Is Sorority Bigger in the South?
 

I was curious about where sorority life itself is begger. At my school, our Greek system is not that big even though we are working hard to bring up the #'s every year. Our pledge classes range from the 20's to the 40's. However, it seems that everytime I talk to girls from the South and the East Coast, sorority is a much bigger deal than it is here.

Does anyone else think that or am I just in a small area?

I say this b/c I had no problems pledging Sigma Kappa yet I have heard stories of girls repledging the same sorority every year b/c to them, that's the only one they would want to be a part of. I have also heard bad stories of pushy parents who get real pissy if their kids don't get their #1 choice or don't get the one their parents feel is the best.

It's weird but sometimes I think that if I were in a different state than California, I probably would not have gotten into my #1 choice of SK. I'm glad I'm here and I love it but it's definitely weird.

Where in Cali do you go to school?

At Sac State we only have 7 national sororities, 2 affiliates, 7 of the D9 (i think), 9 fraternities (with a few that are struggling) and a bunch of locals/multiculturals/etc.

Cap has been 65 girls in a chapter for years. However when I came to GC, I read rush stories from girls that had almost all NPC sororities on campus except maybe 3. Yeah your choices are wide but holy cow! I mean even UC Davis seems to have a bigger system than we do. (At least they have houses.)

We are a commuter school so that may explain why it's so small.

I don't know about the whole "pushy" aspect of it though.

Trust me. Greek life is HUUUUGE in the South. Its their mentality and way of life that makes greek life so huge. In CA, we are more independent and can care less about greek life.

For example, I came into college not knowing anything about Fraternities. I never knew what a greek letter was, except for Pi...which meant 3.14 to me. When I Rushed, people had to CONVINCE me to go greek.

In the South...its not " Should I join a GLO?" Its, " WHICH ONE!"

Its not HUUUUGE. Its HUUUUGE!!!

There's a really good thread on greek life at Ole Miss that explains why that campus' sororities are all over 200 active.
http://GreekChat.com/gcforums/showth...threadid=40544

I <3 Greeks in the South. :)

YES!

I'm an advisor to a Northern chapter and was a collegian in a different Northern chapter. My collegiate chapter was MUCH larger than the one I advise, yet they have more in common than a similar-sized chapter in the South.

I find the major difference to be cultural. We get maybe one legacy a year and it is usually the younger biological sister of an alumna (or collegiate) member. I see the registration forms that PNMs complete and it is rare when the parents of these young women were Greek. I have yet to encounter a second-generation legacy (oooh, is that the right term? I mean when a PNM's mom & grandma or mom & sister were in the same GLO). My collegiate chapter had a few leg's, but again, no 2nd generation leg's.

Just my .02

Tradition is very important in the south. A lot of people in the south like to follow in their families footsteps when it comes to picking a college and a GLO. A lot of GLO's down south have been on campus for generations and they have many legacies. That's why it can be so tough getting into the one you want.

At the University of Alabama, something like 25% of the female student population is in a sorority.

not true. i go to school in the south, and my campus is only 2-3% greek. that's a mentality that is true to the big old south schools, but not the entirety of the south. i know i didn't start hearing about sorority stuff, and which one i was "supposed" to be in, until i was a senior in high school, and my grandmother was concerned if her GLO was at the schools i was applying for.

maybe it's just not like that in texas, and more so to the east of us... i don't know...

i feel like NT has more in common with a lot of these groups from the north. my pledge class was 23 girls, and our NPC chapter totals(75) are smaller than the ole miss quotas! the only schools here that really have a larger greek community are UT(for obvious reasons!) and Tech, the rest of us are medium sized.

WOW!!!

I go to school at Cal State Long Beach. Like I said, pledge class number vary but I have spoken to other Sig Kap ladies from Southern Schools and my goodness. They get pledge classes in the 60's and through the 90's.

I do agree with whomever said that in the South, being in the right sorority is a key thing. I am not a legacy and had I chosed to go to another school with A REALLY COMPETITIVE GREEK SYSTEM I know I would so be out of luck.

Things are different here in California. This may sound racist but I am a Hispanic and perhaps it would have been different for me elsewhere. I do not know b/c obviously, I chose to stay here but from what I have experienced so far, when we had our Founders Day, I met many ladies from out of state and they were so awesome. Thanks to them, I am considering a small roadtrip to the South and staying with some of the Sig Kap ladies there who want to show me Greek Life in the South. I'm sure this trip would get rid of any stereotypes I have of sorority in the South.

I went to college in the south and let me t ell you HUGE is an understatment. IT is all about tradition and all about which house you will get in. I dont say that in a bad way because i am from a HUGE HUGE southern family but i was raised in so california all my life and went down south for college. and i can see both sides of it. I have realatives still mad at me for not pledging when i was at Arkansas. As i see it when i went to college at arkansas i was a transfer student and 25 though i COB'd Phi Mu and that made one my aunts very happy but at that point i was graduating and they were on the verge of closure .

I have many aunts and cousins who are alum of southern based GLOs and they are sooooo cool to hang out at family reunions because we have that greek bond but i can tell a huge difference between southern and northern groups.


You know your destine for southern grace and sorority life when at 16 yoru aunt buys you the princess margret book to study from !

Just keep in mind that the South doesn't claim Florida. ;) But I will admit, at the big schools like UF and FSU, it is huge. But the Greek system in Florida is full of little schools with a few chapters, and a moderate amount of members.

while florida is not considered southern
 

by some, tallahassee (the state capital and the location of florida state university and florida a & m university) certainly is. however, my chapter, way back in the late 70's when i was in school, as well as many of the sororities on campus, had latina and jewish members. and i daresay that today southern sororities are even more diverse in membership than back then. it is no more correct to say that southern sororities are all wasps than it is to assume that all sorority members from california are well-tanned blondes with surfboards and convertibles.

casigkap, i think that you would have a ball visiting other chapters of sigma kappa. just contact them in advance so that they can prepare for you and make sure you have a bed and a hostess to greet you and show you around.

I am already on it. I plan to visit chapters in Louisiana, Tennessee, and hopefully Georgia. I do need to get in contact with them but I plan on contacting quite a few others as a just in case.

The best part is that we recently had a sister from Pennsylvania visit us and she had a great time. She also mentioned that it was good to see that all us California Sig Kaps were not blonde surfer girls. We are all unique and EXTREMELY diverse.

I'm going to have so much fun with this!

Don't forget Theta Rho at the University of Kentucky. :)

Re: while florida is not considered southern
 

You had to go and ruin it, now I am cancelling my road trip :p