Even before I started college I said that I would never join Greek life, yet right before the start of this school year, images of sisterhood bonding and fundraising galas entered my head and appeared on my Instagram feed. I signed up for Fall Rush, and the week before recruitment began my mind dissected my decision. From what I’ve heard, I knew that the values and environment of a sorority was not the kind I wanted, but an anxiety of never truly knowing loomed over my decision. Ultimately, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try to see what the experience was like for myself. Bright and early Saturday morning I dressed in the matching t-shirts we were given to wear: white, with stamp-like imagery depicting the days of rush imprinted on the back. I wore it, a collared shirt layered underneath, a smile on my face, a can-do attitude in my spirit, and skepticism in my mind.Â
My first house was Chi Omega, a pastel yellow house on the corner of A st. and Russell. We lined up alphabetically and waited until the sorority members were ready to begin the first round. Three girls stepped out of the house with smiles on their faces and straight, confident posture, still as soldiers ready for order. We all stood in silence, and then a green flag was waved. Loud and proud, they introduced themselves as key members of recruitment for their chapters, and then the rest of the girls came out. They called our names, saying they’d been waiting all day to speak with girl after girl after girl. Other than a few changes in their introductions or different frozen stances, this pattern continued at the 9 houses I visited as I familiarized myself with the members of these different houses. Over the course of 3 conversations with 3 different girls for a total of about 15-20 minutes, we went over the basics—name, major, year, and why you wanted to join a sorority. I asked them question after question about the values their sorority held, the individual experiences of each of the girls, asking them to tell me something they haven’t told other girls, and I never shied away from speaking about the doubts and concerns I had about potentially joining. I spent 10 hours that day, speaking to so many women, walking all across campus, and continually contemplating my decision.
It became clear to me that there were only two houses I really wanted, and the next day, at the next round, only two wanted me, one being the one I wanted. The round was philanthropy day, where I became impressed by Delta Delta Delta’s donation amount and efforts to help St Judes. After that day, I waited a week to find out whether the two houses I visited still wanted me back. On Sisterhood Day I was dropped by Tri Delta, and thus decided to drop from recruitment. My Pi Rho Chi, the person in charge of one of the many recruitment groups, told me not to be too sad, saying the experience was luck of the draw…
It’s no secret that Greek life started as a young man’s attempt to create brotherhood and community after being rejected from two Latin secret societies in 1776, later diverging into the Greek life we know today. Disappointingly, the racism and prejudice of their time seeped into its core, resulting in their rejection of Black and Brown people. Black students at predominantly white institutions created their own Greek organizations, starting the cultural Greek life that many are involved in. With the dues and initiation fees being so high and the lack of diversity and inclusion, I see how many traditions and rules of the present preserve the harmful values they were founded on.
It’s only human nature to want to be involved—curiosity killed the cat, and satisfaction brought it back. I’m grateful to have built my own opinion about Greek life. I can only ever speculate about why I was wanted one day and dropped another, but it became clear to me, as friends of mine went on with the process, and bid to their houses, that while Davis sorority Greek life was nothing like the craziness you hear elsewhere, and while they now accept people of all kinds, the stereotypes we often hear exist for a reason.Â