Being a sorority sister, there is a certain expectation of social interaction and personal development; you can’t hide away. You are required to participate in activities which gets you out there doing stuff you may never have pictured yourself doing before. These experiences help to enrich your communication skills and responsibility. As a sorority women you are presented with numerous opportunities to be a leader within your chapter. You can hold an officer position, leader positions and committee positions based on how involved you would like to be.
Our ADPI chapter – Beta Epsilon – has won the Maxine Blake Golden Lion Award the last two years in a row which is the highest honor a chapter can receive. By receiving this award, your chapter has “meet the highest standards and are considered Alpha Delta Pi’s “First and Finest on their respective campuses. ” according to the Alpha Delta Pi Grand Council. To be eligible, chapters need to prove their success six years in advance by putting forth accumulative G. P. A, volunteerism, and most importantly leadership throughout the chapter.
Certainly a great part of being in a sorority especially ADPi is the philanthropic and charitable work we are able to do. ADPi supports the Ronald McDonald House Charities. RMH, as it is often abbreviated, is an organization built on supporting those families children whom have been hospitalized due to the severity of their illnesses. “A Ronald McDonald House is that “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost. (“Ronald McDonald House” 1995) As an ADPi at USC not only did we help raise the funds to build the new RMH house here in Columbia, as well as gift a dog and all new kitchen supplies, we also volunteer at the house at least once a semester however many of us, such as myself, go on a weekly basis. It is really humbling to hear some of the stories that brought families to RMH Move over LinkedIn, when you join a sorority you become part of a widespread network.
Having access to this network will open doors in the future that you may not have known about if you were non-affiliated. Did you know that “85% of the Fortune 500 executives, 40 of 47 U. S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910, and 76% of all Congressmen and Senators” belong to a greek organization? (“Fraternity and Sorority Facts” 1993) Through ADPI I have already experienced some of those networking connections. For example, for all the ADPi alumni in the area there is a list of current Beta Epsilon members whom babysit in which they can pick from.
Additionally, jobs and internship opportunities from those ADPi member previous are sent directly to our sorority members first before making it known publicly in order to give our girls an advantage over the competition. Being a teenager you have aspirations of growing up to a firefighter or doctor but being in ADPi you have aspirations to be like the sisters before you and boy do we have some alumnae to look up to. First there’s Kathy Bates of American Horror Story. She has been nominated for over 100 awards in her lifetime and has won 29 of them.
Not only is she an actor and director but she is also a spokesperson for lymphedema. Just this september she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We also have heavy hitters such as Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, Nancy Grace of Nancy Grace, Karen Hughes who served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs under the George W. Bush Administration and professional golfer Sandra Palmer. Probably the most aw-ing of these is Ainsley Earhardt, anchor and correspondent for Fox News. She was a Beta Epsilon which means she was an ADPi at the University of South Carolina.
And of course there is Caroline Boyer, wife of country singer Luke Bryan and envy of every girl. Sororities encourage the development of lifelong friendships and fosters loyalty among the sisterhood, school and nation. I would not have enjoyed college as much if I had not founded the friendships I have today. My sisters pick me up when I am down and made me feel at home immediately. My sorority magnifies my love for the Gamecock nation because of my sisters pride for USC. It’s nice to know that I will have these memories for decades to come.
As a sister you will have some unique experiences compared to non-chapter girls to look back on in later years. Like that one date who was just god awful or the one you thought was going to be your future husband until you saw him making out with a random girl a week later. From living in the house to collecting as many shirts with ADPi on them as you can there will always be a special memory. Volunteering with RMH and learning the stories behind those individuals in the house will definetly have a place in my heart for years to come. All in All, your sisterhood memories will be moments you never forget.
COUNTER ARGUMENT: Thave found being in ADPI to be a gratifying experience. I have made so many connections and truly feel honored to bare it’s letters. However there are those that may disagree with me. Here are ADPI’s disadvantages from the eyes of an affiliated member. Let’s just start with the fact that being in a sorority is expensive … like really expensive. ADPi’s first semester dues are over a thousand dollars. However after that initial semester, dues should drop to around $400. Higher than usual because they are making the greek system pay for a parking garage none of us will be here to see.
