Enough with Greek Stereotypes

Jamie Beck Jaim725@bu.edu (617) 352-6737 CAS ’04 I was greatly shocked and dismayed when I opened the Daily Free Press on Friday and found the opinion article, “Sorority Girls Live up to Stereotypes.” While I recently dropped out of formal rush this fall, my decisions not to join a sorority has nothing to do with the fact that I did not like the girls I met in the process. Like most Greek system skeptics, I went into rush with preconceived notions about sorority life. Throughout the course of rushing, I realized how wrong I had been. The girls I met were very diverse and had real concerns outside of boys and partying. Although it is probably true that not every person in a sorority cares about their philanthropy and community service, many girls throughout the system do. I am well acquainted with several members of different sororities and many of them are the most community service oriented people I know. These people have a genuine desire to help and give back the community, and find a sorority a great forum for getting involved in such activities. Regardless of this fact, to judge the entire system on the basis on one event and what appears to be a single sorority, is not right or fair. Until the people who continue to ridicule and stereotype sorority girls have spent a real amount of time with girls from each sorority and have really gotten to know them, I ask that they do not write such slanderous accusations. If Ms. Jacobs and others like her, spent some real times with each of the chapters and still felt the same way (which I do not believe is possible) then I would keep my mouth shut and allow them to have their own views. But seeing as how this is not the case, I think it is wrong to judge anything on only one or two instances, and even worse to condemn a whole system based on the example of a few.