WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1999

Think twice before judging sorority sisters

From the moment I stepped onto this campus, I was encouraged to get involved in the variety of different organizations available to me, and so I did.

Besides being involved in many activities including women's crew and the SOAR program, I am the president of my sorority.

I don't strike people as the typical sorority member. I don't get drunk every weekend, I don't fail any of my classes, and I don't use "like" in every sentence.

I walk across campus wearing my sorority sweatshirt as the students walking in front of me are saying how stupid the Greek system is. I walk into some of my classes and receive dirty looks for presumably being in a sorority.

I've been treated differently by my professors for wearing my sweatshirt to class. I read derogatory articles about sorority and fraternity members in the student-run newspapers. I get good grades but people assume I'm in the library to socialize. People assume I'm ignorant because the Greek system is selective about membership.

For all those people who have this opinion of me - I say you are the ignorant ones. I do not look down upon other students for joining organizations they are interested in.

All of us, I'm sure, appreciate a campus of students who stress the importance of accepting others. I have had people tell me they are surprised I am in a sorority because I'm not the "typical" sorority member. They assume they are complimenting me, but I do not feel that this is a compliment because they cannot even tell me what typical means. The truth is that there is no such thing as typical.

People classify me without knowledge or understanding of the Greek system. It is not right to stereotype people or make negative assumptions about them. I concentrate on building friendships, building my resume and enjoying my college years, the same as most of you. And I am proud of my accomplishments. I have created many opportunities for myself simply by being accepting of others.

Elizabeth Curry is a public relations journalism major.