MTV Sorority Show

[DeltAlum]

I was pretty happy with the show overall. I was pretty worried, particularly given the promos. However, I didn't see any of the complete soundbites that they excerpted for the promotions. I hope that's not a foreshadowing of things to come.

What interested me was the heavy emphasis on the "Jewish Sorority" issue.

Does anyone think that the last fifteen minutes -- when it got into alcohol, partying, etc. -- is setting up an ongoing storyline pitting "the pledges vs. the actives?"

Overall, if the rest of the episodes are as positive -- or at least not more negative than this one, I'll feel pretty good that the treatment is not a damaging as I expected.

I can't help but wonder, given the "teases" for the next show whether the negative aspects are going to built throughout the series.

All in all, though, not nearly the stereotyping and sensationalism that I expected.

The chapter came off looking too conservative, if anything. Pretty interesting.

I will still say that I don't trust MTV, but hope I'm wrong. I know that sounds like a broken record. If the series doesn't get any worse than the first show, though, I can live with it.

Amazing.

[33girl]

As we go along this merry season, please remember 3 words so sacred to the MTV reality canon:

EDITING FOR DRAMA.

Just because the house rules meeting was shown after they "supposedly" had people over to the house, that is not necessarily how it happened. Same as the girls they said were "questionable" - just because that is who the camera panned to doesn't mean it's who they were talking about.

Keep an eye out for things like clothing and hairstyle changes - they give away out of sequence editing every time.

[ChiOJenn78]

Well, I did breathe a small sigh of relief. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I will say that. A few things did bother me though, like how they talked about rushees while at the parties-I thought that was inappropriate.

I kept getting Jordan and Candace mixed up-they look so much alike!

And why, if there are 13 new members, are only 6 living in the pledge house? That was confusing. And that pledge house!! What the hell was that?? Does anyone else have that? We sure didn't. You could tell by the way it was decorated that this is definately an MTV show.

[deltajas]

Ok
So at first I was getting a little disturbed about girls not being Jewish, and them setting that as criteria,
but I must say the girls came through by giving all the girls the benefit of the doubt and giving them a chance.
Ok, and I know the pledges may be a little taken back by pledging(like a lot of people are at first) But I think they are being disrespectful to their new sisterhood, and they REALLY need to realize that they are pledging. They also need to open their eyes and realize the importance of portraying a positive image in front of the camera for the sisters.
I feel like MTV is trying to play on the drama a lot, but I guess it got me to watch
Overall they seem like a really nice sorority, but need to lay down the law with the pledges.

I think this was kinda low key for MTV and like PSU Sig Kap says, I think the jury is still out on this one. For me that is. In all honestly I actually got kind of bored with it and some of it made me feel weird and confused. Probably from all the hype it caused here, but it was definately better than I thought it would be. Im just hoping it says on the lame saide ya know. Cuz I can also see the Jordan and Candace show coming .
I really like Mara, Becca and I forget her name, but the one who was so wanting her org to not become the exclusive org she thought it might become. Those are girls who I would definately want in my org. Pauli just seems to negative to me, but maybe that will change.

Actually all the 6 pledges are Juniors and all are 21 except for Dede. She is 19, so it will be interesting to see what thye will do about the alcohol issue with her.

As far as chapter houses go. All the rules that the girls had are ones that all the sororities had at UM. Except there was never a certain time we had to be home. The girls have what are called "Man-Hours". Which means generally that guys can go beyond the first floor during the day time, but after a certain time, for us it was after 9pm on the weekdays and 11pm on the weekends, they can only be on the first floor of the house. Not even in the stairwell. Also, my house has a buzzer system and the girls all get buzzed for dinner at a certain time and have to wait outside the dining room before entering. These rules can seem strict, but usually you can see why they are in place. I know a couple of houses that get around Man-Hours though.

[vdalton]

No offense to the women of Sigma, but is it just me or did their bid/selection process seem kind of random and unorganized?

It might be just me...In my sorority it's 100%...every sister's vote counts. If one sister votes no, then the rushee does not get a bid.

[AlphaGam1019]

Originally posted by vdalton
No offense to the women of Sigma, but is it just me or did their bid/selection process seem kind of random and unorganized?

http://www.hillelhouse.org/sigma/html/history.html

Looks like they are pretty new-- maybe it will take a while to really organize things.

