Disappointed in Greek Representation
 

I wanted to get everyone's opinion on this.

I am a member of livejournal.com, and also a member of one of it's communities, "Sorority Girl." This has traditionally been a very positive community with sisters sharing ideas and good news about their chapters. The other day, however, I came acorss one entry and I couldn't believe what I was reading. I will post it here, so you can maybe see what I am talking about:


Posted by Livejournal member aey4l:

"So I need advice. Last night I was talking to one of my sisters and roommates and she says something about how I was "acting on Friday." And I am like what are you talking about I didn't even do anything bad on Friday. (Mind you she wasn't there) Yes, I was intoxicated, but I wasn't stupid. Well she says somebody claimed I was screaming our letters. NOT TRUE. I wont' do that no matter how drunk I am. Besides, I know I wasn't that drunk because I didn't puke all day Saturday like I normally do the day after I drink too much. So I was pissed. Someone is saying shit that isn't true. And this person said something at the party Friday about how I was an exec officer. Excuse me but since when were exec officers not supposed to drink??? Yeah I'm pissed. And I really feel like I should say something to the girl who called the people to come pick me up on Friday, but I dont' want to start a war. What would you all do? I don't think the sister in question likes me or most of the rest of the chapter very much but like I said I don't want to start a war."


Upon reading this, my first reaction was "And we wonder why people think greeks are nothing but drunken partiers."
Maybe I am just being over sensitive. Yes, I like a good drink as much as the next person, but the way this sister wrote about her expeiences momentairly made me feel emberassed to be Greek. I represent my sorority 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I try so hard to prove to others that Greeks do not fall under the traditional stereotype. Then I read this, and it just really bothered me.

The link for this is http://www.livejournal.com/users/sororitygirl You can scroll down and see the entry, along with any responses made to it, for yourself. One person responded annoymously to this entry; "Glad to see that you do such a good job of representing sororities. Isn't there a keg party or something you could go to instead of complaining here?" Normally, I don't like annoymnous responders because I think they lack balls. However, in this case, I actually agreed with what they said. The other responses were supportive of the sister.
Sorry this is so long, I am just really interested to hear what everyone thinks.

Wow ADPIviolets, I have a feeling that you'd have a heart attack if you ever read my LJ! I also belong to Sorority Girl and I remember actually reading that post!

My GC LJ buddies [AngelPhiSig, PM_Mama, Ginger, and ZTAMich] are aware of my party habits...and I'm sure others who read my LJ are aware of it as well.

Those who know me know that I love AGD with all my heart and I try to incorporate the Purpose in my daily life.

Still, I think that I consumed more alcohol as a non-Greek than I do now that I'm an AGD.

When I go out to clubs and bars, I have nothing on me to let the masses know that I'm a sorority girl...but then again, this is Hawaii where Greek Life is very very small. If I'm out and about, the only association I have is to myself and not my sorority.

Being belligerently drunk is not cool, period. It doesn't matter if she's in a sorority...if she's going to get drunk, it's because she wants to.

People are going to believe that stereotype no matter what, and I agree that we should all work to help combat it, but to be honest, and this probably isn't the answer you want to hear, but I probably won't order one less drink because of it. I guess this bothers a lot of people, just not me. Sorry. :(

I can see why you are concerned, however, I don't think it's something to be overly upset about.. unless, say this girl is from your chapter or something (which you already mentioned she was not).

Lots of Greeks drink, and lots of Greeks don't drink at all. I can understand that the sterotype is more negative for Greeks than say, a Chess Club that excessively drinks, but it's just one of those things that no one can change no matter how much you write about drunken experiences in livejournals or not.

Livejournal was designed to be just that -- a journal. If she would have written this down in her diary and some person who was Greek or non-Greek would have read it, I would see it as being the same thing.

Sorry, but this is a guy point of veiw!

Maybe she got jealous, had a real bad day, or was just pissed about something? Time of the Year?

She just had to blow steam? I have seen OTW just as she has seen me and many others on GC! Do the same thing!

That is one reason why we are here and have been doing it for some time! This is a refuge, a vent area, a question/answer area!

Does it say a lot about the people here? Yepper! Only the best of the best here!:cool:

I would say just go along and see if anyother things come up!

Be the better person!:)

Edited after I looked at the web site!!! Damn, from a guy point what the hell is that?!:eek: :confused:

Gah, I guess you wouldn't want to read my LJ...even though I'm not a member of Sorority Girl, it can be pretty sordid. It's just a journal--and I've read a lot worse. At least there's a modicum of anonymity with it--unless you know the person very very well, there's no guaranteeing that any of the content is true.

That said, if anyone wants to see my LJ...;) I'm Jacquester. Feel free to post comments.

The only issue I might have with it is that she wrote it in the community and not her personal journal....

My journal has been known to talk about obsessive drinking occasionally - but those posts are usually friends-only...


<edited because I left out a couple words >

kappaloo touched up on something I forgot to mention in my post...

I'm not one to question integrity, but she probably should have left it in her personal journal. I know she was asking for advice on the subject, but if I were in her shoes I probably would have thought that something like that would open a can of worms.

There's a time and place for everything. The last thing I would want is for any of my sisters [especially the really really Big Squirrels at IHQ] to get offended by anything that I might do in my personal life, just from reading my LJ.

Lord knows who reads my LJ, that's why I keep the questionable ones 'friends-only'.

AHH!

I'm also a member of Sorority Girl. Actually, through some bizarre route (I forget how), that was how I first found GC.

The entry didn't phase me much, either. If I notice a Sorority Girl entry with personal bitching I ususally ignore it. And I go to perhaps the most stereotypically elite and alcoholic and predominantly Greek campus in the country. Sadly enough, there are just some chapters and people that fit the stereotype. Indeed, I've seen much worse than this situation. I know of plenty of people like this at my school alone. It's a problem, but basically, unless you force people to go alum and recolonize the chapter, in a lot of cases, there's not much to be done. Can you tell I'm cynical? I try to be positive but looking around at other chapters on my campus it can be pretty discouraging. The stereotypes come about for a reason, and the rest of us moderate people have to fight them.

I saw that post too, and I agree with others when they say that the problem with it with mostly that it was posted in a community journal instead of a personal one.

Also, my biggest problem with it was that the girl didn't seem to know that her behavior was wrong. I mean, we've probably all done stupid stuff like that before; it's not like I've always represented my sorority in a one hundred percent positive way, and I don't expect everybody else to, either. But I on the occasions that I do something stupid, I also wake up the next morning and am at least ashamed of the way I behaved. This girl didn't seem to want to take any responsibility whatsoever for her actions, and that's what irked me -- not the fact that the behavior itself occurred.

Exactly.