MTV did it again!

[mmcat]

if the previews show anything...and we take that with a grain of salt.
sadly, it looks like things are back in the excessive party mode...which went a long way to mess up sorority life 1.
how sad....and how predictable.
my hearts for them.

[MandyKaydee]

Many Greeks fight a great deal of stereotypes. The point of my argument is whether they are National or Local, who knows that. I wouldn't have known that if I were not greek. These shows are hurting everyone. The Sigma's may be the nicest girls in the world, but to be brutually honest, they make sorority girls look like snobby bitches. This is one of the biggest stereotypes that all greek women have been trying to overcome. In that episode I caught today, one of the girls commented on having to pay to hang out with these girls or something similiar. That is another problem for Greeks; that we are paying for our friends. No one is blaming Locals as a whole, or at least I'm not. I am blaming these groups that had no more sense than to put themselves out there to be subjected to the "creative editing" of MTV. Now we as Greeks have even more to overcome.

I can say that I know that many greek organizations are facing declining numbers. This show is not helping our cause. If I were an upcoming college freshman, watching this show, I would not want to pledge. For someone that knows nothing about Nationals, Locals, greek life as a whole, and college life this is true life to them.

These shows are hurting an already struggling Greek life.

[texas*princess]

i agree that we should not bash the locals for making their decisions.

however, i cannot help but wonder why these locals decided to go ahead and do the show. after the last season finished, the Sigma's (from what I remember) had some kind of posting on their website saying how they did not realize how MTV would edit the show in such a way to make the inaccurate protrayal. Please correct me if i'm wrong, but I just vaguely remember it.

If that was all true, why would another 2 groups allow themselved to be subject to the same negative documentary-like filming?

[archangel689]

Originally posted by texas*princess
the Sigma's (from what I remember) had some kind of posting on their website saying how they did not realize how MTV would edit the show in such a way to make the inaccurate protrayal. Please correct me if i'm wrong, but I just vaguely remember it.

Vaguely remember? Their entire opinion is posted right here on their site. In short, it states exactly what you say.

http://www.sigmaaepi.com/html/ca100302.html

I wish people would just say, ‘yeah, maybe they didn’t make the best decision, but it’s not my business to go out of my way to hurt these people,’” Leslie said. “I’ve been out, and people have thrown things at me.”

[texas*princess]

thanks for the link archangel! that is exactly what i remembered reading.

[phisigduchesscv]

Okay everyone who is bashing MTV and their portrayal of how it shows all the negative of Greek Life in their shows Sorority Life and Fraternity. It seems like a lot of people are bashing the locals because they have chosen to do the show while all the NPC groups have been banned by their Headquarters that they can't participate.
Personally I think the members do need their heads examined for agreeing to do it, yet think about the things that MTV is giving them. Admit it....don't we all have a bit of greediness and wanting to be on TV so that when we're offered the opportunity to get money, be on TV, receive all types of free products from various companies etc wouldn't you be slightly tempted to do it. Plus their house is being fixed up because you know MTV doesn't even want to show the actually house itself being in bad shape compared to the "Pledge House".
Also, what if you're a local wanting to try to expand and become national without having to merge into an existing National - what better way to get your name out. Didn't the Sigmas install a new chapter at SDSU and they've even admitted they've had other women across the country contact them since the program has aired about bring Sigma to new campuses rapid expansion in a short time without a lot of hard work trying to expand (wouldn't we all love that)
One more thing about bashing the locals who have agreed to do Sorority Life. A lot of people are bashing them and yet these same people turn around and proudly claim "such and such" on Real World, Road Rules, etc is a proud member of XYZ. Or we also see greekchatters saying they want to send in tapes trying to get on these shows. In my opinion these shows portray just as negative a stereotype of college students and late teens/20 somethings as Sorority Life and Fraternity Life do. Isn't that a bit of a double standard then.
My two cents on the issue.
Carolyn

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by phisigduchesscv

Also, what if you're a local wanting to try to expand and become national without having to merge into an existing National - what better way to get your name out. Didn't the Sigmas install a new chapter at SDSU and they've even admitted they've had other women across the country contact them since the program has aired about bring Sigma to new campuses rapid expansion in a short time without a lot of hard work trying to expand (wouldn't we all love that)
One more thing about bashing the locals who have agreed to do Sorority Life. A lot of people are bashing them and yet these same people turn around and proudly claim "such and such" on Real World, Road Rules, etc is a proud member of XYZ. Or we also see greekchatters saying they want to send in tapes trying to get on these shows. In my opinion these shows portray just as negative a stereotype of college students and late teens/20 somethings as Sorority Life and Fraternity Life do. Isn't that a bit of a double standard then.
My two cents on the issue.
Carolyn

Amen on the Real World/Road Rules issue. The fraternity and sorority members on those shows often aren't representing themselves any better than the girls on Sorority Life.

