It depends on which volunteer board you serve. It depends.

I can assure you it still exists.

Well, yeah, that's a given. If you're serving on a board that's Greek heavy in Small City, AL, then sure, I'd think that GLO affiliation would give you some pull. Some of the comments in this thread make it seem as if the mere fact that you are XYZ in STATE puts you above the rest. I have yet to see that.

I would say it's more a city thing than a state thing in most of the south. Most of the women that I grew up with went either Chi O or Tri Delta. Those were the groups that were the big ones for my town. In other parts of my state, other groups are the big ones.

Is this a small town?

I ask because I live in Dallas and there are SEVERAL Greeks in my workplace (from all over). Many of them are from the "Greek grooming" cities, but at the end of the day, they talk more about their universities than their affiliations.

ETA: Lol @ your quadruple posting. I was trying to figure out what was going on.

The town I grew up in is small, yes. I'm with you on the large city thing. That small town stuff didn't fly in Atlanta. It was more about what school. I never would have mentioned my sorority affiliation in a job interview type situation when I was there (unless I knew the person interviewing me was definitely a Kappa).

SMH at the quadruple posting. Good lord. Can mod clean that mess up for me, please? That's just embarrassing.

@ the bold - That's what I was thinking.

And you can delete the posts by clicking "edit" and then "delete"

You are my hero. Thanks!

I'm sure it does in some places. But as you say, it depends (among other things) on where you live. As has been said numerous times, the South is not monolithic, and what may be "typical Southern culture" in one place is not "typical Southern culture" elsewhere. (That's not even getting into the casual equation of "Southern culture" with some specific demographic groups but not others.) It is not something universal about the South, so it isn't accurate to describe it as though it were, which is what I think people have been responding to. It is something that can be found in some parts of the South.

I have small town and big city experiences in my part of the South, and I have never witnessed it. I have on a few occasions seen fraternity connections play a part in getting jobs, but I really haven't seen that happen as much with sororities. Certainly, many many sorority members cherish and nurture their affiliations all of their lives and remain close to sisters, but in terms of specific affiliations having an effect on careers or social standing? No. Not where I've lived.

I would always defer to keeping your sorority affiliation to yourself unless it's made clear otherwise. The responses are as likely to be anything from disinterested to ambivalent to repulsed. Yes, there's a chance someone will be impressed, but it's not worth risking being outed as a dork, snob or just oddity just to brag about something from your college days.

I agree with you. :)