MTV and Sororities

[Honeykiss1974]

To tell the truth, if MTV did a story on the public service and sister/brotherhood aspect of GLOs, I guarentee that there will be plenty of people saying "not on my campus! All ABC sorority does is party!"

Honestly, I believe that A LOT you folks in here really need to lay off of the Simga's and their decision. THEY have told you guys how this wasn't an easy decision that took a lot of though, heart, and guts (for better or worse) to make. After reading this thread, some of you people have not only accused these ladies of single-handly ruining Greek life, but also causing an increase in anti-semetic hatred! WTF!!!

What's interesting is that some members of GLO's are fine with having their greek letters, reputation, house, etc associated with things such as "Pimps and Hos" or "White Trash" parties (knowing full well the negative connotations that associated with those terms) and are not the least bit worried about the image that THEY are portraying to GDI's, faculty, or university.

So why is that when it comes to "questionable behavior" that you do in your everyday lives, in YOUR letters, in YOUR house, that GDIs are susposed to understand that its all in fun and that one GLO DOES NOT represent all orgs, but yet these same GDI's will not be smart enough to figure out that the same applies to this MTV show? GDIs are going to base their opinion of what they see on campus, not on TV. Even those that are future college students will, once when they come to college and experience it firsthand, will base their judgements on what they see YOU doing on campus. Furthermore, would you want someone to join your org that didn't have the common sense to meet you and find out for themselves what your org is about?

Please give GDIs more credit than that and PLEASE stop building up MTV as this powerhouse of entertainment that influences our thoughts and decisions. I believe that people will take it for what its worth.

To the Sigma ladies out there, stay positive and keep your head up. Just use this as a learning experience and keep on doing what you're doing.

[RUgreek]

Originally posted by Zuma
1) The model for the sorority in Legally Blond was Kappas at USC. I could totally say that the characters in the movie were representative of the members in that sorority. But I dont because I know that the producer and writers pulled qualities of that sorority to fit the vision of their story. How is that different than Sorority Life, where the producers used qualities they found on tape and edited it together to make a story? Because it uses actors and not real people? I could make the same generalizations about the Kappas that you all are making about us, but I dont.

2) How is any of this constructive?
I think that some cooler heads have prevailed, but really some of you are just plain vicious. You havent seen the series. Nothing has occurred on your campuses yet. Yet you continue to bitch and moan like this is the worst thing to happen to you since Britney started dating Justin. I hate bitching and moaning for the sake of bitching and moaning. You want us to do something, than tell us? You want to come up with a positive solution about how to counteract the negative effects of the show for the next year (if you even NEED to, since ya dont know yet, do ya?)? But what the hell are you trying to accomplish with the negative posts about how "absolutely horrible its going to be?" We get the point. Do something constructive. If you are doing it to get us to feel like crap, I for one refuse to feel that way.

The world is full of people and situations that are going to piss you off. Its up to you to make the best of them. And if this is the way you react to them in general, THEN I feel sorry for you.

Since some of you are new to this forum, Greekchat has been around for a few years now discussing, debating, talking about all issues in and around the greek system. You guys aren't the first to be criticized here, and trust me, you won't be the last. I have enjoyed these discussions not because I like to bitch and moan, but because I look forward to the opposite argument or points that I didn't think of. Everyone here has an intelligent opinon concerning issues, not always do I agree with them, but I will respect them. Since this topic affects you on a personal scale, I can see why you are reacting so defensively.

Welcome to your 15 minutes of fame, and with it comes the responsibilty of taking it up the @$$ with everyone's viewpoints and comments. You should never feel guilty or sorry about anything discussed here. In the end, we all share a common bond and we are there as supporters and critics of our peers.

Now, over the years, we've seen nothing but good intentions gone wrong. Greeks pulling the stupidest pr stunts, only to have them blow up in their faces. A lot of groups work hard to promote the tiny positive reputation they have around them and so these types of people are afraid and concerned over the potential risk involved in this MTV show. HBO tried to run a show a while back (some of you remember this) and it was canceled because of the negative reaction of the greek community. Sometimes our voices are heard, at least when we stick together.

Everyone here is as normal as the everyday tv viewer. If you think we are being vicious, then just imagine what those hundreds of thousand young, non-greek affiliated individuals may be thinking or saying about you based on the commercial as well. "Oh my, those sorority girls! Well, that's what they do..." I'm sure I could survey some people and get a more harsher statement, but you see what I'm saying. Nobody here is trying to attack your org. or chapter, but we are concerned about the rollercoaster effects of this show. We are worried this could become a disaster and we care about you and your members. With colleges having a trend in banning greek orgs around the nation, adding to an already false stereotype would forever condemn us.

