The "cons" of joining a sorority

Unlike my previous blog post, this articles is written using comments from other people who decided not to rush a sorority and the author isn't ranting on about the negatives of being in a sorority, it not only talking about the costs of being in a sorority and how materialistic they come across, but the author also talks about how much time commitment it takes from an individual. This is a valid point because you do have to make sure you have enough time for school (which is the number one priority in the Greek Community) and work if you have a job. I wouldn't say that this is a con of being in a sorority, like any club or organization you have to make sure you have enough time not only for you organization but also for yourself.
   The other point that was brought up was hazing, which is a really big issue/controversy with people within the Greek Community and people outside of the Greek Community. The author commented on how one of her close friends was hazed when she joined a sorority. I'm not saying that hazing doesn't happen, sadly. It is an issue within the Greek Community, which is frowned upon, but there are a lot of fraternities and sorority's who take hazing very seriously, it also depends on the campus you're on. If its a common task during pledge week then you're more likely to get hazed than if you're on a campus who's hazing incidences are very low. Maybe I just got lucky, but my sorority (Phi Mu) is really against hazing, we even have an Anti-Hazing week and we all wear a pin that shows that we are against hazing. My campus is also one that doesn't have a lot of hazing issues within our Greek Community.
    Another point the author talks about is your ability or inability to socialize with non-Greeks. The author talks about how it's great to meet people and good looking fraternity boys, but she also states how not only are fraternity guys getting labeled as not "relationship" or "best-friend" material but sorority girls are also getting labeled this, which isn't true at all. When I read a comment like this, it doesn't get me angry or anything I just feel the need to correct them by showing how not every fraternity guy and sorority girl is a jerk and non-best friend material.
When you're trying to make friend in any situation you have to be able to read people well enough to see if they have pure intentions or if they're just being nice to "be nice". When you join a fraternity or sorority you're not going to be "best friends", brothers, or sisters with everyone in your house and in the Greek Community, you find who you fit best with and you build your best friend, brother, or sister bond that way.
http://www.hercampus.com/life/greek-life/think-you-rush-anything-cons-joining-sorority

"Greek Life: The Dark Side"

 This article is written in first person from a female who was in a sorority for two years out of her college experience. She’s reflecting back on what she experienced while rushing and joining her sorority. She claims that it was a waste of time and money and it wasn't an enriching experience.

      The author touches on bases that go against what my blogs about, like buying your friends. In a recent poll that I did majority of the public didn't think that you are buying your friends when you enter the Greek Community, where as the author disagrees with this statement after she’s been in her sorority for 2 years. Another major point that she talks about is how being in a sorority is materialistic and superficial, if you join any organization you’re going to have shirts and promotions for your organization, it just happens that being in a sorority your shirts and promotions are going to be a little overwhelmingly girly, which sometimes comes across to the general public as “superficial” and “materialistic”. What the author has to realize is that we live in a materialistic world, if companies and organizations didn't promote themselves by looking good and acting like they’re having the time of their life then no one will want to join their company or organization, people are naturally drawn to things that look better than things that are drabby.

       It’s a very emotional and argumentative piece in the way where if your reading it from the stand point of not being in the Greek Community, you realize that you're never going to want to join a Greek house and how movies/TV shows portray sororities/Greeks in general is true; how they’re fake and superficial. But if you’re coming from someone who’s in the Greek Community, you want to show the author that she just happened to have a negative experience and that being in the Greek community is so much more than how the movies portray us to be. I also feel like she's being a little hypocritical to the Greek Community because she was apart of a sorority for 2 years. That takes a lot of commitment to stay in an for 2 whole years and at the end of those 2 years realize that she didn't like it. She even stated how she joined, "just to see what it was all about" because she saw many upperclassmen girls wearing their letters, so she was even lured by their positive aura. 

http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/blog/greek-life-the-dark-side

Buying Our Friends?

Not Impressed?

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Phi Mu's Best Dance Crew: Philanthropy event

This is a picture of my sorority: Phi Mu, Eta Nu! This was at our first ever philanthropy event called Phi Mu's Best Dance Crew. A Philanthropy event is a fun fundraiser for our charity, Children's Miracle Network Hospital LA, we were able to raise over $2,000! Which is pretty darn good for being the newbies on campus! During this event we had both sororities and fraternities participating in this one day event, where each house had the opportunity to come up with a 3 minute dance as a group and perform it in front of a panel of judges, who were not chapter members. The houses also had to opportunity to give themselves more points by putting a dollar in their donation jar. ($1.00 = 1 extra point) At the end of the night we had a great turn out not only with the amount of participants but we exceeded our goal for our philanthropy. We can't wait for our next philanthropy event this semester!