While most of that money goes towards the house, meals, nationals and philanthropy, your parents might not be thrilled about the price tag. As well as paying dues, there are hidden fees amongst ADPi such as fines for missing chapter, not making it to at least 2 homecoming events and not selling your philanthropy tickets. An extra $25 as a late fee on top of the $50 you already owe because college kids can’t afford $10 tickets to a non-drinking event even though it’s for charaty.
On top of that you are expected to craft for your littles, buy the millions of t-shirts ffered and have a new dress for every function your invited to. Coming into greek life no one tells you just how time consuming rush will be. It is two week process of looking nice and being interviewed by each sorority … at least if you’re a PNM. Those already initiated into ADPi have be here at the beginning of August and practice jumping up and down and screaming cheers for HOURS. Not only that but now you have to think of the interview questions and re-watch the same recruitment video over and over while trying to be on your Agame for every party.
ADPI’s video was killer this year so it wasn’t too much of a strain however the process is draining Another thing that is draining is the calendar of ADPi events. Typically it’s not too bad until it’s homecoming week and you have philanthropy events as well as a heaping pile of homework. Coming into college I planned on joining all of these clubs but with school the way it is this year plus sorority stuff, | can’t imagine being involved with anything else. However I know that there is at least one ADPi member in almost every organization on campus.
Joining ADPi has helped me to make a ton of new friends however it has also narrowed down my social possibilities. As a greek member I typically only associate with other greek members. But when you are going to each others philanthropy events and hanging out in the same “spots” it is hard to not associate with them. Isn’t the purpose of greek life to build a network of friends here at college? I personally don’t feel confined by the greek system since it made a college of 30,000 students feel smaller.
Now we all know women involved in Greek life as a whole are smart and capable human beings. We are female senators and female astronauts. We defy all obstacles in our way nevertheless there are those individuals that give us stereotypes. For example ADPi’s stereotype is the “good girl”. According to this stereotype we are smart, bible girls that you take home to mom. I personally am not offended by this stereotype. It’s actually quite flattering.
However I did meet a guy last year (now my friend) whom was shocked to learn I as an ADPi at a party; his reasoning being “I thought y’all just stayed in and studied” He quickly became aware of my pledge class and still laughs about this today. For those girls scare of being branded the “good girl” ADPi may not be right for you. “Beauty pageants, you’re only judged once. Sorority rush, you have to go through 20 parties. ” as said by author, Jen Lancaster. The whole process of rush can feel judgemental. The rush “parties” turn out to be more like job interview than a social event and your favorite sorority from round 1 may have dropped you.
Maybe this is not what you were thinking of when you rushed. Well we aren’t expecting girls to tell us the reason they rushed was because of some dream of girls in bikinis sliding down a waterslide of glitter (true story) but you win some and you lose more. The thing | pride ADPI on was the amount of girls who came back round after round saying they loved ADPI because it feels genuine. As an ADPi we try to be as authentic from the get go and show the PNM’s who we truly are. If they don’t like us then, then they probably will never like us and should reconsider ADPi.
The biggest reason you should NOT join ADPi is because you only want to party. But if you know our stereotype ahead of time it’s safe to say you wouldn’t have picked us anyways. Don’t join adpi if you don’t know how to augment your social life and don’t join just because you want the business connections (there are business fraternities for that). Pick ADPi because you value our long standing purpose of “bettering one another and themselves morally, mentally, and socially. ” (“History of Alpha Delta Pi” 1929) CONCLUSION: Sororities aren’t for everyone especially with all the time and money that goes into it.
However if you do chose to join one, Alpha Delta Pi is the way to go. Sure other ADPi’s can boast about our notable alumnae, genuine friendships, and awesome charity but no other chapter can say they have had the highest gpa in greek life for the past 4 semester or that they have been awarded the golden lion award at the last two conventions. Every ADPi chapter is amazing in it’s own way but I can honestly say joining Alpha Delta Pi at University of South Carolina will be the best decision you will ever make. We live for each other and for Alpha Delta Pi.
