In Response to:Sororities: Prudent Premise and Priorities?

While I can understand the desire to better understand “sorority life” (and I’m gathering that the majority of your research came from the TV show with the same name) on the UVM campus, I fail to see how a blatantly sarcastic and naive article to the Cynic accomplishes this.

Your article does little more than prove your ignorance and the fact that your computer has a thesaurus function (inquietude? …. Give me a break). I am not in a sorority, however I have been a member of the Greek System at UVM for 4 years and the President of my fraternity for 2 years. I feel it’s my obligation to defend those who chose the path of Greek life as I did. I hear ignorant and degrading comments about the Greek system like yours everyday: whether it’s carved into a bathroom stall, yelled at me from a speeding car while I sit on my front porch (an incredibly brave method I might add), or written in the school newspaper. While these people may curse and insult the Greek system, I guarantee you they are the same students who mindlessly rush for our front door like lemmings on the shear mention of a party.

Since the intention of my article is to rectify your impression of sororities rather than mock your ignorance, I feel it’s my duty to answer some of your questions. What are the premises of the sorority selection process? … Well this may vary from sorority to sorority, but you must bear in mind that rushees pick which sorority they WANT to be in. So in essence, the sorority and the rushee are picking one another. It is not a one sided process. What happens if a girl is picked as a new member of the sorority and cannot afford the expenses necessary to be a sister? … All fraternities and sororities on campus have payment plans; you do not need to pay your dues up front, and in many instances you can pay the remainder of your dues after graduating. Do they have secret salutes and rituals just like the ones we all had as children in our treehouse clubs? Do they get grounded by the president upon revealing these secrets to a non-member? … Every fraternity and sorority has rituals, and they are tradition more than anything else.

Greek members don’t give away ritual secrets to other people, they are held in higher regard than silly little handshakes and passwords from grade school. What is so secret about all of this? Are there secret songs, male strippers, drug use and alcohol abuse, hidden passages and cult affiliations that fellow students are never to find out about? …I’m not answering this question because it is so completely absurd. If I were born yesterday, this statement would convince me that the Greek system is the only place on this campus where alcohol and drug abuse dwells. HA.And what about the rule that states that no partying is allowed in these all-female havens? … Sororities do not have parties or alcohol in their houses. Period. These rules are for sororities across the country, and they are typically set by the national organization. These rules are set by the national organization to improve the image of sororities, not to be sexist.

I hope what I have written has served two purposes: to insult the ignorant accusations of the writer of the original article (if I insulted any other readers, than I apologize as this was not my intention), and to honestly answer your questions. If you have any other questions/concerns about the Greek system, I’d suggest talking to a member of the system or the Greek advisors. Insulting 8% of the student population by bludgeoning them with your absurdities is not the greatest method (and it’s pretty clich?© to boot).