The Charlatan, Carleton's Independent Student Newspaper - Oct 6, 2007

Sorority leaders fight ‘pink party’ stereotype
Sorority girls have their "blonde moments" but there is more to them than that, they say

By ROBYN MILLER

Imagine a romantic comedy on the television, the smell of popcorn hanging in the air and lots of girls laughing. This is the typical sorority sisterhood night Anita Susac and Corinne Woods say they have come to love.

Susac and Woods are sorority presidents of Alpha Omicron Pi and Phi Sigma Sigma respectively. Susac, a fourth-year Carleton student studying French and law, says she learned about Alpha Omicron Pi during her orientation week.

“My first impression was, ‘Oh my God, all these girls want to do is party,’ but when I got involved and went to recruitment parties, I found out what it was all about. [It is] a lot more than what is portrayed on TV,” she says. Woods, a fourth-year criminology student, says she was surprised when she first heard about Phi Sigma Sigma.

“I didn’t really know that there were sororities in Canada. [I thought] they were just a bunch of girls and a bunch of stereotypes, but after the meet-and-greets my impression really changed,” says Woods.

Phi Sigma Sigma and Alpha Omicron Pi recruit new members each year during the fall term. Susac and Woods say that although they recruit at the same time, they do not fight over new recruits. “You just kind of know where you fit in,” says Woods. “It is always left up to the girl to decide which [sorority] to join.”

“We all come from different backgrounds and we all have different cultures. We’re not just one mould, every chapter is different,” Susac adds. Woods says she recalls the moment when she knew Phi Sigma Sigma was right for her.

“At one of my first sisterhoods it just clicked. We were just making scarves or something,” says Woods. “It was when I realized that I was in the right place and that the girls liked me for me, and I knew it was genuine.” Susac says she joined her sorority because she thought it would be an easy way to meet people, but soon found that it was much more than she ever expected it to be.

“Everyone has their own ideas about what it’s going to be like and different reasons for joining, but in the end I think people end up staying for the same reasons,” says Susac.

Woods and Susac say the structure a sorority provides for both new students and upper-year students is something for which they are both grateful. “My grades have actually improved since high school because of the sorority’s routine and structure. I now can manage to get school work done, go to my real job and do sorority things that need to be done,” says Susac.

During recruitment and throughout the year, the sorority presidents say they have had to deal with many stereotypes. Susac and Woods say these stereotypes come from Hollywood movies, such as Legally Blonde. In these movies, clueless sorority girls all live happily in their pink house, with their pink underwear and their pink parties. Such ingrained stereotypes are hard to overcome, they say.

Woods says that unlike the stereotypical sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma members do not live together, and Susac adds that part of Alpha Omicron Pi’s
mission statement is “inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning.”

She says that Alpha Omicron Pi holds study sessions at least once a month and runs educational seminars twice a month on topics such as alcohol awareness, hazing and resumé-building.

They also hold philanthropic events for charities including the Arthritis Society and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, she says. Last year Susac says her sorority was the first female team to join the intramural flag football league. Susac says she holds nothing against people with stereotypical views. “You just have to accept it and not get mad. It’s not their fault that that’s what they are exposed to. You just have to tell them what we are really about,” says Susac.

Susac and Woods say the friends they make are a bonus to being part of a sorority. “There are girls in my sorority that will be my bridesmaids — girls I know I will be friends with forever,” says Woods. “It’s like anyone wearing your sorority’s letters you can trust and rely on them. It feels like you have known them forever.”

Both Susac and Woods say they have spent the last three years being part of organizations that have shaped their university experiences for the better. “I can’t imagine Carleton without it,” says Woods. “It’s not going to be for everyone but for some people it’s perfect. They just have to see for themselves.”