Monday, July 20, 2009

Which Greek Org Should I Join?????




From time to time, I have answered questions from my family, friends, and my cyber friends asking about which org is best for them. The answer? Only YOU will be able to find that out. How? By Researching the Organization.

Now I am going to keep it real with you. When I first went to college, I was blessed to have already known which Greek Organization was right for me. I do, however, understand that there are a lot of freshmen out there that don't know anything about Greek, and the first taste of it can be a bit overwhelming. I am sure some of you heard "Attend ALL the Greek information/Rush and go to events and get to know the members." Well, I am going to give you it you straight! Although I recommend that you attend their events, I am STRONGLY against attending everyone's Rush/Informational. There have been SO many times I have seen girls attend X's Rush, only to find out later that they want to join Z. Well Z finds out that they attended X's Rush and will NOT pick them based on that fact. Petty? Yes!! Personally, I wish that freshman could attend ALL Greek org's Rush's/Informational, so they can find out which one is best for them. I mean if you are new to the college scene, and never knew about Greek before, and considering that joining a fraternity or sorority is a LIFE-TIME commitment, I can't fault you for making sure you pick the right one for you.

Now most schools have what you call "Greek Tables" They realized that people want to find out about Greek organizations without telling the world that they are interested in joining XYZ sorority/fraternity. So what they do, is have a Greek event where everyone MUST go to EVERY single Greek table to find out about the org. By doing it this way, NO ONE will know which Greek org you are interested in, and this is also a great time for you to find out more about each and EVERY single Greek organization.

The Land of the Internet We are living in the information stage. I would suggest that you do your research, visit EVERY org's website and browse around to see what they are about. If you have a close friend that is a member of the org, tell them that you are interested in the Greek scene but don't know which org that you want to join. So you can start by asking them about their organization.

Greek Life is BIGGER than your college campus
This is SO important, so please listen to me carefully! All your life, you have always wanted to be a Delta. Your mom's a Delta, Your Grandmother's A Delta, You've been to National Conventions, and seen your mother interact with her sorors. You then step on campus and realize that the Deltas are Lame, Stuck Up, and Not popular. However, wow look at those AKAs. They are all pretty, very popular, and command attention. Should I join AKA? If I do, then I will be popular like them. Although my heart has ALWAYS been with Delta, I love the AKAs on my campus.

Okay, this is a significant problem. I had a friend of mine that had this same dilemma. She and I always talked about becoming Delta's together. Then it was time to go to college (we went to two different universities) and she did NOT like the Deltas on campus. She would call me and cry about how she was torn because the AKAs were cool, friendly, and very popular. I told her that Delta is BIGGER than just her chapter. In the end, she ended up pledging AKA. I supported her 100%! Fast forward five years later. I invited her to support a chapter event in Chicago, and she for some reason had a someone "funky" attitude all night. My sorors embraced her when I told her she was a friend of mine. I met new sorors who welcomed me and showed me Soooo much love.

Later that week, my friend confided in me that she was jealous and wished she followed her heart and pledged Delta. Although she pledged AKA, she realized AFTER she graduated that although the AKAs were cool on campus, she never quite fit in with them. She would get so jealous of the love that I would receive when we were out and about, and I had on my paraphernalia and would get stopped by sorors, showing me love. She told me in confidence that if she could do it all over again, she would have joined Delta. She now understood what I am was trying to tell her when I told her that Delta was bigger than just HER chapter.

So PLEASE whatever you do, if your heart is within one org, and you get to the school, and they are either not on campus, suspended from your campus, or not as "cool as you thought they would be" just stop and think. Will joining the other XYZ be a wise decision for yourself? College is only four years, but joining an organization is a LIFETIME commitment!

In closing, if you have no clue about Greek organizations, in general, then I would attend their events, talk to a few members, research them on the net, and find out which org fits you best overall, NOT just on your college campus. If you have family members that are a part of this org, then it's time you pick up the phone and give them a call as well. I love discussing my beloved org with anyone, so if you have any questions regarding my org, or just Greek org, in general, then you can also hit me up!

Please choose wisely because membership is a LIFETIME Commitment!

Peace!

"V"

4 comments:

  1. I wish i had that open experience, I go to a college which does nt respect greek life or really allow (especially the Divine Nine) them on campus. The choices were very limited especially for the girls who would have LOVED to be able to have more than 3 options and have at least one of them be Divine Nine, to the point where students have transferred to other schools because the lack of options that my school provided.

    Myself along with many other girls have felt very discouraged in ever finding the right sororities for them, and have either given up hope or decided to go the even more difficult route of researching graduate chapters in their region.

    Then I have some friends who went to schools that do have the Divine Nine organizations have shown interest incertain groaups only to recieve very cold and unwelcoming responses from the members. I never understood why if you want people to join why you would treat them badly and still expect to have that many people still interested in you.

    I really liked your blog and I found it very smart what you had to say, my aunt has been a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. for the past 30 years and she has loved every minute of it and as she didnt have any daughters she always wanted me to follow in her footsteps, which as I said was hard because they were not at my school.

    what advice would you give me for dealing with the chance that I may never become a member and how to handle the disappointment that it will bring to my aunt?

    jordana
    jordana.rostant-nunes@mymail.barry.edu

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am in a similar situation...I have been interested in joining a sorority since I was 14. I did my research as instructed and decided on joing Delta Sigma Theta once I got to college. When I came onto campus my freshmen year there were only Deltas. I didn't express interest at the time because I knew that my academics had to be in proper order so that I could join. Now that im a sophomore we now have Zetas, Deltas and SGRhos on our campus. I decided to join a non-NPHC org. known as Gamma Sigma Sigma and I was still interested in joining Delta. The problem is GSS is completely shunned on my campus and I have a feeling that it has hurt my chances of possibly being able to join DST. And to add more to the confusion the Deltas on my campus aren't necessarily the most approachable people on campus, while the Zetas are nice, apporachable and don't shun me for being a member of GSS; I still honestly want to be a member of Delta Sigma Theta. I was wondering if you had any advice to offer me because I am honestly torn. Can you please help me? magnetic924life@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous - I know I'm pretty late but I'm pretty sure if you join another Greek lettered organization then you cannot join any of the organizations of the NHPC.

      Delete
  3. Oh my gosh!!! Its scary they way this was written, almost exactly for me. This is exactly what I'm going through now! The organization I've wanted to join since Moesha was on air (when I first saw them) they aren't as numerous/present or popular around campus as I hoped. But another, which I only began to notice in absence of my first choice, they are more numerous and are the nicest people and I would sit and rack my mind for hours on YouTube the org's main sites comparing them. And your words lifted a world of weight off of my shoulders

    ReplyDelete