A local sorority at USC?

[Barbie's_Rush]

Originally Posted by 28StGreek

Hello y'all!

This is my first (well ok second) post, and please forgive me for any GC faux pas (and forgive my grammar, WRIT140 still causes nightmares. Any SC posters here would know what I mean).

I have to admit I have been just a lurker on this site as often the wisdom, experience and wit of many of the regular posters here usually cover everything that needs to be, or should be said on many issues, both Greek-related and life in general. And a lot of the things, and advice given, has been well put. Especially the post by Barbie's Rush.

[This is going to be a long one, but I felt I needed to write it. Feel free to PM me with any further questions]

However having been been a part of The Row over the last few years, I feel that unless you are a part of it, you really can't comment accurately on it. This goes not only for the Non-SC posters, but also the OP. And even if you are an SC Greek, oftentimes there is so much rumor and trash-talking that it may be a waste of breathe. SC, and The Row in particular, really is its own beast for better or for worse.

[I don't know which GCers are Trojans, so hopefully I have not tread on anyone's toes. If I did, I am sorry]

That being the said, the OP does make some good points with the way Row culture has been, especially over the last year. I know this forum generally looks down on others that usually have the "who are in the top tier" mentality (and for good reason).

While that sort of thing happens at every school, and always has, I feel that in the last 2 years the existence of websites such as Total Frat Move or CollegeACB (and before that Juicy Campus) has really skewed some of the SC Panhellenic, and IFC spirit of all GLOs (fyi, at SC there is a heavy tendency by The Row to not consider the non-PHC/IFC GLOs as Greeks, even if on The Row itself there are a Business and an Asian fraternity (and the Engineering fraternity is housed just off of it). I do admit I am also guilty of thinking this way. When I, and most people, say Greek at USC, they really do mean just The Row, and then just the PHC and IFC houses)

For the most part, Greeks are wonderful people, many are campus leaders, and do exceptional things for the community. You only have to see the accomplishments at the end of the year Greek Awards to really be in awe of all the things the SC Greek community gets done for being only 20% of the total school population.

But then again there is a whole other side of the Greek community, the 'Its Thursday Night/Lets Get Trashed at the 90' side (9-0 is the local bar at the end of The Row, very Greek heavy presence). Ask any person on The Row the following questions and it isn't a surprise which is more readily answered: 'Name the top 5 highest Sorority GPAs' or 'Name the top Tier fraternities'

The KS email, and then the Rooftop Scandal while isolated incidents has caused an uglier side of The Row to be exposed. Even if it were just 3 individuals' actions, they managed to bring the SC Greek system into disrepute
(I have no idea what UCLA's Greek life is reaction to the female student involved who was is a member of a GLO over there)
You don't even need to go on an awful site like CollegeACB to see the bad side, the comments section alone in the Daily Trojan's coverage of all the incidents are pretty embarrassing for our community. (Assuming those bad hats posting comments truly are Greeks). [PM if you would like links to the DT articles]
Particularly worrying is the number of people who said: "Well its obviously this trashy thing happened she is in XYZ, they're all sluts" The XYZ sorority having their philanthropy event tarnished by a girl who not only does not go to USC, but also is not even in the same sorority at UCLA. I really do hope their 2011 recruitment is not affected too unduly by this (they are very established so I really doubt it has done any long-term harm)
What I really don't understand is how some have said the guy should be the Fraternity Man of the Year, because he is so 'Fratty' yet at the same time those same people label the girl as a trashy slut. This is the mentality that was behind why people sent the KS email around. Not because it was disgusting, because people thought it was funny.

Because of the scandals bringing the school into disrepute the administrators have put restrictions on The Row. People are clamoring with "WTF how can I party on Thursday night???!!! @#$%".
Rather than "Well now I have time to study during the week, and I will not overreact because Friday night and Saturday night registered parties are still allowed". Do not get me started on the fact that Los Angeles is one of the most vibrant cities in the world. Not being able to party on The Row on a Thursday night is NOT the sign of the apocalypse.

There have been accusations that our new President Nikias, who is Independent, is very Anti-Greek, and how it was better when President Sample was in office. Steven Sample is a brother of Beta Theta Pi, and the current generation of SC Greeks, may not realize that Sample himself removed Beta's chapter at SC for Risk Management issues.

There is a certain attitude encouraged by fans of TFM-like website, seems to have really taken the whole GDI v The Row divide to a new level at SC. I do know some Greeks who would disparage the OP for being a GDI, regardless of being in a professional fraternity. And yes there are some in our community who use the term GDI like a racial slur.
The influence of TFM is also tangible as up until recently I had never heard of the, apparently Southern, tradition of girls decorating coolers for their Formal dates, and the fad seems to have started for the various Formals last weekend.

I think the most emblematic of the Row's culture of SC is in this exchange between girls and guys when they first meet, not just at parties, but also in class:

"Hi, what's your name? I'm Susie Sorority/Frank Fraternity. What house are you in?" I have noticed this since I was a freshman.

That second question is often that. The fact that someone may be independent often doesn't even cross a Greek person's mind. Let alone wonder what the other person's major is. The initial mutual attraction many times is the fact that two people are Greek, rather than perhaps sharing the same interests.

I have to admit I am abroad this semester, and my knowledge of the backlash of what is happening at SC is from friends back at my house at SC, as well as Facebook etc, so it may all very well be overblown. But I can say last week, when my lab partner saw my tshirt with USC across the front, she asked me: "isn't that the school where the fratboy had sex with that slut on the roof of a building?"
and not: "isn't that the school which has been improving every year academically, and in a variety of research fields"

While I am proud to be Greek as USC, and I know first hand how good we can be (I have been involved in both on-campus groups and Greek honor societies), I feel that a certain, highly visible, minority is giving us a very bad name. And would explain how the OP's opinion of The Row has been clouded. There certainly is room for improvement in the Panhellenic/IFC sense, I remember as a freshman there was more of a 'No Matter the Letter, Greeks Do It Better' attitude rather than the 'Top Tier v Bottom Tier' debate. As well as improving relations with the non-Row population and administrators.
I have no doubt that The Row will rally around each other positively, and we will come back twice as exceptional.

Fight On,

28StGreek

PS: Sorry for the long ramble, state-of-the-row-esque speech, but it is a lot more fun than studying for a climate science midterm!

Thanks for your USC perspective. But what you describe really isn't different from the climate at any school with an old, established and strong Greek life. That's the way it has been forever. All of my relatives who have been Greek at similar schools over the decades have the same stories to tell. But now the internet makes it much easier to be bitchy and spread gossip far beyond the confines of a Greek row. We need to do a better job of taking care of our own, especially when people are acting inappropriately and irresponsibly with our image. Because it affects everyone, not just a particular chapter at a specific school because the world only wants to read about the bad stuff.

Every year we have at least one person who has been unhappy with their recruitment experience come here to tell us how horrible we are (with most of their "expertise" based on gossip, innuendo and the fact that they didn't get the bid they wanted.) We get tired of getting served sour grapes, but we have to take care not to provide the fertilizer that grows them in the first place.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by Barbie's_Rush

Thanks for your USC perspective. But what you describe really isn't different from the climate at any school with an old, established and strong Greek life.

Or really, many campus communities, not even just those with an old, established Greek life, go through stuff like this.