Sorority Life 3

[WhirlwindTNX]

Originally posted by SIAsensacion
I'm not sure if you were referring to me when you said "people pooh-pooh it as whining," because I CERTAINLY don't think it's whining when people try to connect with their culture and are proud of their Italian, German, etc. heritage. Actually, I think its great when people know where they come from and are proud of this. What I DO think is whining are the people in this forum who have said that African-Americans don't get lumped together, why should white people. My point was that African-Americans certainly ARE lumped together, no matter their background. But, to put extra emphasis on the positive, I think its great when people still have ties or create new ties to their cultures--I think you can get a lot of understanding and a broader perspective of the world when you learn about a culture or country outside of the US.


It's true, labels suck, but unfortunately, this country is obsessed with labels, and everywhere you turn they are asking us to fill in a bubble and lump ourselves into one category. Can you imagine a bubble sheet listing every European country so that white people wouldn't be put in one category? LOL that thing would be pretty long. At least we are saving trees but not being so specific. I'm totally for people identifying as Italian-American, etc, but from the govt's perspective its a little unrealistic. But, if you want a more historically and culturally significant label, maybe people should start using caucasian or European-American more often (but then again, what about the white people from Russia that actually live in Asia? lol. I guess caucasian would be the more inclusive of the two). I think the reason people still use "white" and "black" a lot is that its just a lot shorter and quicker than using European-American and African-American.

It's very true that African Americans do get lumped together. But as I said it's mostly based on looks. I had two roommates from the Virginia Islands last year and they would tell me all the time how people from down there HATE to be lumped with African Americans, and they are lumped with African Americans because we both come from the same country and have similar features. But their culture is completely different. I think it's easier for people to lump other people together than ask.

And about the secrecy (sp?) thing. . .this sorority isn't a regular MCGLO. Well at least not to me. All of the other MCGLO's I've researched have an intake process that is extremely secret and would never allow it on t.v.. I'm kind of wondering if they changed it for the t.v. show. . .can't they do that since they're local?

[Sistermadly]

Originally posted by SIAsensacion

I'm not sure if you were referring to me when you said "people pooh-pooh it as whining,"

In a word: no.

[strawberrysismd]

awhile ago, somebody on this thread asked why there's only locals featured on SL; my glo doesn't permit us to associate ourselves with the organization when it comes to dealing with the press; do any other orgs have this rule?

[LeslieAGD]

Originally posted by strawberrysismd
my glo doesn't permit us to associate ourselves with the organization when it comes to dealing with the press; do any other orgs have this rule?

I think most National/Internations GLOs do have these kinds of rules in place.

[33girl]

Originally posted by WhirlwindTNX
And about the secrecy (sp?) thing. . .this sorority isn't a regular MCGLO. Well at least not to me. All of the other MCGLO's I've researched have an intake process that is extremely secret and would never allow it on t.v.. I'm kind of wondering if they changed it for the t.v. show. . .can't they do that since they're local?

Theoretically, yes they can change it since they don't have a national board to answer to. But they have been around since 1991...I would wager there would be a hella big stink by the alumnae if the current sisters were like "oh, we changed thus and so because MTV wanted it to be more camera friendly."

[shadokat]

so far, this looks like a big snoozer.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by aephi alum
I'm a little confused about the points, though. The pledges have to get to 2003 points each, but the things they can do earn them very few points (signature=1, answer a question=5, spend time with an active=15, spend time with their pledge sisters=??). We also saw in one of the ads, that the pledge class gets docked 100 points each for some slight that we don't know about yet. I hope there are other ways they can earn points, or they'll never cross!

A lot of our locals do stuff like this - you get a signature everytime you see an active. For example, say I see you in the bathroom at 9:00, then have class with you at 10:00, see you in the library at 1:00, see you at the house at 4:00, and at my pledge event at 9:00. I'd get your signature every single one of those times.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally posted by Steeltrap
Thanks for the clarification. I haven't been to the area in a few months. If I go to the Greek Escape, I spend too much $$$, so it's better for me to stay away.

