The Blacksheep Online | Greek Life 101: Shut Up, Sis

Greek Life 101: Shut Up, Sis

March 10, 2010 - 3:49 pm | Posted by: Amy

The Greek system: maybe you're a part of it, maybe you're not, in fact you might even despise it, but for all those unaffiliated, I am here to serve as your guide to all things Greek. Even if you're a Gamma Delta Iota (Or "God Damn Independent"), campus is still abuzz with talk of socials, pledging, and other Greek gossip, and you know you're at least a little curious what it's all about. As Vice President of my sorority I am, you know, Kind of a Big Deal; so sit back and read on as I cover everything from Alpha through Omega.

"Shut up about your 'sisters!'" This phrase is the result of a spring break reunion between high school friends, all of whom have joined sororities with the exception of one.

Alpha, Beta, Gamma... You name the letter, my old group of friends has one. Never once in high school did it occur to me that our lunch table could have also been a future Panhellenic council, but when we reunite over breaks, many of us wearing letters, the title fits the picture pretty well.

Next week is my spring break, and while not all my friends will be home, I will join those who will be in revisiting are old hangouts. We'll speed across suburban streets in cars bearing sorority bumper stickers and unlock the doors of our parents' houses with keys hanging from plastic Greek-letter key chains. We'll look out of place back home, but it's ok, we all fit in together...most of us, at least.

My best friend Leslie decided she would be better suited at a tiny artsy school on the East coast than a mammoth Big Ten school like myself and many of our friends, and I can tell it was a good choice for her. She loves it, so I'm happy she's happy, but unfortunately every break I wonder if she rethinks that decision, or simply reaffirms the fact that she made the correct choice.

Leslie's school has absolutely zero Greek life. She's found a home there much like I did in my sorority, but every time we return to the home at home, a.k.a. casa de mom and dad, everyone gossips about who they took to formal (hey, Leslie still has boys in her life), what they did while drunk at a social (my dearest Leslie certainly knows how to get trashed), and of course, their sisters. Of course Leslie has friends, she's awesome, but to anyone Greek, there are friends and there are Sisters, and while my Sisters are certainly my friends, not all my friends are at Sister level.

Leslie likes to say we sound like we're in cults, or that we're the children of polygamists (if you have fifty sisters it does make sense), and I laugh along because she's right. The problem is I don't agree with her, I kind of resent it, just as she surely resents the group's constant sorority chatter.

Sure Leslie has something going on with a new guy, but we can't stereotype him based on his fraternity, call him an ass based on his brothers or a good guy based on the chapter at our school. At the same time, Leslie has to sit and listen to stories about Greek week and barfing on one's housemother with a moderate level of confusion and an even less exciting interest level.

"Shut up about your 'sisters!'" She suddenly can take no more of our mindless chatter, she bursts the bubble. She's done bringing up the play she's in or the band she hangs with; until we start to talk about something other than sororities, she won't be talking at all. I feel terrible, we all do, and I remember something from oh so long ago.

"Make new friends, but keep the old," the old Girl Scout song. Long before any of us wore letters, we all wore badges together. Sure, we weren't initiated or anything, but we took some kind of oath and swore to stick it out no matter what happened in the future. Maybe we didn't have formal together, but we all went to homecoming. Maybe her new guy isn't in a frat, but we all know what we think of a boy who roles around in his dad's Lexus calling it his own. Maybe Leslie has and wants nothing to do with our would-be Panhellenic, whatever. She's still my Leslie, and she might as well be my Sister.