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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Rethinking sororities at IU

While most of campus is still hazily coming back to life, one group of IU students has hit the ground running — potential new members of IU sororities.

Today marks the kickoff of formal recruitment for the sororities of IU’s Panhellenic Council.

Sunday Tollefson, a consultant specializing on sorority rush, describes recruitment as “speed dating meets interviewing meets beauty pageant meets upscale academic summer camp, complete with a counselor.”

Social clubs are selective by nature. But admittance into IU’s sorority system in particular isn’t just selective, it’s cutthroat.

In 2011, about half of the 1,718 women that went through rush received bids in existing chapters.

As they stand today, sororities provide an unmatched social network and an emphasis on giving back that seek to produce better women.

Unfortunately within both pop culture and in today’s greek system, the role of a sorority woman has been defined in narrow terms.

As a natural remnant of its historical origins, greek life is a heavily gendered system.

Women have been relegated to a position of keeping in mind at all times how their choices might affect their relations with fraternities.

Much like in the rest of society, women in sororities are taught to be competitors for the attention of men.

The Editorial Board believes sororities have the potential to change that. 

Sororities are in a compelling position — despite the historical disadvantage to women, as institutions today they hold significant influence on our campus and the greek system.

Despite the heavy sexism in greek life, men in fraternities still aim to be in the good graces of female greeks since anything else defeats the social aspect of men’s social fraternities.

Sororities can and should use this sway to change the status quo by systematically stamping out corrosive attitudes in the greek system instead of being accessories to it.

Fraternities that disrespect, demean or otherwise create a toxic environment for women should be stigmatized and held accountable through one of the more forceful means: peer rejection.

Even more importantly, sororities should encourage an environment where ambition and vocal independence of thought is encouraged.

For too long the public consciousness derided sororities as breeding grounds for anti-intellectualism and in short the bimbo stereotype some are all too willing to embrace.

Poise, femininity, intellectualism and outspokenness are not mutually
exclusive.

The best traits that sororities demonstrate — sensitivity, charity, unity and sisterhood — should be used to empower women in a society that is increasingly hostile towards them.

It’s time for sorority women to become aware of and exercise all the potential they have to make the University and the greek system a better place.

Because after all, why just be put on a pedestal when you can sit on a throne?

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