Univesity of Texas at Arlington- Greek Life?

foxfire_j · #1 07-25-2007, 08:49 PM

I'm sure UTA isn't a very greek school being mainly a commuter school, but does anyone know how its sororities stack up? Just curious...

#2 07-25-2007, 09:13 PM

If it's discussion about sorority reputations you seek, I'd suggest going elsewhere. We don't do that here.

Please pay close attention to the stickied posts in the Greek Life and Recruitment forums, thanks.

macallan25 · #3 07-26-2007, 02:38 PM

Oh sweet Jesus. Please, someone explain to me.........why in the hell it is such a big deal to 99% of the people on here to tell someone about the reputations and how well sororities/fraternities "stack up" at different schools. It's ridiculous. Guess what, every group has a reputation at every school. They aren't all "the same in their own unique little way." That's a PC load of malarkey. I would much rather someone give me a straight up answer than sugar coat one with a bunch of crap that you'll find out isn't true the minute you start rush.

Foxfire J.......I go to Texas and have some friends at UTA. I could find out pretty quickly about most of the sororities there.

_Lisa_ · #4 07-26-2007, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macallan25

Oh sweet Jesus. Please, someone explain to me.........why in the hell it is such a big deal to 99% of the people on here to tell someone about the reputations and how well sororities/fraternities "stack up" at different schools. It's ridiculous.

Its about trying to be respectful towards all organizations by not fostering or perpetuating any rumors about any particular chapter.

adpiucf · #5 07-26-2007, 02:51 PM

We don't name names on Greek Chat because it's called being Panhellenic.

Because it is unfair to prejudice a PNM without giving her an opportunity to make her own choices. If she hears that the only "good sororities" are ABC and XYZ than she's going to immediately write off the others based on someone else's speculation.

What happens when she gets cut by ABC and XYZ and thinks that it is social suicide if she even considers any other sororities? Answer: she drops of recruitment.

Great. Now the PNM does not get to experience sorority membership and if this trend keeps up, ABC and XYZ will soon be the only sororities on campus, and eventually they will die out, too, because it will eventually be decided that ABC is better than XYZ, and so on....

And what if another PNM at another school stumbles on here and reads that ABC and XYZ are the only chapters to join? She thinks the same things apply to her school, and the cycle continues.

I obviously can't speak for the men, but sorority women work together for the good of the entire Panhellenic system-- not just our own sororities.

banditone · #6 07-26-2007, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macallan25

Oh sweet Jesus. Please, someone explain to me.........why in the hell it is such a big deal to 99% of the people on here to tell someone about the reputations and how well sororities/fraternities "stack up" at different schools. It's ridiculous. Guess what, every group has a reputation at every school. They aren't all "the same in their own unique little way." That's a PC load of malarkey. I would much rather someone give me a straight up answer than sugar coat one with a bunch of crap that you'll find out isn't true the minute you start rush.

Foxfire J.......I go to Texas and have some friends at UTA. I could find out pretty quickly about most of the sororities there.

^^^ Exalt.

I to hate the "tread lightly, you may get a slap on the hand" mentality about that stuff. We are all adults - I hope. Just talk the chapters up; don't talk the "bad" ones down, surely that would be ok? Or how about a coined-template end statement of "but they are all really good in their own rights" at the end of your post.

adpiucf · #7 07-26-2007, 02:56 PM

Some are adults. But the teenaged girls who are asking these questions are pretty easily swayed by illusions of prestige.

We don't want to set them up for disappointment and we preach that they should be open to joining a sisterhood that is a good fit for them, not a "title."

This isn't exclusive to Greek Chat. Every Panhellenic and Alumnae Panhellenic forum I've ever sat through expresses these same sentiments, and this is what we will continue to do.

Kevin · #8 07-26-2007, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macallan25

Oh sweet Jesus. Please, someone explain to me.........why in the hell it is such a big deal to 99% of the people on here to tell someone about the reputations and how well sororities/fraternities "stack up" at different schools. It's ridiculous. Guess what, every group has a reputation at every school. They aren't all "the same in their own unique little way." That's a PC load of malarkey. I would much rather someone give me a straight up answer than sugar coat one with a bunch of crap that you'll find out isn't true the minute you start rush.

Foxfire J.......I go to Texas and have some friends at UTA. I could find out pretty quickly about most of the sororities there.

I can see both sides.

If the ladies of GC want to be bound by panhellenic niceties, fine. The rest of us, however are not subject to such things, nor do we choose to be.

That said, it's impossible to know whether the OP is really someone worthy of a top-flight organization. She might be a better fit for a less prestigious chapter. In fact, I'd almost assume she is a better fit in one of those other groups since she has to ask the question in the first place assuming, of course that UTA is competitive.

