SORORITIES
Sororities are the female versions of fraternities. They, too, aim to be a tangible presence in the community. In addition to service, sororities often hold social events, like mixers and date parties, with other fraternities. Unfortunately, however, stereotypes surrounding sororities do exist. Many people view sororities as mere superficial cliques. Some even have a reputation for accepting or denying young women based simply on looks alone. Overall, however, sororities can be very positive. They serve as way to meet many people on college campuses and can even provide connections for the future.
Choosing and becoming a part of a sorority can be both very enjoyable and very stressful for young women. Meeting new people and socializing is often enjoyable, but being judged by the older sorority girls usually creates a lot of stress. Plus, the goal of joining a sorority can be especially stressful and taxing for black students. Brianna, a black student at one the top ranked universities in the nation, decided to engage in the process of joining a sorority and considers her experience to be substantially different from her caucasian counterparts. As a minority in the beginning stages of joining a sorority, Brianna says she became continuously conscious of her race. She feels that being black made her stand out among the majority of white people and that this made it more difficult to make meaningful connections. While she did not consider the sororities to be unwelcoming, she did not find them to be welcoming either. Brianna eventually dropped out of the rush process and decided not to join a sorority.