This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at WVU chapter.
I’ll start off by saying that I’m not here to bash any sorority, and I’ll note that everyone takes away a different experience from joining Greek life. For me, being a part of Greek Life was truly one of the greatest experiences that I had a chance to take advantage of in college. I’m not going to go into great depths about why I chose to sign my papers, but I did. Here is what I found out after the fact:
Pro: You can do whatever you want
You aren’t under your sorority’s microscope anymore, and the feeling is great. It is so refreshing knowing that I don’t have to have a “chaperone” when I’m at the bar anymore, or exec. board to call me to standards every time I miss something. Fortunately the sorority that I was in didn’t fine or assess the members so I didn’t have to pay, but you would be put on probation. I’ll also mention that the free time you have on your hands is almost incredible. I ended up joining a new club as a matter of fact, and I love it! When choosing to join Greek Life you may be told that you don’t have to come to everything, but everyone just loves to go (which is somewhat true) but it’s very time consuming.
Con: People turn their backs
Some of the “sisters” that I once had aren’t so sisterly anymore. I have held positions in my sorority, lived in the house for a year, and came to every meeting – so through this I made connections with the girls over the years. When I chose to sign my papers I had a sudden disconnect. My advisor (who is also my ggg-big) had not so politely told me to give all my things back to the sorority headquarters, and or my chapter’s president. Majority of the stuff I just handed off to my roommates who are in the same sorority, but that’s years of t-shirts, bags, lettered gifts, etc.
Pro: You make new friends
Well since it’s my senior year, I’ve already made a ton of friends in my core major classes, which is great, but now they’re even better friends. I would never imagine meeting some of these people downtown for drinks, but they’re just as fun, if not even more fun than some of the people in my sorority, which is great. Plus we all have the same classes and career goals, which gives us more to talk about than just Greek Life.
Con: Those awkward moments
Whether this is running into a group of girls in the Mountainlair or living in the same house that is our sorority’s annex – things tend to get a little awkward. People often forget that I signed my papers a few months ago, so sometimes I’ll get asked those awkward questions. What do you think of this design on the philanthropy t-shirt? How much more do we have to do to get this ban lifted? It puts me in an awkward position because I always have to remind people…I don’t know; I’m not in your sorority anymore.
Rather than trying to stick out being in the sorority for another semester, I signed my papers and now I’m living a life that better suits me. Choosing to leave your sorority is a big thing, so make sure to look at the pros and cons before making a decision.