Dear Ladies of Alabama Alpha Phi,
I had to check out your video. Granted, you’d already taken it off your You tube channel but I’m a pretty good super sleuth and got my hands on a copy in less than a minute. I’d love to share it with my friends so they can see what all the fuss is about. Since I can’t embed it, you’ll have to check it out here (and yes, that’s a live photo from the video below).
First, I’d like to say, you gals are a bunch of gorgeous ladies. And, it looks like you have a lot of fun together. Honestly, I have no problem with the fact that there’s not a lot of diversity in your chapter because statistically people have a tendency to gravitate towards people just like them. It happens. I think it’s a shame that you’ve been criticized for that and felt the need to take the video and all your social media down. Especially since it looks like you gals have a lot of fun together. That’s what sisterhood’s all about, right? Wrong.
Sisterhood is about so much more than dancing in your bikini with your Greek letters. Going Greek is a commitment and recruitment is a pretty serious time in a young woman’s life. Choosing a sorority can’t be based on how pretty the girls are and how many fun clips they’ve strung together to show that sisterhood rocks. It has to be based on where a candidate fits, both socially and academically, so that the long-term relationship formed with her sisters, local chapter and the national organization make sense. That’s my problem with the video.
Interspersed between the clips of you gals waving and hula hooping inner tubes in your bikinis, I would have loved to have seen some clips about chapter grades or charity work you’ve done. Five minutes are plenty of time to highlight some of your campus success stories and talk about who your partner is for Homecoming this fall. You could’ve even given a couple of testimonials about why Alpha Phi’s been an important part of your life. It could have been an epic video. Instead, it portrays sisterhood as every college boy’s wet dream. So sad.
Know what else is sad? The video plays right into the hands of all the people out there that hate the Greek system. It validates their belief that sororities and fraternities party too much and discriminate. It’s great anti-Greek propaganda that you just handed people on a platter. Sadly, the positive messages that other campus Panhellenic associations get out there is lost.
Greek Life is not about partying (although I do have to admit we did have a good time). It’s about learning how to study the first year and get along with others. Forming leadership skills as you learn about ceremony, commitment and loyalty. It’s about coming together to work towards common goals, donating to causes you care about and yes, making life-long friendships. Now, that’s a video that I’d like my daughter to see.
Deb
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