Want proof? Two words ... Animal House.


- RUgreek

[UNFSigmaChi]

I think its rather funny that sigma insider etc are saying that they didn't do it for the money, fame and that this won't hurt peoples impressions of greek life. That is the biggest BS statement i've heard in awhile!!! Ok lets take a look at this, you get new furniture and lord knows what else(on your webpage it even says you needed a way to boost chapter funds). You say hardly anyone knows who you were on campus and it was good exposure for you girls....this is the fame part. And i bet you that a large percentage of your new members now aren't jewish and your heritage that you appreciate and love will soon diminish within the next few years due to your lack of jewish sisters. There is nothing wrong with accepting people of different religious/cultural backgrounds, but when you choose girls based on their looks to boost your campus popularity, your ideals will soon fade away. After reading the sigma statements on here and your webpage it seems to me and others, that you did this for money, personal fame, boost your campus/party reputation on campus, and boost your numbers. Ya there are a lot of pros here in this whole situation...AND THEY ARE ALL PERSONAL PRO's...not for GLO's as a whole. I feel once the dollar signs from MTV got passed around in your chapters minds, your responsibilities to the greek community as a whole went out of the question. And if and when you see how bad this could become don't say "oh well its not our fault cause the big bad corporate MTV people tricked us." You decided what to do, you knew the risks and possible and likely outcomes. It is your fault. And about this whole GDI thing. Im not concerned nor should their be concern about the GDI's already in college. Its about the in-coming freshmen girls that just graduated high school who will be watching this...and in some cases with their parents. Yes im sure a vast majority will already be wanting to join because of fraternity parties etc, but do they REALLY need to see sister so and so, SO drunk and dancing on the bar, making out and going home with a guy....this on TV. Because im so sure that their parents will be like,"oh thats just a local sorority and those MTV people are so not showing all aspects of greek life hehe." GET REAL SIGMA'S!!!!! Most people both college age and adults see something on TV and think that 100% of it is true no matter what small percentage of it happens. They will believe it happens every night of the week and that all sorority girls are sororitutes and wouldn't want their daughter belonging to a "whorority." And if you think otherwise than you are the most naive and gullible person ever! Now yes I feel we should all watch the first few episodes to see what goes on, but comon, we all know whats going to be shown. Yes you could have logged hundreds of hours of community service, showing how great of a bond your sorority has etc, and three hours of drunken debauchory, but guess whats going to be shown girls...yes the drunken debauchory believe it or not. The only reason i intend to watch a few of the episodes is so in the fall when girls ask me if xyz sorority is like sorority life i know what they are talking about and can give them an acurate response and point out the fasalities the show presented. Other than that i really don't care about it. Sorry this is so long but its getting towards midnight and im rambling on so im off to bed. But seriously sigmas...don't say you think MTV will show a full aspect on sorority life..comon now think about what your saying here girls. I mean really think about what you girls are saying....MTV haha.

[AngelJR]

While I do feel bad for all of the repercussions that Sigma is getting from their decision, I think it is well deserved. Not only did Sigma make a bad decision, they made a bad decision for the entire greek system. I believe that the reason that everyone is so upset about this is because we feel like we are being represented without being consulted first. Our reputation is at stake, and we have no say in the matter. Although I know that there is no way to get consent from every greek member nationwide, I believe that this should not have been a decision solely for them to make. It is obvious that while their house may get the brunt of the bad publicity, we all are unfortunately being dragged down along with it. As a member of the Davis and greek community, I feel as if I am getting hit twice as hard from this decision. While I'm sure that Sigma did not realize how outraged the greek community would be, maybe they should have brought it to other houses on campus directly before making their decision. While they may have brought it to Panhellenic, each house individually should have been consulted. I know that my house was informed about the filming after the decision had already been made, when ideally, we would have liked to contributed input beforehand.

[Colleenie]

RUgreek -
Thank you for your comments! I think everyone here needed to be reminded that this is a forum for discussion and we are all just sharing our thoughts and opinions on the topic. I don't think this entire thread is meant to be a personal attack on Sigma - many of us are simply sharing our thoughts and concerns and reading what others think about it. That's what GC is all about.

[SigEp42]

Ok, I have been following this thread for a while and at first I was very angry, I have been trying to convince my sister to rush when she goes to college and I thought this would ruin any chance of her rushing or my parents allowing her to rush. But after reading some of the recent posts I’ve changed my mind. I’m not saying I completely agree with Sigma’s decision to allow MTV to tape them, It may not have been the best decision a GLO has made but it isn’t the worst either.