[PsychTau]

Not a bad first show!!! I'm curious as to how the 6 girls got picked to live in the house. And exactly how many pledges did they take? I heard the number 13 at the induction, but I'm not sure. (I hope the sister house has a pool too!!! Otherwise, I wouldn't want to move out of the pledge house!! )

My husband was just rolling around laughing and yelling at the whole thing, though. Not at Sigma, but at the whole sorority rush thing. He couldn't believe how we did rush!! He pledged Sigma Chi in the 80's (I think), so the rules were more lax then. They would have rush parties with girls, beer, etc. in several different cities where incoming freshman live, and then give out bids at the beginning of the semester when everyone got to school. It was interesting to listen to his thoughts on the whole thing. Made for a good discussion.

BTW, will someone from Sigma be on the boards to help answer our questions? That would be nice. . .

[ivysis]

It wasnt the train wreck I expected it to be, but I wasnt all around happy with it.
When they discussed the PNM's at recruitment parties---that bothered me! Even simply a group of actives at a party would be a no no in my book...it makes the PNM's uncomfortable...they could think you were talking about them (which they were in this case).
The argument on how to give bids/who to give them to seemed silly. First they want to make it extremely exclusive, then they gave bids to everyone? Not sure.
My $0.02 for now.

[erniegurl00]

Well, I have to agree with what a lot of you are saying. When I first heard about this show I was concerned as to how the stereotype would be portrayed. So far it hasn't been too bad, and I'm really impressed by how the members handled rush. I'm glad they paid extra special attention to the fact that some girls may come out for rush for the MTV reason. However, part of me felt bad for the girls who weren't Jewish. They must have felt put on the spot and ackward when asked what religion they were asked! I'm also concerned for some of their pledges. You can definitely tell by watching the girls who truly belongs there and who doesn't. I really like Mara, Leslie, and Becca.

I know the majority of girls living in the pledge house are over 21, but I don't think that should matter. I don't know how everyone else's houses work, but at our house NO alcohol is allowed in...period. These rules just remind me a lot of how our rules work. We can't have boys in our rooms overnight, and they have to stay out in the formal areas past visitation hours.

All in all I say good job Sigma's!

[stargirl725]

Talk about weirdness...The whole beginning of the show, Mara looked really familiar to me. When she mentioned she came from my hometown, I just about fainted! A friend of mine who also watched said she thinks we went to elementary school with her.

I think the pledge house thing must be an MTV addition, and I don't know how I feel about that. I can understand how MTV would want to get the girls "in captivity" but that would have driven me nuts if I had to move in with my pledge class upon joining.


How did they pick who lives in the house?

Overall, I liked the show, and I thought the girls represented themselves very well.

One last thought: Dede is a very, very lucky girl to have made it 19 years without ever having to share a bathroom.

[Senusret I]

I just want to point out that possibly the girls weren't talking about the rushees during the actual event. . .it could have been after they had left. . .MTV is in the editing BUSINESS guys, let's not forget that. Things are never as they seem.

[ivysis]

But during the bid conversation didnt someone say that "so and so would drop if jordan and someone else joined?"

[KerriMarie]

I'm glad I watched, and I plan to continue watching, if only to be prepared to answer questions from PNM's during rush... All together now: "Each organization has a different method of selecting new members, and it's a process of mutual selection!" Those scenes of them talking about people during the rush parties made me a little uneasy...

I don't think the pledge house rules are anything too harsh, I think those are pretty standard for anyone living in a sorority house (those are basically the rules at my house, anyhow) but I think they should have gone over the rules with all the pledges BEFORE moving them into the pledge house. That way, girls that are going to break the rules (um, Candace) wouldn't be put into a living situation where they are uncomfortable.

That "Life's a b..." commercial really upsets me - I would cry if something like that was being said about my sisters, and there it is on NATIONAL TV?!?! Eeeek! What a nightmare!

I look forward to seeing what happens the rest of the season!

[Peaches-n-Cream]

The commercials made this show seem far worse than it actually was. I didn't like that the sisters talked about the rushees during the party if that is what happened. Were there guys at one of their rush parties? We definitely weren't allowed to do that. Overall I thought that it was pretty good. The sisters represented themselves well.