Thanks, Ivy and 33girl, now I get what she was saying. I never thought of things that way (my chapter went from local to national the year I rushed, so I'm mainly familiar with the disadvantages of locals).
Coming from a greek system that was/is dry - and still managed to be fun - it's sad to hear GLO members go on and on about alcohol as if it's the end-all and be-all of sorority/fraternity membership. (I'm sure some will disagree with that notion, though
)