It's not really unfair to prejudice anyone. When they go through rush, they'll figure out who is what. If their goal is to get into a top house, it may be important for them to get their letters of rec in order for that house. Being able to narrow the list a bit will do them a service.

And if they get cut because of their own prejudice? Fine with me. They need to learn to be realistic about their choices.

FSUZeta · #9 07-26-2007, 03:02 PM

when someone asks about chapter reputations, and which are the "good" ones and which ones are the "bad" ones, you are depending on someone else's opinion.

when you decided which college to attend, was your decision based on someone elses opinion, or did you go visit the campus, have a look around and get a feel for it yourself?

in my opinion the best ice cream flavor is mocha. someone else might like chocolate or vanilla best. which of us is right? who decides who is right?

the best thing you can do is check out the sororities on your own and form your own opinion.

SWTXBelle · #10 07-26-2007, 03:11 PM

PLUS - an opinion as to the status of a particular sorority is just that - AN OPINION. You have no idea what the criteria of a particular person is (Most members? Most beautiful members? Sorority your girlfriend belongs to? Highest GPA? Party girls? Most panhellenic awards? On campus the longest? Biggest house?WHAT?). You ask someone who was cut by ABC, she will tell you that DEF (her sorority) is the best, and ABC is the snobby sorority. Fraternity men have their own perspective - but if you date a GHI, what are the odds you are not going to say they are great? If your sweetheart is a JKL, wouldn't you say they are in the top tier?
That's one of many reasons why truly panhellenic women won't recommend certain sororities over others. I'm sure everyone of us thinks our sorority is the very best - I would hope so - but we also know chapters differ, campus to campus, year to year. If you went to the University of Greatness 10 years ago, reputations may have totally changed.
PNM are, by definition, intelligent enough to be accepted to higher education, and if they are mature enough to pledge they should be mature enough to make their choices based on their recruitment experience. By all means - check out the national organizations, the chapter websites, talk to your friends, get to know some members if you can before recruitment - but trusting to an anonymous poster on the internet for your ranking of GLOs doesn't strike me as a good plan.
If you read recruitment threads, you see that often the preconceived notions pnms had of which were the "good" sororities are turned on their heads. I think its better to go in with as open a mind as you can.
As to recs - the advice to get as many as you can is always good.

33girl · #11 07-26-2007, 03:18 PM

You really have no idea who you're talking to on here.

You might assume "FSUZeta" is from Florida State U and has the scoop on all the sororities there. But when we assume, we make an ASS out of U and ME. Maybe she's actually from Fitchburg State U, where she transferred after being a ZTA for half a semester at another school. Do you really want to trust her opinion?

People post stuff on here, half the time, just so if you google the group that's what will come up. If you don't believe me, look at some of the stuff that gets posted on Urban Dictionary.

(my thanks to FSUZeta for goodnaturedly serving as an example for my story. she really is from Florida State, though

)

UGAalum94 · #12 07-26-2007, 03:43 PM

I don't think that posting rankings would do much good because you don't know who the person is who posts them and you don't know the qualifications of the person asking to know if she has a shot at the groups you think are great anyway.

You really can basically create a lot of situations where the girls feel like they have to drop out of recruitment because the "best" groups cut them even though they wouldn't have shared the standards that the person doing the rankings used.

But I do think it's funny that we pride ourselves on being Panhellenic and then let the mask slip in other ways.

And I think we kind of over assume our own importance when we act like, well our opinions are worth reading on everything else, but tiers, rankings, and reputation, well that's just not spoken about. PNM are as capable of knowing whose advice to take about rankings as they are about recommendations, clothes, etc. There's just something jerky about participating in the rankings yourself.

SWTXBelle · #13 07-26-2007, 03:45 PM

Hey, we're only human!

banditone · #14 07-26-2007, 03:57 PM

GC is a really nice and fun environment. It actually helps me get through many a boring work day. Where it is lacking "Greekness" is actual talk about real GLO's. That's all....

How about after someone says "The best on that campus are AXO and DZ", then says "in my opinion".

Is that ok?

SWTXBelle · #15 07-26-2007, 04:02 PM

Hey, no one is stopping you. I don't think we could if we tried -

.
But we are entitled to our opinion about doing so. And if a pnm is foolish enough to let some unknown person on a message board unduly influence her, she deserves what she gets. I just hate the idea that she might miss out on a super opportunity because she is dead set on ABC or DEF from the get-go, and doesn't give GHI or XYZ a shot. My goal is always to give pnm every opportunity to find where they fit in, whether or not it is the top house.