I hear that! Nice merchandise, but you can usually find the same items somewhere else for cheaper.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally posted by SIAsensacion


Now that I am back, I will comment on something else that has been brought up in this forum--LGLOs and BGLOs appearing on Sorority Life. I can speak from the perspective of LGLOs, and I also have a lot of friends in BGLOs so I know their perspective is pretty similar to ours. Our intake processes (or pledging), and sometimes even our rush, are traditionally kept VERY secret. For the most part, we do not let the outside world see how we choose our members or what potential members have to do during our intake process. Discretion if VERY KEY to LGLOs and BGLOs, and having your whole intake process on national tv is anything but discrete. Another reason why LGLOs and BGLOs will not appear on SL is because hazing laws are so incredibly strict these days, and ANYTHING you do at ALL can be considered hazing, so showing your process on tv could cause major problems for an org if outsiders considered what you do to be hazing. I'm not saying I'm pro-beating or anything like that. But traditionally, LGLOs and BGLOs DO make their candidates EARN their letters. This has been a key part of our organizations for many years, and many outsiders looking in would not understand our processes at all and lump it all together as hazing. So, although it would be really interesting to see an LGLO or BGLO on SL, no one wants to be the one to expose their secrets or get accused of hazing, so it will most likely never happen.

Very well put.

[IheartMATT806]

I think the new season sucks. Needs more content...very "MTVish"

[BadSquirrelBeta]

Being a NPC GLO alum that pledged over a decade ago (eek) and not being ashamed to admit that I am a closet teenager, I haved watched all episodes of SL1 and SL2 and FL1. Now, I have started with the new seasons of both. MTV is not doing anybody any favors here with this show and it is just getting worse and worse.

Nonetheless, I know that I will continue to watch these shows and shake my head...lol. I am glad that they are featuring a MCGLO, but if all they are going to show is them being all catty and pissy to each other for the drama element, that isn't too cool either. You would think that any org that wanted to be followed for an entire semester would be leery of MTV and how they are going to edit the show since they have seen two other seasons get progressively worse. Oh...and the FL2 guys...I just could have done without the puking in the bucket thing...that is for sure!

Ugh...I am really dating myself here, but I remember that when BH90210 had all the girls rushing at CU (I was in college and in the house) and they made it out to be really really STUPID and totally lame...all the bad stuff (hazing, racism for example). I just remember that everyone in a sorority was really upset about how dumb it was and it was just frustrating to think how we were going to have to overcome that stereotype to PNMs and others who also came into contact and drew all their conclusions about Greek Life from stupid shows such as that. Well it really looks like MTV has handed Greeks all over another hurdle to overcome with the SL and FL series that are getting crappier and crappier each season.

[zchi2]

Originally posted by SIAsensacion
I haven't been able to watch any of SL3 or even SL2 (my current location does not have MTV or English language tv at all for that matter), but I thought this thread was interesting and I wanted to respond to some of the issues presented here.

About White people getting lumped together--one of the main reasons that White people are put together in one group or category in this country is that most White people in the US are not 1st generation immigrants anymore. Most White americans are at LEAST 3rd or 4th generation, if not more. Even though the various European countries have very different cultures and languages, almost NO White americans speak those languages or have the cultures of their countries anymore. Younger White americans who are born and brought up here may try to actively SEEK cultural ties, like learning about their culture, taking a language class, etc., but these cultural ties for the most part do not have a strong presence in the home (in other words, not too many White people in the US are sitting at home talking German. Even if your grandmother is, chances are, you aren't). So even though White people come from many different countries a few generations back, White americans are now, for the most part, fully "americanized"--the Italian-American's experience in the US is not much different (if there is ANY difference at all) from a British-American, German American, etc. SO sometimes there are still cultural ties, or new ties to the old culture are made, but for the most part White Americans have similar cultures and similar experiences in this country, so they are grouped together.

Now some people on here have stated/complained that non-whites are allowed (or forced to, however you see it) maintain their cultural ties and are separated into groups, but White people are lumped together. HELLLOOOOOO-do you NOT realize that "African-Americans" are all lumped together too?? Last time I checked, Africa was a CONTINENT, not a country! There are sooo many countries, cultures, and languages in Africa (probably many more than Europe), but African-Americans were unfortunately STRIPPED of their ties to their culture, and now everyone in the US gladly lumps African-Americans together without thinking twice, while they steadily complain about Whites being lumped together. And another thing--What about Jamaicans? Should THEY be called African-American? What about "Black" people from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, or Haiti? Should they be called African-American? What about a British Black person in the US? What about Aboriginals (for those that don't know, these are the Native people of Austrailia who are dark-skinned and look "Black")? There are so many different roots, cultures, backgrounds of "African"-Americans, but we lump them into one group. And we often do the EXACT same thing for Asians, Middle-Easterners, Native Americans, etc. So don't get mad when people group all "White" Americans together, because exactly the same thing is done to every other group in the US without a second thought.

