People need to stop stereotyping sorority girls

It’s among all sorority girls on college campuses across the nation. The stereotypes are around us, but they aren’t in fact true. As an active member of a sorority, I have encountered many of these so-called “stereotypes.” Let me set the record straight for a few that I have heard.

We pay for our friends

This is definitely the most common of them all and it’s pretty ridiculous. I don’t pay for my friends – I pay for my dues. These dues don’t go towards my friends, they go towards my sorority. They cover the chapter and sisterhood activities. So why are we so close? It’s because we generally get along and look out for one another. My sisters would drop anything for me and I would ultimately do the same for them.

We haze

I am only part of one sorority on this campus so I can only speak on the behalf of mine, but from my experience hazing is extremely prohibited. There isn’t any reason for it and it would ultimately ruin the meaning of sisterhood. We are part of the sorority because we want to be and we don’t have to prove it through getting hazed.

All we do is party

We are in college, so partying does happen – but that isn’t all we do. School does in fact come first, and we would pick a night of studying over going out. Of course we like to have fun, but there are nights we like to stay in, watch a good movie and relax. We can still have a good time while being sober.

We are all preppy/girly girls

No, we aren’t all rich and yes we like to dress up, but not all the time. Many of the girls in my sorority have their own style, are athletic and are comfortable in their own skin. There isn’t a need to dress up frequently because they are happy with the way they look. Furthermore, the dues that we pay may be added cargo, but there are payment plans to help girls out. You never have to pay the full amount all at once.

We only hang out with people in Greek life

There is no rule saying that I must only hang out with people in Greek life. I have friends in sororities and fraternities but also friends that are not. They are all amazing people and it doesn’t matter whether they’re in Greek life or not.

We are all stupid

It’s funny to think that people believe that once a girl joins a sorority she somehow becomes stupid. We are not stupid and we actually take our academics seriously. There is a certain GPA requirement we must meet in order to stay in Greek life. Also there are a ton of girls in my sorority who are currently majoring in Engineering, Neuroscience, Astrophysics, Pre-med track and are doing extremely well.

We aren’t cultured

For some reason people think once you’re in a sorority you lose any sense of culture, but once again that isn’t true. Several girls in my sorority have studied abroad all over the world. They were able to venture to different countries and many of them said it was the most amazing experience of their life.

The stereotypes may never disappear, but hopefully this cleared a few of them up. Sororities are cool and I am glad I made the decision to join one.