Quote:
Originally posted by justamom
It really is funny how MANY different reputations a single sorority can have. Ask 10 people, you could easily get 10 different responses.
As a freshman, you have the hometown buzz. Here, almost everyone is a legacy to two or three sororities. Of COURSE our area will view these at the "best", because that is the mind set...NO EXCEPTION! Then, you get to campus and you hear the fraternity version. They certainly have a different criteria on which they base their opinion as do independents and other sororities. So, the PNM has all these images playing in her head and it really does make keeping an open mind difficult. So, she chooses a group and discovers that once the hubbub of recruitment is over, a different image emerges...the REAL deal.
They ALL have sweet, nerdy, popular, sweet, "bitchy", sticks, curves, skanky, prudish women as sisters. Yes, the percentage may vary, but variety still remains.
My daughter made a lot of sense when she said you have the top, you have the bottom and you have all the rest. This is a VERY different opinion/image than what she was told prior to rush. She never was the kind to need a safety net that following the crowd could have offered. She never needed to have others validate her. Though I know she may not have been comfortable in a struggling situation, I also know she wouldn't have been comfortable where so much importance is put on physical as opposed to inner beauty. (That is her nature) You will ALWAYS have those young ladies who can only find their happiness through their associations. Yet, it seems to me that many women of today are finding strength and fulfillment in choosing inner over outer beauty. An important point.
This is where we (GLOs) lose a lot of women who would be wonderful assets to any sorority, yet they are stuck with some outdated image that is perhaps propagated through our own system! To put it bluntly, some of the qualities that TEND to go hand in had with a "top" sorority aren't real turn-ons to a lot of girls. Not everyone has money-laminates-tans-gets her nails done-wears designer labels- but this is the image they have in their mind. These are images that are weakening the whole. The strength of the Greek system does NOT lie in the hands of the "top".(Though many would argue this point.) It lies in the strength of those middle, down to earth, mixed up, crazy fun loving groups of girls. These are the people whose image should be associated with Greek. Maybe, rush as well as retention would pick up for more campuses if young women would realize that they really can identify with the majority of women in sororities.
Just an opinion.
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Amen.
While we don't really have the hometown buzz up here, I 100% agree with reputation depending on the person you're talking to. I didn't join the most popular chapter on campus at the time because there was NO way I wanted to be there. Period. While a lot of guys thought they were "hot," they were also THAT image that turns off most girls - stuck up, vain, promiscuous, etc. - and many times, they had no problems proving that reputation was well-deserved.
I joined an "average" house and it was the best fit for me. While I am glad I wasn't in a smaller chapter - since I think it's much harder on the members sometimes with all the responsibility spread on fewer shoulders - had a smaller, less popular chapter been a better fit, I would've gone there. But the funny thing was, depending on the individual you were talking too, we weren't necessarily the "average" house. Some people loved us, some hated us, some thought we were nerdy, some thought we were the fat sorority, some thought we were alcoholics, whatever. But I'd rather prove I'm not nerdy than have a REALLY bad reputation to prove wrong.
And the even funnier thing about reputations - which I doubt many 18 year olds consider - is how quickly they can change. One pledge class can change a chapter completely, for better or for worse.