It’s no secret that the media, movies, and TV shows have a history of portraying Greek Life in a negative manner. Every once in a while you’ll find a truly heartwarming story, such as the boys of SAE at UCLA who went above and beyond to help a neighbor battling cancer, but most of the time what we hear about sororities and fraternities involves hazing and sadly even death.
When I first looked at which colleges I wanted to go to Greek Life was never a factor for me. I had only known a couple people who were in a sorority or a fraternity and they loved it, but I couldn’t seem to get past the negative image of Greek Life that TV shows, movies, and the media had painted for me. I knew that the types of things I saw on TV or in the news were things I didn’t want to be a part of, so I stored Greek Life into the back of my mind and moved on with my life. But after talking to a few other freshmen who were interested in Greek Life, I decided to take a chance and go out for recruitment. I knew that if I didn’t like what I saw I could easily just turn around and walk away and forget it ever happened.
To be completely honest when I decided to go out for recruitment I wasn’t expecting anything to come out of it. I had already let the media get to me and taint my image of Greek Life, so I just thought I’d meet a few people and call it a day. But then I found a sorority that I absolutely loved. There was just something about them that really made me feel at home and that’s exactly what I was looking for. So with this new idea that maybe I could see myself joining Greek Life I continued with recruitment and ended up getting a bid.
“The Epsilon Kappa chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma invites you, Kim Dossett, to join our sisterhood.”
Photo courtesy of the Epsilon Kappa chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma at Hofstra University.
My original perception of Greek Life was based off of what I saw on TV and in the media (partying, booze, boys, hazing, etc.), but I was proven wrong very quickly. Within my first few weeks as a new member I learned the values that Phi Sig holds and what they stand for. I learned about their history, locally and nationally, and why other sisters made the decision to go Phi Sig. I learned all of this and more and quickly realized that this organization would only bring me up, not drag me down.
I saw the way that the sisters interacted with one another and I saw that they all had great friendships with one another. Sisters would tell me about how they hang out to study or eat or just to watch TV together and fangirl over the Bachelor or Grey’s Anatomy. I wasn’t met with a bunch of girls who only cared about looks or boys or partying or hazing new members. I was met with a bunch of intelligent and beautiful girls who encourage each other and make each other laugh until tears fell from their eyes. It didn’t take very long for me to realize that everything I thought I knew about Greek Life was wrong.
Photo courtesy of the Epsilon Kappa chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma at Hofstra University.
I’ve been a sister of Phi Sig at Hofstra for a year now and every day I realize more and more how great my decision to join Greek Life was. Whether it’s something as simple as watching Disney movies with me because I’m feeling down or letting me crash their family’s Thanksgiving dinner because I can’t go home to mine, my sisters are always there for me. They help me feel at home even though I’m thousands of miles away from mine and that’s something that I’ll always be grateful for.
I learned that Greek Life is more than just what people see or hear in the news. It’s about life long friendships, finding your travel partners, finding people to watch your favorite shows with or just study with, networking, holding leadership positions, time management, community and campus involvement, volunteering, and so much more. I went into recruitment thinking that I knew I would walk out empty handed, but I walked out knowing that I had made one of the best decisions of my life.
“From the outside looking in you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out you can’t explain it.”
