Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPhil
I read it all before I quoted you.
There are components of recruitment that are considered frivolous by some (or many), but it is ridiculous to reduce recruitment itself to frivolity. FAIL.
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In your personal opinion.
I have always found the process to be frivolous and in general, silly. I genuinely use the word silly. We sit in parties in cute dresses, making small talk with our peers, and then choose our new members based on that small time together combined with the application they sent in. We watch what we say, follow a myriad of complicated and as my mom would say "nit-picky" rules, and yes, even make comments about what girls are wearing. PNM's are just as likely to judge actives on appearance as actives are to do the same to PNM's. Probably more so, since PNM's are new to the whole process and can get overwhelmed trying to remember 15 different sororities. It's easy to break them into categories. Who is hot...who is not.
Who here is going to pretend they or someone in their recruitment group DIDN'T once say "I like them but they're so (insert shallow derogatory comment here)"? Some girls are given bids because they are funny, nice, down to earth women who are kind to others. But sometimes a girl gets dropped because she dated a sister's ex boyfriend. Or because she shows a little too much cleavage. Or because her GPA is a
smidge too low. Or because she did that one keg stand the first week of school. Maybe those girls are all extremely amazing people who are great listeners, selfless, and kind. Sometimes a girl gets a bid because she's best friends with an active. Or because she's extremely pretty. Or because her cousin is someone famous. Or because her mom is a very active alum. Maybe all those girls are selfish, rude, and obnoxious. Yep. Silly. And our sisters did the same thing to us the year before. It's a week long audition and both actives and PNMs are putting on a show...that may or may not reflect who they will be after recruitment is over and bids are given out. Expecting thousands of college aged women to make very mature decisions at all turns isn't realistic.
I very much love my organization and being in a sorority certainly shaped my college experience. I learned a LOT about how to interact with others, how to balance a million things at once, how to make rules and how to follow them, and made many friends that I will have for years to come. I love that I share a ritual with thousands of other women that I've never even met. That's pretty cool. Oh, and I had a lot of fun, too.

But at the end of the day, it's just a sorority.