Sisterhood

Continuing in the vein of some of the other girls' posts, I'm taking a moment to tell all you prospective Dartmouth students about the Greek system from what I think is an interesting perspective.

When I was looking at colleges, I initially crossed Dartmouth off my list, because I was completely uninterested in Greek life. I didn't want a school with 35% of the student body in Greek houses - and joining a sorority was definitely not for me! Lucky for me, my father convinced me to at least visit Dartmouth and see what I thought about the rest of the programs. Of course, I fell in love with the school and ended up coming here. I made a decision freshman year that I wouldn't join a house, and I'd just avoid the sororities; it's easy to do, and I had plenty of other activities on my plate.

My sophomore fall, about half my girlfriends Rushed (went through the process of joining houses, which entails going to all the houses and talking to the sisters). Staying faithful to my self-promise, I respectfully declined the invite to Rush, and spent the week living vicariously through my Greek-bound girlfriends. I was happy for them that they'd all found houses where they felt comfortable, and I was happy that I didn't have to join a house to hang out at one!

Sophomore winter, I again made the decision not to Rush, and at the end of the process was offered an open bid to one of the sororities. (An open bid is when a house extends an offer to join to a girl who hasn't gone through the Rush process.) After visiting the house several times, I decided to decline their offer, despite the fact that I had quite a few good friends who had become sisters in the previous fall.

I went through Sophomore Summer without being affiliated, a state which some people say is social death, but frankly, I had a fabulous time! Since I had friends at virtually every fraternity and sorority on campus, I could hang out at any of the houses, without feeling any particular attachment to a specific house. Sophomore Summer ended up being my favorite Dartmouth term, and all without the help of a sorority.

This past fall, everything changed. I knew that if I wanted to try Rush, this would be my last chance, because I was taking my off term in the winter. With some helpful advice from my parents, I decided to enter Rush with an open mind; for me, it was about learning if there was someplace that would enhance my already-wonderful social life. I wasn't determined to join a house - I wanted to find a house that I could call my own, and I was perfectly okay with not joining if I didn't find anywhere I liked.

When I received my bid to Sigma Delta, a local sorority, I was absolutely thrilled. Throughout the Rush process at Sigma Delta, I had met women just like me - some of whom you'd never expect to be in a house, some who had made promises to themselves pre-college that they'd never be a "sorority girl." The women in my house are talented, energetic, and were one-hundred percent welcoming to me, a junior who was joining with all the sophomores. It could have been a very awkward situation, since I was a year older than all the other new members, but the sisters made my entrance into the house a warm and fun experience.

I'm glad I didn't Rush sophomore year; for me, it wasn't right, and I might have made the wrong decision. Rushing a year late gave me the confidence to know who I was and what I wanted from a sorority experience, and I wouldn't do it any other way. Today, some of my best friends are Sigma Deltas, and I can't wait to get back to campus to be with them again!

For anyone thinking about Greek life, or thinking negatively about Greek life, I encourage you to explore the system and see what it's really about. All of my preconceived notions about fraternities and sororities were shattered once I got to Dartmouth, and even more so once I went through Rush. If you can approach the Greek system with an open mind, you might just end up finding somewhere you want to be!