Also, I believe I read an article that women on 14 different campuses contacted Sigma AEPi after the first season of sorority life, wanting to start up chapters at their own schools. While Sorority Life isn't necessarily completely beneficial to the groups that decide to do it, there are definitely benefits -- like the opportunity for expansion -- involved. And this may even hold true for the entire Greek community -- although I haven't seen any hard and fast facts, from what I've seen, sorority rush numbers were up at most big universities this fall. I don't know about your school, but at my school they were up by A LOT. It may be from the extra exposure from Sorority Life.

[ChaosDST]

I can't speak on the IFC and NPC folk that have come on Real World and Road Rules. However, for the NPHC folk that have been on those two shows...I haven't been embarassed by their actions. This is partially b/c they know that wearing their letters on the show, and being EXCESSIVELY (more than a little) ignorant, is going to generate a response from the BGLO community (and possible even their National entities).

However, there's a big difference b/w individual members participating in RW/RR...VERSUS entire sororities participating in a show for the specific purpose of showing a side of Greekdom, hence the title "Sorority Life."

Originally posted by phisigduchesscv
Okay everyone who is bashing MTV and their portrayal of how it shows all the negative of Greek Life in their shows Sorority Life and Fraternity. It seems like a lot of people are bashing the locals because they have chosen to do the show while all the NPC groups have been banned by their Headquarters that they can't participate.
Personally I think the members do need their heads examined for agreeing to do it, yet think about the things that MTV is giving them. Admit it....don't we all have a bit of greediness and wanting to be on TV so that when we're offered the opportunity to get money, be on TV, receive all types of free products from various companies etc wouldn't you be slightly tempted to do it. Plus their house is being fixed up because you know MTV doesn't even want to show the actually house itself being in bad shape compared to the "Pledge House".
Also, what if you're a local wanting to try to expand and become national without having to merge into an existing National - what better way to get your name out. Didn't the Sigmas install a new chapter at SDSU and they've even admitted they've had other women across the country contact them since the program has aired about bring Sigma to new campuses rapid expansion in a short time without a lot of hard work trying to expand (wouldn't we all love that)
One more thing about bashing the locals who have agreed to do Sorority Life. A lot of people are bashing them and yet these same people turn around and proudly claim "such and such" on Real World, Road Rules, etc is a proud member of XYZ. Or we also see greekchatters saying they want to send in tapes trying to get on these shows. In my opinion these shows portray just as negative a stereotype of college students and late teens/20 somethings as Sorority Life and Fraternity Life do. Isn't that a bit of a double standard then.
My two cents on the issue.
Carolyn

[ChaosDST]

I think it's pretty safe to say that there wouldn't be NPHC chapters on there even if there wasn't a National boycott. Individuals brought the whole fiasco to the attention of the "head honchos" and undergraduate chapters were communicating to eachother about this LONG before the ban.

We know that MTV, and the general public, have no reason to be in our business.

Originally posted by 33girl
Thank you AlphaXiDiva. We had enough of the local bashing last time around - if I want reruns, I'll turn on Nick at Nite. The groups are not "fabricated" for MTV - the sorority has been around since 1988, the fraternity since 1999. Besides, UB would not open themselves up to the consequences of including a fake group on their Greek life site.

And I will reiterate what I said last time around when some members of national groups got on their high horses. If the HQ's weren't forbidding it, there would be chapters of national groups who would be lining up to participate in this. Let's not kid ourselves.

I don't think the groups made a good choice to do this - far from it - but criticize their choice, not their local status.

[ChaosDST]

Originally posted by 33girl
I am not intimating that anyone on this site would approve of their group appearing on MTV - just saying that bashing these groups simply because they're local is wrong.

I didn't think anyone was bashing these groups because they are local. I thought we were (or atleast I was) bashing these groups because they were stupid enough to put their sorority business on MTV.

If they were National groups, and equally as stupid, I'd feel the exact same way.

So...if you're a local sorority, and you're not the sorority that appeared on MTV. Don't be offended by my words. HOWEVER, if you're CONSIDERING appearing on MTV...be VERY offended by my words and please take them to heart.

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by ChaosDST


I didn't think anyone was bashing these groups because they are local. I thought we were (or atleast I was) bashing these groups because they were stupid enough to put their sorority business on MTV.

If they were National groups, and equally as stupid, I'd feel the exact same way.

I have to 'somewhat' agree. I think local GLO's are great. Heck, I even used to be part of a local and it was a great experience. But if by some offchance MTV contacted us to do a TV "reality series" I would be deadset against it.

Sure we might have got the house we always wanted, but in pretty much all real-life GLO's (whether it is a local, NPC, IFC, NPHC, or Professional or any other kind), drama happens at one point or another , and if the drama is going to be the ONLY part MTV shows on tv, I'm not for that.

