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Sorority Life After MTV
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi: a sorority’s life after MTV
By Nadine Elsibai
Aggie Features Writer
October 03, 2002- Four months after local Jewish-interest sorority Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi initiated most of its pledges from spring quarter — a period followed and featured by MTV in the show “Sorority Life” — the women of the organization expressed frustration about the show’s overall message.
“I was pretty disappointed with what they chose to focus on because we do a lot of good,” SAEPi President Becca said. “They failed to show the rest of the nation the community service that we do, the sincere sisterhood that we truly have [and] the scholarship….I guess it could be expected, being MTV, but the show that was aired was drastically different than the show that was pitched to us.”
While camera crews no longer accompany the women to their every destination, the sisters have arrived at a new sense of purpose for their upcoming year together.
“Our theme right now for the whole year is ‘redefining sisterhood’ because [the show] tore us apart in a lot of respects, but it didn’t tear us down,” SAEPi Vice President Pauli said. “We’re still a very strong group of women, and we’re getting even stronger from this.”
After endless hours of footage were compiled from 10 weeks of filming, MTV editors cut the series into 13 episodes — each totaling only 18 minutes. According to Becca, much of what aired in each episode misrepresented the actual events.
“[MTV] took a lot of stuff out of context, and they…framed us into characters that they wanted,” Becca said. “Obviously, a lot was left out, and they just created a storyline.”
Pauli said that she finds others judging her as a person by the character MTV molded her into, which she identified as a “bitch.” Although she admits to speaking her mind when her beliefs are challenged, she added that she loved the pledges from spring quarter.
Not until after watching the show did Leslie, a summer 2002 UC Davis graduate and previous vice president of SAEPi, say she realized how much editing affects the portrayal of a situation.
“Because the show was so edited — to make it seem like people had opinions that they just didn’t feel strongly about —I would encourage people to get to know us or talk to us at least before forming an opinion,” she said.
Although the results of the MTV production did not please Becca, Pauli or Leslie, each of them offered something positive that they personally gained from the experience.
“It really helped me to understand that people are so much more complex than I ever gave them credit for,” Leslie said. “When you see yourself as a one-dimensional character on a show, it helps you to understand that even if you don’t like someone, that doesn’t mean that there’s not more to them than just the parts that you don’t like.”
She went on to add that the stress created by the cameras also created something “that is not Sigma.” The cameras, according to Pauli, distanced pledges — especially those who lived in the pledge house — from the sisters and created an unnecessary divide. Reflecting back on “Sorority Life,” however, the sisters are already developing a greater sense of unity among each other.
“I’ve noticed that we’re coming together a lot more, and we’re not saying things so much on the surface,” Pauli said. “We’re learning not to judge people just by what we see.”
Less than a year ago, when MTV approached SAEPi with a proposal for the show, much consideration among members ensued before the idea was approved by vote. Numerous signed contracts later, the sisters became subject to the whims of the show’s creators, according to Pauli.
“I realized that MTV has one intention,” Pauli said. “You see all their shows, and you don’t really see any of these incredible, positive things that people do. You see the sin, the hooking up. You see the drinking….I think we kind of overlooked that, and we didn’t realize what an impact the show would have.”
Thus far, mixed reactions from the Davis community toward SAEPi have led to the hiring of a security guard to keep watch over the house. Even still, while some toilet-papered and egged the SAEPi house, others sent encouraging e-mails or had only positive words to say about the show. Becca said she takes all the feedback “with a grain of salt.”
“We’re a really new organization, and no one really knew who we were,” Becca said. “Now, everybody’s stopping by the house, pointing, taking pictures and asking for autographs. It’s just very bizarre.”
Regarding some people’s negative reactions, Leslie said that she does not understand why people waste their time.
“I wish people would just say, ‘yeah, maybe they didn’t make the best decision, but it’s not my business to go out of my way to hurt these people,’” Leslie said. “I’ve been out, and people have thrown things at me.”
For SAEPi, being recognized in the public eye has been an unexpected part of involvement in “Sorority Life.” Becca said it still seems unreal to know that over 2 million viewers saw her on television every week.
While Pauli mentioned that the comments she receives face-to-face with people are optimistic, she fears that their sorority will be singled out because of its decision to participate in the show.
“I’m kind of worried that people think that we went out there to represent the entire Greek community or the entire Jewish community, but we weren’t,” Pauli said. “I fear that we’re not going to get that support that we should be getting…we didn’t go out to harm anyone.”
In an attempt to quell some of her worries, Pauli wrote a letter to the executive producer of “Sorority Life,” detailing her shocked response to the way the pledge period of SAEPi was depicted as a quarter of “drinking girls who go out and party all the time.” While the producer has yet to respond, Pauli said she thinks her message was heard.
Although the hype about the show remains, the sisters of SAEPi continue with their daily lives in an effort to move on from the events of the spring. Becca said that SAEPi held a retreat for active members two weeks ago, during which the women devoted a great deal of it to discussing their feelings about the show.
“We tried not to dwell on the past because it’s not fair to say, ‘oh, you shouldn’t have been doing this,’” Pauli said. “It happened, and at the time, we all felt as if our actions were justified.”
Considering what she knows now, Becca said that she would not necessarily advise another sorority to go through with another such offer and cited the experience as a “roller coaster.” Leslie, however, said that she found the show beneficial on a personal level, although not for the sorority as a whole.
“I’ve grown up a lot, I think, because of it,” Leslie said. “It’s kind of taught me what’s important — like what I think of myself and what my friends and family think is important. But what strangers think of me is not necessarily the most important thing.”
Becca tries to maintain a realistic perspective on the entire situation, even if people around the world see a glimpse of her life as a member of the sorority.
“Across seas, someone told me last night that he saw me in France…but other than those instances, I just go on with my life. It’ll all die down in about five minutes, so I’m not getting used to it.”
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