I think what’s most important was that their intention was good, they wanted some good PR for Greek life on a nationally television station, as well as help their house financially. However, just like anything to make them look bad makes all GLO’S look bad, anything that makes them look good makes everyone look good as well. For example the first thing that struck me as interesting on their web sight was under pledging, and then dues information, there is a section where they talk about girls who can’t afford to pay dues. They collect money from the community to help them pay for dues. I can honestly say that is the first time I have heard of any GLO putting a plan like that into action and is a huge showing of sisterhood, and careing. Also it defiantly breaks the stereotype that we are buying our friends. One stereotype I very much hate.

Having said that in their defense I will next say I’m not naive about how MTV works: Fights and drama = ratings. Of course this will in some way have a negative impact or all GLO’s, while we don’t know the extent of this bad publicity I’m positive pointing our respective fingers at the Sigma’s wont help anything. So my question is what are we going to do locally nationally to counteract any bad press? Anything we do on my campus as a charity event we try to get on a local radio station; is there anything else we can do?

Lastly I would like to remind everyone “no matter what the letter we are all Greek together” (I know its corny but it makes a point) And even though we would like to say that we had no part in this and the sigma’s are all wrong for representing the Greek system this way, I would like to remind you that at one point in time (insert your letters here) fraternity or sorority was probably in the news for hazing or something worse than partying too much. I seriously doubt any organization is exempt from this. So instead of pointing fingers let’s try to take the positive and promote it and counteract the negative the best we can. After all isn’t that what MTV would do if they were in our shoes?

I hope this makes sense, after all it is just my opinion.

[DeltAlum]

Colleenie wrote:

"RUgreek -
Thank you for your comments! I think everyone here needed to be reminded that this is a forum for discussion and we are all just sharing our thoughts and opinions on the topic. I don't think this entire thread is meant to be a personal attack on Sigma - many of us are simply sharing our thoughts and concerns and reading what others think about it. That's what GC is all about."

I agree. Mistakes were made. We need to discuss them so the same thing won't happen again.

But...

No personal attacks? What the hell was that thing that UNFSigmaChi did above? That was vicious and over the line. It was somebody's opinion stated as if it were fact. It was absolutely uncalled for.

Even if it is totally true, it's the wrong way to say it.

To submit these women who are fighting for the integrity of their sorority to this kind of frontal assault is beneath the dignity of this forum.

I've said I believe they made a mistake. I've said I believe MTV has taken advantage of them. With my professional broadcasting experience I may be more worried about this than most.

But I hope I haven't sounded that strident. Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt to some extent. And when a mistake is realized, everyone deserves some degree of compassion -- especially from their "brothers and sisters."

This is a discussion, not a bar fight. Let's all try to act like adults -- like the Greek family we are supposed to be.

[SIGMA_INSIDER]

Please let me make it clear, for the sake of not misrepresenting Sigma, I am not in Sigma or in any part of their organization.

• UNFSigmaChi, that was uncalled for. Please try to be constructive here and not stoop to that level. You only make yourself look bad. You are not accomplishing anything with low-brow remarks and rehashed ideas that have been stated many times and responded to. UNF, you have not made much sense, let alone offer any valid points that are even worth reading. I know all the Sigmas, was first-hand to the entire situation, and it is obvious to me that they are genuine and did this show for all the right reasons (none of them being 9 weeks of rented IKEA furniture).

I do respect any valid concern and realize that there are many different perspectives on this issue. I applaud forums like this one
where concerns and issues can be addressed.

Please leave posting to the informed and concerned, not the rants and raves of misinformed pessimists.

[lioness]

It's not even worth responding to the unfounded comments/assumptions/interpretations made by UNFSigmaChi.

What's ironic is that everyone is concerned with MTV's manipulation of the facts and failure to contextualize things, yet some people, like UNFSigmaChi, are doing just that.

I urge you all to look at the Sigma website once again and see what it really states. http://www.sigmaaepi.com

[Serenity]

Originally posted by SigEp42
Having said that in their defense I will next say I’m not naive about how MTV works: Fights and drama = ratings. Of course this will in some way have a negative impact or all GLO’s, while we don’t know the extent of this bad publicity I’m positive pointing our respective fingers at the Sigma’s wont help anything. So my question is what are we going to do locally nationally to counteract any bad press? Anything we do on my campus as a charity event we try to get on a local radio station; is there anything else we can do?

