"Southern" Sororities?

[alum]

I agree with BamaDad to some extent. One major difference with UVA/UNC/Emory/Duke vs. the Bama/UGa/OleMiss population is the geographic diversity. Kids from the Northeast/New England area have no qualms about applying to the first 4 schools. These are schools all very high in the national research university rankings. The key word is national. The admissions offices of these schools want students from all over and thus send their admissions staff across the country on recruiting trips.

The great thing for the taxpayers of North Carolina is that the state-supported public universities are required by state legislature to cap the OOS population at 18%. The 2 Virginia flagship schools (UVa and William and Mary) each have about 1/3 OOS. Emory and Duke are private but definitely have a greater non-South population than Vandy or Wake. Both Duke and Wake have specific merit-based scholarships earmarked for NC residents

[shinerbock]

Well I'm sure you're right about Charlotte being marginally NC...However, the people I'm referring to (we have a lot of kids from charlotte, but several I happen to be very good friends with ), are I guess Charlotte high society of sorts? I'm not really aware of what social scheme exists in Charlotte, but they're very well connected and have long time NC roots. My former roommate and pledge brother's family is diehard republican, and so are the others they've introduced me to. His little brother is a soph at Chapel Hill this year, so I'll ask him about the top fraternities (we've gone over this before, supposedly there is a group of like the top 3 or 4 there, for some reason I think they even have a nickname for the top tier, but i'll have to ask)...

Regarding the conservative tendancies I allege, here is my reasoning...At most schools, especially in the south, the top fraternities consist of the most well connected, "southern aristocracy" type students, and in turn are generally fairly elitist, whether by purpose or simply through existance. Most of these people tend to be Republicans in my experience/opinion, with the exception of New England. I think this is even more the case at large public schools, because greeks there tend to have some continued connection to the university, hence them not going to a good private or out of region school. This may be kind of confusing, but if you're from one of those schools you probably understand what I'm saying.

[PinkandGreenJ]

I'm a Charlotte democrat, but like 90% of the city, I am a transplant so I guess you can't use me as an example.

[alum]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Well I'm sure you're right about Charlotte being marginally NC...However, the people I'm referring to (we have a lot of kids from charlotte, but several I happen to be very good friends with ), are I guess Charlotte high society of sorts? I'm not really aware of what social scheme exists in Charlotte, but they're very well connected and have long time NC roots. My former roommate and pledge brother's family is diehard republican, and so are the others they've introduced me to. His little brother is a soph at Chapel Hill this year, so I'll ask him about the top fraternities (we've gone over this before, supposedly there is a group of like the top 3 or 4 there, for some reason I think they even have a nickname for the top tier, but i'll have to ask)...

Regarding the conservative tendancies I allege, here is my reasoning...At most schools, especially in the south, the top fraternities consist of the most well connected, "southern aristocracy" type students, and in turn are generally fairly elitist, whether by purpose or simply through existance. Most of these people tend to be Republicans in my experience/opinion, with the exception of New England. I think this is even more the case at large public schools, because greeks there tend to have some continued connection to the university, hence them not going to a good private or out of region school. This may be kind of confusing, but if you're from one of those schools you probably understand what I'm saying.

Aren't you contradicting yourself? On the one hand, you say that your non-North Carolina state university draws a lot of students from Charlotte and then on the other hand you say the greeks tend to stay in the region.

[Tom Earp]

PinkandGreen!

Just wonder if price ever comes into the picture?

[PinkandGreenJ]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

PinkandGreen!

Just wonder if price ever comes into the picture?

I am sorry, I don't quite follow.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by PinkandGreenJ

I am sorry, I don't quite follow.

Money, giddess, Dollars, as in economics. just woner if that plays a part between State Schools and Private schools?

If the private schools cost more to go there, then it would seem that those who go there can afford the GLOs as compared to State Schools?

[alum]

I really doubt that parents are thinking that the $30K cost differential between Emory and the University of Georgia instate should be completely used for sorority dues and sundry expenses.

[shinerbock]

Alum, I don't really think I'm contradicting myself, but I did realize my thoughts were probably confusing...I don't really know if my school draws a lot from Charlotte, I was simply saying my fraternity has many Charlotte/NC residents, as to give support for my being relatively familiar with UNC. UNC is a better school than Auburn, obviously, but most of the people who I know that went to AU did so because they had familial ties.

Heres what I was really trying to say with all of that...at big southern schools, being SEC and the like, there usually are quite a few members of the best GLO's who could have gone to better schools. They tend to be slightly elitist, or the cream of the crop wherever they're from, and also when compared to the rest of the school. For lack of a better term, they are often old money or old society, at least where they're from. Those people tend to be overwhelmingly conservative in the south, at least in national politics. I agree fully with the point someone else made that they also tend to practice friends and neighbors voting, which at times can deviate from a strict party stance, but I think this is less of an issue than in times past. It is obvious that the majority of the south is conservative, and I would dare say that in large part southern fraternities are more conservative than the general population. I base this on the type of members they have, because in the south the wealthy tend to lean right (in modern society). Now, there are obviously wealthy liberals, but if you're in the south, you know that liberals are probably much less likely to go through rush than conservatives. Liberals and democrats often rebel against the "elitist" aura put off by GLO's, and thus are often uninterested. Unfortunately, I have no real research, but you may have noticed a correlation between greek letters and W stickers...

[Elephant Walk]

If the private schools cost more to go there, then it would seem that those who go there can afford the GLOs as compared to State Schools?

What about Vandy and SMU who have pretty good greek systems (not too mention, Baylor, TCU, and others, but they're not near Vandy and SMU)

[alum]

Ditto with W&L and DePauw at 80%, Wake, Richmond at 50% and even Davidson for the men is at 50%.

[Sailboat Sis]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

His little brother is a soph at Chapel Hill this year, so I'll ask him about the top fraternities (we've gone over this before, supposedly there is a group of like the top 3 or 4 there, for some reason I think they even have a nickname for the top tier, but i'll have to ask)...

The Big 4. There are a definite top 3, the fourth house is up for debate.

[macallan25]

I heard Beta was a top tier at UNC.

[bamagreek]

even though my sorority was not founded in the south we are one of the strongest and oldest houses on campus.

[macallan25]

.....and that house would be?