MTV Sorority Show

[ROWDYsister]

I got them, too. Here's the website (under processed PNMS). Back to your regularly scheduled programing..."So what do you think about this new MTV sorority show?"

http://www.ufpanhellenic.com/rec2002.html

[TKEmz894]

After watching the first episode of sorority life, it struck me as a feeble attempt of MTV to create another real world. First who in the hell has pledge houses.....Secondly I cant believe they did not cut a single person. Is that some pathetic attempt to be politically correct in the eyes of the media and MTV. Is this what Greek life is coming to where we have to accept every loser off the street, and we have no regard for our standards. So that we avoid law suits and seem to agree with all the politically correct B.S. the media throws at us. The only girl I thought had any respect for herself was the one with glasses, she was saying cut these girls they just want to be on TV. Those girls wherent even Jewish why else would they want to join a Jewish sorority? Also the idea that a Jewish sorority in California is the norm of Greek life is a joke......Why not pick a school in the middle of Oklahoma, and have a more wide spread sorority on there.This would represent the norm. But in typical MTV fashion they have to have the most leftist view of the world possible....(unless they are selling Britney or some boyband crap to make money) If they did have a show on a sorority like that ,MTV would just spend it making fun of the people and stereo typing them............,,,,,,,,So dont watch MTV its the Cancer of the World!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kevlar281]

I was absolutely shocked with one of the rush conversations.

Active: So are you Jewish?
Prospect: No.
Active: I’m going to get some ice cream [walks away].

At least Leslie (the girl with glasses) will give me a reason to watch this show; perfect eye candy.

[UNFSigmaChi]

I had some mixed feelings on the show as well, but it wasn't as bad as the commericials portrayed it....which was suprising. First off, what were guys doing at a rush party? Here at UNF the girls get irate if they see you within 50 feet of their rush. That was a shocker to me. The next thing was the sisters bashing some of the girls within a few feet of them. Granted they had a right to question why some of the girls were coming out and im glad they did, but not there. And im sure MTV edited the questions but it seemed that they asked name, hometown and then...are you jewish. I think its fine they ask that but that should be way later on in the conversation. It was asked pretty bluntly. But it could be they just edited out a lot of middle questions. Another thing...whats the deal with the daily wearin of the bracelets??? Is that like the pledge pin substitute...i didn't get that part. And does Sigma have a badge they wear cause i never saw one. I think the whole pledge house is totally retarted. First, incoming freshmen girls now think that they will have to live in a pledge house...which they don't exist. Second, because the whole point of pledgeship is to bond with your pledgeclass...not just 6 of them. I think the other 7 will feel very leftout while the 6 will become close...it will hurt them in the long run i feel. Did anyone catch their pledgeship is 10 WEEKS?!?!?! Thats almost double the amount sororities here can extend pledgeship...Fraternities can only go up to 8 here. I pledged here before the new rule took effect and mine was only 15 weeks(which i like but oh well).
I think the two curly haired girls are going to be the trouble makers..they definatly joined just for being on MTV...Sigma Insider...are they even active still or have they become ghost sisters?? Well the sisters did say they can blackball pledges(which i was like WOAH a sorority who blackball's people..a first). Its my understanding sororities can only prevent initiation due to non payment of dues or they break the law etc. I must say that the Pledge Educator is my favorite....not only is she hot but she reminds me of me being Pledge Educator...she knows you can't totally be their friend but not totally be a disciplinarian either. She will do a good job. But i totally know those two girls joined for MTV and i kinda hope they either drop or get balled unless they learn about judiaism or they will have no clue what the ritual means if and when they see it.

[LeslieAGD]

Okay, many people have said in their posts:
"Why do they want to join a Jewish interest sorority if they're not Jewish?"

I want to address this for a minute...Yes, many of the PNMs may have come out simply because of MTV, but just because one is not Jewish does not mean that person cannot appriciate the sisterhood and like the girls. When I went through Structured Recruitment, I liked the girls of SDT - a historically Jewish sorority. No one ever asked me about my religion or why I liked them since I was not Jewish. I honestly never even knew that they were historically Jewish.

I understand why the SAEPi sisters were suspicious, but under normal cirucumsatnces it could be assumed that they recognized the sisters from class or that they had a personal interest in their philanthropy, etc.

[AngelPhiSig]

Originally posted by SIGMA_INSIDER



fall quarter = 10 weeks and finals, from September to winter break (fall rush)
winter quarter = 10 weeks and finals, from Jan to Spring Break in late March
spring quarter = 10 weeks and finals, April to June (Spring Rush [Sigma's taped rush quarter])


Also, no music or TV allowed because of the recording. Sounds more like a fish bowl in a rubber room to me. [/color]

Ahh I understand quarters now, is that like trimesters at all?


The no music and tv thing is how The Real World is also taped. I was concidering it, and I really think I would go stir crazy without music, or my nick at nite! The only ever exception to the tv rule was September 11th.

[SATX*APhi]

Being that these threads get heavy traffic, I think there should be a new thread for each episode.

[FuzzieAlum]

Folks are being a little hard on them for the way they did rush ... I agree they should not be talking about PNMs when they are still around. But as to exclusivity/who we let in/ etc., I seem to remember reading that in the past SAEPi turned down no woman who was interested, rather like A Phi O does. And that this was the first year they ever cut anyone, and they only did so because they were worried about publicity seekers.

So it's not surprising that they didn't have the rush thing down perfectly. Most orgs have an established method of choosing new sisters to rely on, and they didn't.