Lastly I would like to remind everyone “no matter what the letter we are all Greek together” (I know its corny but it makes a point) And even though we would like to say that we had no part in this and the sigma’s are all wrong for representing the Greek system this way, I would like to remind you that at one point in time (insert your letters here) fraternity or sorority was probably in the news for hazing or something worse than partying too much. I seriously doubt any organization is exempt from this. So instead of pointing fingers let’s try to take the positive and promote it and counteract the negative the best we can. After all isn’t that what MTV would do if they were in our shoes?

I hope this makes sense, after all it is just my opinion.

Makes perfect sense to me, SigEp42!!

[maggieaxid]

THIS IS SOMETHING POSITIVE!

last night, i saw the commercial again with one of my friends who is also greek and in an national sorority other than mine. She had a really good point, and it went something like this:

"ok, so these girls go and do this. and then all this hoopla is going to come out of it, and sooner or later you are going to have the major networks jumping through hoops to talk to people on both sides of the fence and looking into what really goes on in the greek system both nationally and locally."

If this were to happen, i think that this is the one positive thing that could come out of all of this. i mean, maybe greeks will finally get the positive exposeur that the deserve that rises out of this debotchery of a tv show.

[RockChalk]

Originally posted by Honeykiss1974
To tell the truth, if MTV did a story on the public service and sister/brotherhood aspect of GLOs, I guarentee that there will be plenty of people saying "not on my campus! All ABC sorority does is party!"

Honestly, I believe that A LOT you folks in here really need to lay off of the Simga's and their decision. THEY have told you guys how this wasn't an easy decision that took a lot of though, heart, and guts (for better or worse) to make. After reading this thread, some of you people have not only accused these ladies of single-handly ruining Greek life, but also causing an increase in anti-semetic hatred! WTF!!!

What's interesting is that some members of GLO's are fine with having their greek letters, reputation, house, etc associated with things such as "Pimps and Hos" or "White Trash" parties (knowing full well the negative connotations that associated with those terms) and are not the least bit worried about the image that THEY are portraying to GDI's, faculty, or university.

So why is that when it comes to "questionable behavior" that you do in your everyday lives, in YOUR letters, in YOUR house, that GDIs are susposed to understand that its all in fun and that one GLO DOES NOT represent all orgs, but yet these same GDI's will not be smart enough to figure out that the same applies to this MTV show? GDIs are going to base their opinion of what they see on campus, not on TV. Even those that are future college students will, once when they come to college and experience it firsthand, will base their judgements on what they see YOU doing on campus. Furthermore, would you want someone to join your org that didn't have the common sense to meet you and find out for themselves what your org is about?

Please give GDIs more credit than that and PLEASE stop building up MTV as this powerhouse of entertainment that influences our thoughts and decisions. I believe that people will take it for what its worth.

To the Sigma ladies out there, stay positive and keep your head up. Just use this as a learning experience and keep on doing what you're doing.

*stands up and applauds* Very well said, Honeykiss. The next time you complain about negative views of the Greek system, stop and think about what you have done to portray a positive image of Greek life. It has been my experience (both online and off) that the people who complain the most about Greek stereotyping are the same people who live up to the stereotypes. Whether you are on TV or not, somebody is always watching. Will they like what they are seeing?

As for "Sorority Life," I think I'll wait till it actually airs before commenting on it.

[shadokat]

I make no claims to know will happen on the show and if it'll all blow up in Sigma's faces or if they will benefit. I do know that if it does blow up, blaming MTV for making a program that folks apparently want to see is not the way to go. As I've re-read the Sigma website, I still believe that they were advised by the community, by attorneys and others, and they chose to take this route.

[dzrose93]

Originally posted by SIGMA_INSIDER
DzRose, giving a few stories of your friends and posts who showed disinterest in a proposal doesn't prove that MTV would be "shot down in a heartbeat", without HQ stepping in, in every single organization. I'm sure you'd like to think that every national organization in every state would want nothing to do with this kind of opportunity, but let's step into reality for a sec and realize the inevitable. They would have found someone sooner or later who agreed to their terms. LISTEN TO DELTALUM and don't point fingers at Sigma.

You asked in an earlier post if I really believed that my national sorority would have turned down the show if National hadn't stepped in. I spoke for MY organization, not anyone else's, when I said that Delta Zeta wouldn't have had any part of it. So, I wasn't talking about "every single organization." I was only referring to Delta Zeta. Just wanted to make that clear.

