Sororities
not like MTV represents in show
Ashley
Smith
Lawrence,
Kan., (U-Wire) -- Look for the word sorority
on any major Internet search engine. The
first thing that it finds? Porn. But shortly
following porn is a link to the MTV site
for Sorority Life. The show, in its third
season on the network, portrays an absurdly
misconstrued version of what greek life
is truly like.
Click
a little further through the link, and you
will find a paraphrased summary of every
detail, from every episode, as well as pictures
and video clips. It sadly resembles Soap
Opera Digest.
Well
exemplified by the Internet search, Greek
life is seen by those unaffiliated with
it in a very narrow light. A common assumption
is sorority women run around having naked
pillow fights when they're not completely
wasted. Fraternity men nearly kill one another
hazing on a daily basis when they're not
completely wasted. Right?
Wrong.
What most viewers are unaware of when watching
this program for "insight" into
what greek life is truly like is that these
chapters differ substantially from the chapters
that exist at the University of Kansas and
at most schools in the nation. Have you
ever noticed that of all the sororities
and fraternities chosen to be a part of
Sorority Life and Fraternity Life are ones
that you have never heard of or chapters
we do not have on this campus?
Technically,
any group of people can throw together some
greek letters and deem themselves a sorority
or fraternity. A great example is the movie
Old School. MTV targets these random groups
of people to use for their programs because
they have no binding national organization,
nor any affiliated chapters on other campuses.
Should anything be aired that is inappropriate
or offensive, there are no active members
to embarrass and no alumnae to offend. This
way the popular network can make the program
as controversial as possible, just the way
they seem to like it.
The
chapters at the University of Kansas are
quite different. All sororities on campus
belong to one of two national organizations,
Panhellenic Conference or National Pan-Hellenic
Council. These societies bind the chapters
together in order to maintain only the highest
standards and ideals. Also, all chapters
on this campus have branches at other colleges
and universities across the nation. Each
chapter has a national headquarters and
overall administration that advocate each
branch to constantly improve in every aspect.
In
the most recent episode of "Sorority
Life," the women of Zeta Sigma Phi
chose to de-pledge Meena, a highly involved
pre-medical student. From the episode summary,
the sisters voted her out simply because
she was not devoting adequate time to the
house. While her own pledge sisters begged
to let her stay, older members quickly ousted
her for her apparent lack of sincere devotion.
The
impression this leaves on viewers is that
sorority girls are bitches. They are obsessed
with their own organizations and if anyone
devotes anything less than their soul to
it, they are not satisfied.
The
real deal? From personal experience in my
own chapter, I am encouraged to make my
own choice about what I want my experience
in my sorority to be. It can literally be
your life, but only if you choose to make
it that.
This
is the very reason this show simply disgusts
me. Simply for the sake of ratings, MTV
is destroying a potentially incredible experience
for young men and women watching to see
what Greek life is really about. No offense
to the independent chapters that have participated
with the MTV programs, but they are not
real sororities and fraternities. They should
simply stop embarrassing themselves. They
are making the high-character members of
well-established organizations look ridiculous.
But I guess I understand the incentive,
they do get Land Rovers.
This
column first appeared in the University
Daily Kansan at the University of Kansas.
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