Rushing a Sorority

## **What Sororities are Actually Like:**

When thinking of rushing a sorority, negative connotation may come to some people’s minds because of stereotypes created by society. Those stereotypes are common misconceptions. Rushing a sorority for me was one of the best decisions I ever made. There is a lot more to a sorority than what meets the eye.One of my favorite things about being in a sorority is that each sorority has a philanthropy that they strive to help and raise awareness for. I am a member of Alpha Chi Omega and our philanthropy is Domestic Voilence and Sexual Assault Awareness. I think this topic is very relevant on college campuses all over the US because women in college are three times as likely to be sexually assaulted(rainn.org). Along with having higher chances of this happening, only 20% of victims ages 18-24 report to law enforcement. Which means 80% of cases just within that age group go unreported(rainn.org).  Not only does Alpha Chi Omega raise awareness against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, but we also have a local philanthropy, The YWCA. We often go to the YWCA and make dinner for them and sit and talk to the women there to hear their stories and offer support. Each sorority will have different philanthropy events to help fundraise for their cause. Along with our personal philanthropy, every sorority helps contribute to Circle of Sisterhood which has helped us to build 2 schools in Senegal. (gogreek.utk.edu) Among the philanthropy there is so many other great things within a sorority. Being in a sorority can motivate you to achieve higher grades as well. Members of Greek-letter organizations achieve somewhat higher Grade Point Averages than unaffiliated students(Reifman). Your sisters really do turn into your family and help create a home away from home. You will meet so many new people in your chapter and throughout the village. The girls that you meet within your chapter will become lifelong friends and will be there for you through anything. Getting a big sister was one of my favorite parts of joining my sorority. I have the privilege of actually having two bigs that almost share custody of me. Coming from so far away and having two role models to help me through freshman year made such a positive impact on my freshman year.

## **The Process of Rushing:**

Now that you have a little insight on what it is actually like to be involved in a sorority, let’s talk about the process of rush. For me and for many other girls rush is a very stressful time. First you will receive a gamma chi, she will act as a mentor through rush to help you out and answer any questions you have. You will then go from house to house on the first day and just get a little glimpse into what each chapter may be like. The next day is philanthropy round where you learn about each chapter philanthropy and what the do to raise money for each one. The day after that is sisterhood round where you really just get to make connections with girls in each chapter and talk a little bit more about what the sisterhood os like at that house. The final day is preference round, where you ultimately make the decision of what chater you feel like you really belong and want to see yourself in. The most fun day of rush is bid day when you actually find out what house you end up at and run home! Through the process of rush you feel a lot of pressure to be put together and to impress the houses that you want to rush. My biggest piece of advice is just to be your best self. Pretending to be someone different to get in to a certain chapter is going to get you nowhere. The process works itself out and you will end up where you are supposed to be. If you try to be someone different during the process you might end up where you thought you wanted to be, but find that you don’t have genuine connection to the girls in that chapter. The outside image that you thought you wanted probably won’t be what you needed and you will end up feeling out of place. You will find your home by being authentic and your most genuine self. “Sororities provide a unique and often empowering sense of identity and community.”(Poddar) Dress how you want, joke around a little, and above all be real.

## **Work Cited:**

Alan, Reifman. “How Fraternities and Sororities Impact Students (Or Do They?).” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-campus/201109/how-fraternities-and-sororities-impact-students-or-do-they.

By. “Panhellenic Members Travel to Senegal for School Build.” Office of Sorority & Fraternity Life, 4 Sept. 2018, gogreek.utk.edu/2018/09/04/panhellenic-members-travel-to-senegal-for-school-build/.

“Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics.” RAINN, www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence.

Poddar, Anirban. “Fraternities and Sororities, at Core, Create Lifelong Friendships.” Columbia Daily Spectator, www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2014/02/04/fraternities-and-sororities-core-create-lifelong-friendships/.