[SIGMA_INSIDER]

Here is a modified re-posting of a few questions answered earlier. It seems like most people aren't doing their homework and reading through this gigantic thread to see if their questions have already answered. I also hear many more rants about how you think Sigma is different from your sorority than questions that can actually be addressed. It's time to just accept the fact that the show is on and they are probably different than many, if not all other national or local sororities. If you are angry that they don't accurately represent your greek experience, then I guess you should re-evaluate your expectations. If you have any questions, please post them so they can be easily read. I will try to respond as soon as possible.

How did those girls get picked to be in the pledge house?

Well from what I understand, all of the girls weren't exactly jumping to be taped 24/7 and share a bathroom with 5 other girls. Also, no music or TV allowed because of the recording. Sounds more like a fish bowl in a rubber room to me. In addition, all of the girls had a place to stay for the quarter. Coincidentally, the few girls in question were the first to agree to stay in the pledge house. They could only get 5 girls to do it at first. Jessica agreed after the first move-in and she became the 6th member of the "MTV pledge house".

Why didn't they lay down the rules before the girls moved in?

The pledge house was not a typical feature of their sorority, nor had it ever been an occurence to vote on denying someone a bid. It was MTV's addition and the girls layed down the law, I believe, only a few days after they moved in.


I think Sigma had every right to be suspicious and tentative to let all of the girls bid. Imagine trying to figure out who is really interested and who is just there to be on TV. Sigma faced quite a conundrum. Let in everyone to not be exclusive and save the pledging process to weed out any ringers; or say no to a few and most-likely have a better representation of their values to millions of viewers, but while crossing the line and being exclusive.

[KRXAlum]

POSTED BY 33Girl: Keep an eye out for things like clothing and hairstyle changes - they give away out of sequence editing every time.

SO true 33Girl. Anyone who went to a communications school or who has studied film, video or even audio knows, there are so many ways editing can be done to make something sound different from what was really said.

As 33Girl said, watch for hair and clothes style continuity. If you really pay attention, you will pick up on how something that they want you to believe happen in the same day really didn't. People who were trained in the communication fields sometimes can pick up on this easier... so keep your eyes and even ears aleart, and you'll notice video and audio edits.

Anyway, I thought the first episode was pretty decent. As for how they picked PNMs, I really think it is hard to judge them because who knows how long they were all in that room discussing everything. We only saw a clip or two from it and for all we know they could have been in there for an hour or more, ya know.

But I'll agree with everyone that they whole guy situation being at these parties was rather odd to me. When we had what we call pre-smokers and smokers, it is strictly to meet with the sisters of the sorority to get information, ask questions, etc.

Lastly I know some of you think juniors and seniors rushing is odd... my guess is that those who think this go to big schools with competitive greek life? Where I went (Emerson College) upper classmen pledging isn't that odd.

[AGD4me]

There isn't a board up at mtv.com for Sorority Life in general, but someone started a thread about it on the Real World board. Thought it was interesting that most of those who posted thought the show was boring, and/or wouldn't make it. Some highlights of comments:

That show was straight garbage!

I don't agree with the "boring jewish college chicks" steryotype, but I WILL say that those chicks are nothing but a live action Barbie protoge. It's wasting so much air time!

Yes, I must admit that show is definately gonna flop. No one wants to see a religious organization on MTV. If they were gonna do that, they should have picked a soroity based on something else other than religion or politics. How lame.

Obviously there's no way to figure it out, but I wonder just how many non-Greek-affiliated folks will even continue to watch it?!

[DeltAlum]

KRXAlum wrote:

"Lastly I know some of you think juniors and seniors rushing is odd... my guess is that those who think this go to big schools with competitive greek life?"

Actually, it isn't the fact that juniors and seniors are rushing, it's the percentage of them in this particular situation that makes me suspicious. If I recall, 5 out of the 6 are 21 or older? I could be wrong about that, but the number of PNM's who are of drinking age just plays into MTV's hand too beautifully.

It could be a coincidence I guess.

[33girl]

Those 6 in the house are not the only girls pledging. I think SAEII's site said there were like 13-15 pledges. I would wager the over 21's went in the house and the unders did not.

The new Real World is based in Las Vegas and apparently MTV had to cast all 21's and over (the normal age is 18-25 or so) since they are going to work in a casino which you can't do under age 21.

[KerriMarie]

Originally posted by SIGMA_INSIDER
[*]Don't knock Pauli, she's a good girl. She came off kinda negative, but that was mostly MTV spin, except for the "f@#$ them" comment. None of her good, funny side was shown, which, like the Simpsons character would say, "makes my feet sad"

I really like what I've seen of Pauli! She seems like she REALLY cares about SAEPi and has her heart in the right place. I can't wait to hear more from her!

[babysquirrelnmc]

I had mixed feelings about the show. I thought they were nice, but I wasn't too happy with their rush. I completly agree with who ever said, "I don't want that girl representing my sorority" or something to that effect. There are just some people that don't fit in and they can bring down your name [and hurt your reputation]. I know, because we gave a girl a "chance" and she ended up sleeping with half of the fraternity guys and doing drugs. Plus, MTV didn't show all the hard work and preparation that goes into recruitment. I wish i had that rush because it seems so easy. Rush practice for us starts after we get our bids. They didn't sing any chants, songs, do any dances, it just felt like a party. Not to mention that voting on the girls isn't about being nice to everyone so you give them a bid, it's about who you want wearing your letters and representing all of your sisters. That show is just the tip of what goes on behind closed doors. Rush is hard and emotional. It just seemed to me that they weren't organized. If I were one of the sisters, I would have cut some of those girls, especially the ones WHO BROKE HOUSE RULES ON THE FIRST DAY. That would have been it for me...membership eligibility. I know i'm being really critical, but to summarize, I loved the sisters!, but hated some of the new members. I'm very interested to see what is going to happen.