On to the next topic--I read a few people on here stating that NPC sororities are diverse and/or multicultural. I don't know what things were like on other campuses (and I am trying not to assume), but I attended University of Maryland, College Park, which is considered (by some) to be a diverse school, and the NPC sororites on our campus were anything BUT diverse or multi-cultural. Not only were they almost 100% White (yeah sometimes a house had the token Black girl or the token Indian girl but when its 1 or 2 out of 80, that is pretty damn near 100%), but even the White people in each sorority weren't diverse!! You had the Jewish from NJ/NY houses, the Christian houses, the I'm Christian PLUS I like athletics houses. It was UNBELIEVABLE to me how these sororities work SO HARD to recruit COOKIE CUTTERS of themselves. I knew one girl that wanted to join a predominatly Jewish house, and HID the fact that she was Christian during rush so that she could get in. Whether or not she HAD to do it, who knows and who cares, but she FELT it was neccessary, and that speaks VOLUMES for the "diversity" of some of the NPC sororities on Maryland's campus. Now I WILL say that not ALL of them were like that (I don't want you all thinking that I'm lumping everyone together when I'm preaching against it LOL), but even the more "diverse" NPC sororities still consisted almost completely of middle or upper income White people. Yeah YEAH maybe their great grandparents came from different parts of Europe, but its still not diverse. Before I start getting hate male, I am not knocking these sororities--everyone has a right to make their own choices in life, and each person should do what is right for them. I also agree that, even in a predominately White sorority, you can still interact with people very different from yourself--different majors, different personalities, different religions, etc--and a lot can be learned from this. But I still don't think that you can call this type of sorority "multicultural."

Believe it or not, I wanted to respond to other issues raised on this thread, but I have been typing WAY too long (I'm an English majors who struggles with conciseness LOL), so I will have to save it for another day.

I'm pretty new to GC, but I have been browsing and reading various threads for about a month. I like what I've seen so far--a variety of interesting topics are discussed on here--so you might be seeing more of me in the future.

I agree with EVERYTHING you just said. It's really funny how it's ok to lump african, asian, and latino people in one group (minorities) but when someone says that a person is white, people have a heart attack...

When I first found out that the sorority was going to be multicultural, I knew that this discussion was going to start on GC. I really think that people should do a little bit of research on the purpose of multicultural sororities before they assume that "white" people aren't welcomed in a multicultural sorority. It makes me sooooo angry when a "white" person says that they can't join my sorority because they are white . Contrary to popular belief, multicultural sororities purpose isn't to recruit every color in the rainbow so that we can LOOK like a multicultural sorority. If you look at our programs and events (lectures, dialogues, semenars, etc. and not just parties...) that we organize on campus, most of them are to educate not only our members but the ENTIRE campus about race and cultures issues (multicultural means more than multi-ethnic). Our purpose is to bridge the gap that this country has PURPOSELY created. People in other countries aren't so focused on labels like we are.

Technically, every group is SUPPOSED to be multicultural. It's against the law to discriminate against a certain race. If I am apart of a math club and we have every race imaginable in our club, does that make us a multicultural group? NO We are still a math club because that is our number one purpose is math. But if our main purpose is to help different populations of the country increase their math skills (low income whites, blacks, asians, latino, native american, etc..) then the Math club is multicultural. I know people aren't going like what I'm about to say, but how many NPC/IFC groups would "allow" other races and religions in their organization if there wasn't a law saying that you had to???

Just like WhirlwindTNX said... This multicultural sorority isn't like what the bigger multicultural sorority are like. Some multicultural sororities are modeled after NPC, most are model after NPHC, and some are just random... like Zeta Sigma Phi...

[WhirlwindTNX]

Yeah, I agree. People should definitely do research. Like I received a lot of grief for joining Theta Nu Xi in the beginning because all of my friends who were interested or knew everything about NPHC said that I was just joining because we don't haze and they thought we were more NPC like. . .which is an straight lie out of ignorance. So I told them to research it and then try to tell me not to join, and they came back and couldn't.


Point of the story: RESEARCH! You really can't start talking like you know all about a certain kind of sorority and how they work unless you do research.


ONE Luv,
Whirl

[SIAsensacion]

thanks zchi.

i wish i could be watching SL3 to see what fools these girls are making of themselves. lol

[Dionysus]

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

This season is boring.

If they wanted to feature minority girls on SL, they should've picked a local sorority that was modeled after NPHC. That would be totally interesting. These girls are "watered down".