That's just my opinion on that. I think it is great that Sigma has been contacted from all over from people who want to start new chapters. I'm sure they got lots of positive repercussions in addition to the negative side of it which was on the site.

If some groups want to publicize their "drama" in hopes of getting a house or other chapters, that's their call. I guess there's a price for everything.

[33girl]

ChoasDST, you're right - stupidity is an equal opportunity employer. I guess I'm just doing a sort of pre-emptive strike because I don't want to read tons of local-bashing entries like the last time around. that's just somthing I am sensitive about.

Thank you also Carolyn for your post. I think that it did have some positive moments - mainly showing that not all sorority girls look like Barbie. What killed me is when this stereotype was shown to be untrue - people were criticizing the Sigmas because they DIDN'T look like Barbie. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. People just like stereotypes and preconceptions because then they can put a person/group in a box and not have to use their brain anymore.

I think some of the situations may have been exacerbated by the fact that Sigma was a Jewish interest sorority. They got raked over the coals for asking women if they were Jewish, but IMO they were justified - same as if they would have been an agriculture or engineering sorority and asked women if they were ag or engineering majors. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of the "Jewish" parts of their sorority to really determine if their asking that was valid. The new group doesn't have any affiliation like that so hopefully they won't get slapped w/ the "sororities are snobby" tag.

[astroAPhi]

I'd just like to ask, how was Rush for everyone? Some people thought it negatively affected it, but how was your year for you? Was it below, above, or at average?

For us, ours was the worst one we ever had. We had NINE girls go through Formal Recruitment. By the end, we got 1 girl and the other sorority got 3. We had to work really hard through COB (something we've never been good at, but now we had to depend on to survive). We ended up initiating 7 girls this semester... not too shabby for only starting out with one bid to give out.

The year I accepted my bid, we initiated 21 girls. Last year, we were really disappointed when we only initiated 8 (Fall AND Spring). But even so, that year we had at least 18 girls go to Pref Nights.

I think the other sorority did about as well this semester. A new local started up with 12 girls, but I know they'd been planning it for years.

I don't know if Sorority Life had an impact on this. A few fraternities actually had a rough time as well. We thought that the problems could be attributed to anti-Greek Orientation Counselors and other anti-Greeks that were on campus. We had some very anti-Greek people helping out with Orientation this year, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were bashing us in their group sessions. But I guess we'll have to see how this next season of Sorority Life goes and see if it somehow impacts how many girls go through Recruitment.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by 33girl

I think some of the situations may have been exacerbated by the fact that Sigma was a Jewish interest sorority. They got raked over the coals for asking women if they were Jewish, but IMO they were justified - same as if they would have been an agriculture or engineering sorority and asked women if they were ag or engineering majors. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of the "Jewish" parts of their sorority to really determine if their asking that was valid. The new group doesn't have any affiliation like that so hopefully they won't get slapped w/ the "sororities are snobby" tag.

A big problem that I saw with the last season of Sorority Life was a lack of tolerance for the differences between locals and nationalsl. A lot of people seemed to be assuming that anything different from the NPC way of life was automatically wrong. When the Sigma girls asked the rushees if they were Jewish, there was a gasp from the majority of NPC sorority girls on this board: "I can't believe they did that! We would never do that!" And it's true that in an NPC sorority that would be very much frowned upon -- but Sigma isn't an NPC and doesn't have to go by the same rules. The same went for a lot of the so-called hazing allegations -- just because your nationals/internationals says it's hazing doesn't mean it necessarily is in the eyes of the law. I remember people also disapproving of the way the Sigmas still used terms like "rush," "pledges," "pledge mom," etc. Just because the NPC has retired these terms doesn't mean that everybody has to.

There seemed to be a lot of intolerance for anything beyond the NPC guidelines for running a sorority, and that was sad. I know that the majority of us here are in national organizations, and that it's frustrating for us to have to explain to rushees the difference between the "Sorority Life" sorority and our organizations. I know it's frustrating that we have to deal with the fallout of this TV show. But the fact that the Sigmas did some things over the course of the season that wouldn't be allowed in NPC orgs doesn't mean that they're any less legitimate of an organization -- they're just different.

[LeslieAGD]

Originally posted by astroAPhi
I'd just like to ask, how was Rush for everyone?

On the subject of Recruitment, the numbers were low for us as well as for another neighboring campus. However, I have no clue whether or not this was affected by Sorority Life.

As to MTV, I saw the commercial for Fraternity Life today and I'm just really sick of MTV playing on all the Greek stereotypes. It was a cheap joke the first time around, now it's old. I'm sure that the Fraternity and Sorority Life series' will be just as drama filled as before, but it would be really nice to see some actual events and brother/sisterhood. I'm not holding my breath though.