One of the main desires of students towards college involves many things, with one being creating and maintaining lifelong friendships and relationships with the people they meet during such transformative years of their lives. That was no different than me when I enrolled in SF State. Starting my freshman year at the tail end of the COVID lockdown in the fall of 2021, my perception on college culture was more muted than most. I remember my first day on campus and seeing so many strange organizations tabling around the Malcom X plaza, wondering what they represented. I was quickly barraged with multiple people flagging me down, bearing colorful flyers and promises of community and friendship behind huge wooden letters painted in various ways. I never knew what Greek life was before that, but I soon came to realize what a chokehold joining a fraternity or sorority had on American college culture. As new and inexperienced as I was, however, making such a commitment ultimately would not pan out for a while longer.
It would not be till the spring of my junior year, over two years since my first encounter with Greek life that I would intentionally insert myself into the culture. By then, I had been at the university for a good while, navigating my formative years through friend groups, clubs and organizations, and the journey of figuring out my career goals. I switched majors,I studied abroad, and I gained leadership positions in other organizations. I wanted to take on the challenge of joining a Greek org, just to do it. I’d done so many things in college already, why not add one more thing to the list? So when the first weeks of the 2024 spring semester rolled around again, I approached a pink-flag draped table and declared my interest in Delta Kappa Sigma.
What Are Some Common Misconceptions About Sororities?
There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding sororities that I had while rushing. One of the most notorious was of course, hazing. I knew the word hazing was so commonly associated with Greek life, and I was worried pledging DKS would be no different. However, I received nothing but support and goodwill from the sisters during that time.Â
The second was I would be “paying for friends”. While DKS did have dues each semester, I came to learn that the dues covered important activities and events that benefitted all of us. We could also go on payment plans to make the cost more spread out.Â
The third would be that by joining a sorority, the main focus would just be partying and messing around. While attending such events was an added bonus for those interested, the main focus in Delta Kappa Sigma was our philanthropy and academics.Â
I enjoyed meeting and getting to know the active members at the rush events, and I liked the smaller size of the sorority and the diversity within the identities of the members. They were all from different walks of life, but had the same goals towards a sisterhood. As a local sorority founded and exclusive to SF State, it abided by different rules and regulations than other national chapters on campus. I got to witness a lot of their traditions during my six week period of pledging. On the night my pledge class was initiated into the sisterhood, we went around the room and shared what we had overcome in our lives.Â
To my surprise, I said, “I overcame not having a place in this world.” I realized the community I had been searching for in my college years was here in DKS. As a fully official member now, I can look back and say it was a worthy experience to join a sorority. And I’m happy I can call Delta Kappa Sigma my community here at SF State.