Quote:
Originally Posted by kobie
contrary to what most north americans (including the sigma gamma founders on this show) believe, i don't think all aspects of sororities are particularly 'new' to the uk. i am a student at newnham college (one of the constituent colleges of the university of cambridge and one of the only three womens' colleges left today) and a member of a prestigious drinking society within the college and from what i've gleaned from watching various films, talking to friends from the USA etc, there are a lot of parallels. my college mates are like sisters to me and the college is essentially a very large sorority house, with some catering and a couple of 'sorority mom' figures; the college and particularly the drinking societies have numerous unusual customs and traditions, including initiation ceremonies; 'swaps' are our equivalent of socials or mixers; the college parenting system ensures mixing between freshers and 2nd years who effectively act as older sister figures; and standards are painstakingly high with young women obliged to keep up with all the work of a cambridge degree, present a fun, charming and bubbly personality in order to be invited on swaps with a drinking society and make considerable contributions to sporting and society life (we've got to maintain the college's very credible reputation plus mix with boys at some point in order to make friends and suitable contacts for swaps!).
i'd be interested to hear what you guys think about this take on things!  |
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I suspect you are correct, that they are more similar than different.