Sorority Shopping?

[kddani]

Originally Posted by MBurden

No, I wouldn't lose the bet. I was the only non-Greek among a large circle of friends that I had at the two colleges that I attended...and not a single one of them participates with their sorority in any way, and in my 20 year working career, I have met countless individuals that joined in college, and again, didn't participate after graduation in any way....and I live in the SOUTH! I have never met ONE. Not ONE.

I didn't join in college because I had to pay my own way through and wanted to minimize my loans and I cut every corner I could...if it didn't directly impact my degree, I skipped the expense. This pretty much left food, clothing and shelter as my expenses and I had very little to pay back when I graduated and was student loan debt-free after only 4 years of graduation.

Why do you ASSUME that those of us that didn't join in college know nothing about the Greek system? That we have no idea of the trials and tribulations...do you think the information is THAT secretive?

Yeah! You better believe alot of the sorority members complained all through college about the things they had to do....I lived in a dorm for 3 years and they had their meetings on Monday evenings and would get in large groups while they were getting ready...standing between an open doorway and an echoing hall and you could hear them complain all the way down the hall of how they 'couldn't stand' to make another trip to a nursing home or 'didn't have time' to 'fool' with tutoring at a local elementary school with at-risk kids.

I had a roommate that SLASHED HER WRISTS in the dorm bathroom because she was formally kicked out of her sorority because of a nasty rumor about something she supposedly did that was started by her boyfrriend's ex-fiance...the Greek system at the school was so powerful that she wanted to be dead rather than to continue classes with everyone knowing she had been kicked out. Thank God she survived.

I had another close friend that only took classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays while her mother was undergoing Chemotherapy for breast cancer and submitted a formal request to the Sorority to miss all of the weekly meetings on Mondays so she could be with her mother for her treatments (she had no father and her mother was single)...you know what they told her? "You need to re-assess your priorities!" She did...by de-activating. If they couldn't support her while her mother was undergoing life-saving procedures, in her mind, she didn't need them.

Now, DO I JUDGE ALL SORORITIES BASED ON WHAT I HAVE SEEN HAPPEN TO A COUPLE OF MY FRIENDS? Nope, I render these as isolated incidents with people I just happen to know....I don't know where you live or where you go to school, but around here, WHAT I SAID IN MY PREVIOUS POST IS 100% TRUE AND I HAVE DISCUSSED IT WITH A LOCAL SORORITY I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH AND SHE HAS MENTIONED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS HOW THERE NEVER SEEMS TO BE ENOUGH HELP WITH THE SORORITY AFTER EVERYONE GRADUATES!

Please don't accept AI's into your organization if you cannot treat them with the same respect and dignity as your other members. If you harbor this kind of resentment, you would be doing them a favor.

Why do you want to join a sorority if you think so poorly of them, then?

[SydneyK]

MBurden, I'm trying to find the nicest way to say this...

To accuse James of not having reviewed the board adequately is uncalled for. It is obvious to me, by his post, that he has in fact reviewed the board, and has narrowed the question to a more manageable one. Instead of trying to address everything about AI, he has honed his question on the one aspect of it that, through his observations, is causing most of the commotion.

And, with respect to your attitude towards NPC alumnae, it seems as if you're the one harboring resentment, not the collegiate-initiated alumnae. So, as for your last comment, I feel like saying to you, "If you can't treat collegiate-initiated alumnae with the same respect and dignity as the AI members, then don't join. They certainly don't need your negativity."

[kddani]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

And, with respect to your attitude towards NPC alumnae, it seems as if you're the one harboring resentment, not the collegiate-initiated alumnae. So, as for your last comment, I feel like saying to you, "If you can't treat collegiate-initiated alumnae with the same respect and dignity as the AI members, then don't join. They certainly don't need your negativity."

I would agree. Disparaging remarks about sisters is usually cause for discipline in many sororities. It certainly isn't going to help you get in.

[MBurden]

I'm not trying to put on a "show" for someone or changing my opinion or attutude to 'get in'...I guess the difference is I am approaching AI from an ADULT perspective and not from a collegiate perspective.

I am not concerned in any way about where I am in the process...if it's a fit, then it will be a fit, if it's not a fit, then it was never meant to be.

I don't sit up awake at night worrying about it.

[MBurden]

You clearly didn't read my post....one of the reasons the local sorority is interested in me for possible AI (and I should find out within the next couple of weeks) is because I plan to be an active participant and not go through the process, pay my dues, and no one ever hears from me again.

My post only stated my personal experience with the geographical area that I live in and studied in.

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally Posted by kddani

Why do you want to join a sorority if you think so poorly of them, then?

That would be my question too......