However, like I said earlier, I really hope that I'm wrong about the show and that things turn out well for Sigma and the rest of the Greeks who are going to be affected by the series. I'm certainly not wishing Sigma ill when I voice my opposition to the show on this thread. I'm just questioning the initial decision to participate in general.

As a sidenote: I brought the show up in conversation with one of my sisters yesterday as we were leaving an alumnae meeting. I only got as far as "MTV is doing a real-life documentary on sororities..." before she cut me off with a sarcastic "Oh greeeeeeat. This is going to do wonders for Greek stereotypes."

She hadn't heard anything about the show, so I gave her a basic summary of the idea behind the series. In the end, all she said was that she was just thankful that DZ's name wasn't on it, and that she was dreading Rush this year because she knows we'll be dealing with the fallout if the show is negative. That's basically how I feel as well.

[dzrose93]

I found this while I was searching for articles about MTV's show online... Thought it was kind of interesting because it gives the view of some Sigma members and also the view of a non-member who is friends with a few of the girls... It's from the non-member's online journal.

Wednesday, February 06 - MTV is Calling

The cat's out of the bag... KCRA did a segment on Monday evening, The Aggie printed an article yesterday and publicity is just beginning. This is something that has finally been announced to the public but has undeniably been on two of my housemates' minds ever since November. It's not just a fantasy idea anymore as we are starting to realize its magnitude. This will be the biggest thing to hit the Davis greek system and our campus itself.

Three of my closest friends (Stepha and Housemates Pauli and Jenn) are sisters of SigmaAEPi and since this will directly affect them, it will somewhat affect me, as well as everyone else close to us. The Sigmas are the only chapter of its kind and do not have the reputation for being a stereotypical "Legally Blonde" sorority, which is probably why MTV has chosen them out of thousands in the country to be filmed. MTV will buy a house here in Davis to accommodate 8 sisters and pledges and will film their daily lives as well as regular sorority activities for the entire Spring quarter (think: a pseudo-The Real World). Because it's not a done deal yet, I should be careful not to say more because I don't fully understand the legal issues and rules of confidentiality. But if we're thinking of MTV and the huge media corporation it is, yes, the benefits that have been offered to them for being filmed are mind-blowing.

Not that I think MTV produces high qaulity viewing experiences or anything, but I have been known to be suckered into oh, a few shows now and then (remember the days of My So Called Life and when TRL was actually cool?). And these days I especially think The Real World, Cribs, Flipped, Dismissed and Becoming are quite amusing (so sue me). But when something like this hits close to home, you are forced to look at the entire television industry from another angle. The legal issues are boggling and I don't even know half of it. The Sigmas have sat through hours of deliberation and debate about whether they should do it or not, questions, concerns. Some are vehemently against it, afraid that MTV might portray them in a negative way and while most are excited about the idea, they are well aware of the disadvantages that filming will have. My other housemate, a sister of Kappa Kappa Gamma, has already reported that no greek members are allowed to even talk to a Sigma while a cameraman is next to her. But the Sigmas are handling it well. They have legal representation, are aware of their rights on and off camera, and are taking every precaution to keep the experience a positive one.

I knew Stepha, Pooli and Jenn before they were Sigmas. To this day, we still make fun of silly Greek rituals and pretty much agree on a majority of its stereotypes. But the Sigma group is such a positive one, promoting sisterhood over tradition, that it hasn't changed my girls one bit. This is not to say that there isn't drinking or partying or other "looked down upon" activities. There are of course all these conditions that come with any sorority and greek life, or just being in college alone, which probably tickles MTV funny to be able to catch it all on tape.

Besides my housemates and Stepha, I am also fond of and have gotten to know a few of their other sisters. I am nervous for all of them, not that there will be cameras trailing 24/7 and not that their dramatic lives will be captured on film and changed forever. But I'm scared of the negative feedback from our community, from the greek members whose sororities and fraternities did not get chosen, from the entire country when the series airs, from people who do not know them enough to be validly critical. But I guess this is just one of the prices you have to pay for sharing even a little part of your life to the world.

Even so, it's not everyday that something like this happens; it is quite exciting indeed. Last night Pooli and I were discussing who the sponsors might be for this show and I imagined them coming home with loads of Abercrombie gear and cases of Pepsi. You know, those bad ass companies have so much freaking money, it wouldn't hurt for them to share every now and then. (But no diet coke for Stepha because she might O.D. on it.)

Anyway, permits and legal issues are currently being negotiated with the Chancellor's administration and Davis city officials. More updates about MTV later on.