Another positive blog regarding Sororities!

http://sororitysugar.tumblr.com/

      This blog is a page where other sororities can post their questions regarding their own chapter or questions that they have in general, and anyone can answer back. It's a great example of sister's helping out sister's even if we're not in the same chapter or sorority. We also have the opportunity to post our own photos, to share awareness of the amazing philanthropy events we've done and how much money we have raised for our charity and to just show pride in our sorority. It truly shows what it means to be in a sorority, without the stereotypical stigmas.

Hypothesis

    The main reason why I wanted to blog about sororities wasn't to brag about being in a sorority or being apart of the greek community. I want to educate people on the true meanings of being a Greek and being a Phi Mu. A lot of people are quick to say or think that your "buying" your friend when you first join, because you do have to pay dues but those dues doesn't go into "buying" your friends, it goes into helping out run your house more efficient and buy shirts that are good PR for upcoming events that go towards your fundraiser or philanthropy. Another thing people think of when they hear the word sorority or greek community is, trouble makers. What a lot of people don't realize is that the greek community volunteers a lot and donates all their proceeds to good charities, mine for example is Children's Miracle Network Hospital: Los Angeles. Lastly, people need to realize that being in a sorority or being apart of greek life isn't a all parties and no education, there is a lot of work that goes on underneath the surface and if you take the time to research or follow my blog you'll see that it's not a waste of money and our time.

"What Sorority Girls Do"

 

This picture is a perfect example of how differently people can perceive any sport, job, culture, greek affiliation, etc. Pictures like these can either educate people (like the last two pictures), but it mostly just reinforces people's preexisting thoughts on sorority life. As I've stated in my first blog post regarding Alexander Vervloet's article, being in a sorority or being apart of the greek community is so much more than "buying you friends", "partying", "being a cult like group"... the list goes on and on. What the fifth picture is portraying (2nd row, middle picture) is a sorority winning a game/championship at an inter-mural competition against another sorority, this is a way for greek life to interact with one another and have a friendly competition between everyone. The last picture is truly how my sorority acts around each other, not only with sisters but with everyone. We don't exclude anyone from being our friends, we're not perfect, and we definitely know when to ask for help when we need it. We're just a group of close friends/sisters, that share a common interest and can be ourselves around each other.

This is a picture of some of my sorority sisters and i at one of our volleyball IM's last semster! We're all there to not only cheer on our team but we're also there for support and to make sure everyone is having a good time, because IM's are just one of the many fun things that you get to be apart of when being in a sorority.

 

This photo was taken during our Spring recruitment 2013, how you see our table set up is how most sororities/fraternities decorate their tables. It's a inviting environment where you hope to make new connections with everyone in your community. 

How Greek life is Beneficial

  Most people believe that being in a Sorority or Fraternity is all about getting drunk, partying every weekend, and not caring about school. But it's not like that at all, as Alexander Vervloet has stated in his article, being in a fraternity was really beneficial to not only himself but to many other successful brothers.(ex. Presidents and people on the  Forbes 500 list) Some of the key things that people don't realize about greek life is that when you join a "house", that fraternity or sorority has a minimum GPA requirement and if you fail to meet that minimum requirement then you're supposed to go to some type of study session to help raise your GPA. Another fact that goes somewhat unnoticed is that every fraternity or sorority has a philanthropy (a charity that they raise money towards) and they hold an event once or twice a semester and all the proceeds go to that charity. For example I'm in Phi Mu: Eta Nu and our philanthropy is Children's Miracle Network Hospital LA since we're located near Los Angeles. Lastly majority of the people who are apart of the greek life community gains an enormous amount of social skills, leadership skills, and self confidence. Greek life makes you learn how to approach people and socialize with people that you normally might not get along with and this is an important life lesson because in order to succeed in any career of choice you're going to have to learn how to deal with people.

Being in greek life isn't meaning less and a waste of time, it's giving you the opportunity to branch out, explore who you really are, and what you're capable of achieving.

http://www.dailybarometer.com/greek-life-is-beneficial-1.3003420#.UT12rRy9auI