Fratty North?

[APhiAnna]

Although I do not go to USC (Southern California), I know quite a few people who do and it is interesting that it mimics the SEC Greek experience in a small handful of ways with particular emphasis on the sorority system. Before people on both sides of the "fratty" system jump on me, I'm well aware that there are certain aspects that don't align (fratty wardrobes, lack of racial integration, etc) but there are some that do which I find very interesting.

For one, the emphasis on tradition is very present. USC is one of the very few schools from outside the South/Texas area that seems to be so heavy on tradition. When you look at their Greek system, which contains several single letter chapters, you see this. My friend in one particular chapter said that every year they have dozens of in-house legacies coming through rush, many of whom pledge there. She said of the four sororities that are considered "top tier", three of them are overwhelmingly full of legacies and, most interestingly to me, women from particular areas of Southern California. Women from one high school in Newport Beach will invariably go XYZ, from another high school in Malibu the women will all go ABC, etc.

In addition, they have many of the aspects of Greek life that seem to be present with the SEC. Full blown formal recruitment where recommendations are extremely important (if not vital for a few chapters), huge football traditions, overwhelming alumni support, gigantic well decorated chapter houses, 200+ member strong chapters with pledge classes routinely in the high 60s, etc.

However, unlike the SEC there are chapters that are available to women without recommendations/connections, etc and to state that Southern California "money" is close to SEC "old money" is ludicrous. I also think that just about anybody can go through recruitment and have an incredible Greek experience, which is strikingly different from many SEC campuses. For clothes, the sundresses are decidedly more trendy and the men are much more likely to throw on an RVCA t-shirt than a Polo shirt. So I do see the many differences. But I do feel that for certain houses on that campus (both fraternities and sororities) the amount of tradition, legacy and connections required to pledge certain houses mimics a budding version of Southern California wealth where certain families will have been attending USC and pledging certain houses for many generations (one friend of mine pledged a fraternity as a fourth-generation legacy!!!).

As I said, I do not attend there but have many friends and relatives that do. Can anybody confirm/deny/add? The Greek system (well, those few houses I guess, not the entire system) there has always interested me.

EDIT: With USC rising so quickly in the academic world I also wonder if the shockingly higher standards for admission from the last 10 or so years will stop this "SEC of California" trend as many legacies will not be able to gain admission to the school. I should also add that I have several family members who went to USC, hence my interest in their school/Greek system.