OPINION & EDITORIAL
Greek life worthwhile for many
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Also by Skye Kalkstein:
- Facebook has identity risks (January 15, 2006)
- UW 'coasties' suffer from discrimination (January 20, 2006)
Related Stories:
- Gay frat diversifies Greeks (May 4, 2007)
- Greek community generous at heart (April 1, 2005)
- Greek life can be positive, too (April 12, 2005)
- Comic misrepresents Greeks (September 24, 2007)
- Tear down barriers to participation (October 24, 2005)
by Skye Kalkstein
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
The streets of Madison are filled with a gaggle of ladies. It's hot, it's sweaty and it's Greek. Greek life at the University of Wisconsin-Madison never really played a crucial role in one's social life. With the bumping buzz of State Street and its city flare, girls never had to join a sorority to have a "life".
I came to school believing that I was definitely not joining a sorority. But, as the day for Fall Recruitment came closer and closer, I started to change my mind. All my new friends decided to rush so I figured … why not? I decided that I would rush, but not pledge.
Up, up, and up the union steps I went to find girls in red and white baseball tees that would assign me my rush group. "Don't stop believing, hold onto that feeling," the tunes of Journey and other old-school artists fill the union. To be quite honest, I thought the whole thing was cheddar. But, I continued on with the nights' activities anyway.
My group was led by our Rho Gammas to the Humanities building where we played an ice breaker. They passed around a bag of peanut M&M's and each girl was to take a handful … if they weren't allergic. Each girl was to say where she was from, her age, where she is living, and answer a question based on her most prevalent color of M&M's. After leaving the room that night, I was turned off. I really wanted no part.
Click, click and click. The pounding of heels on Langdon could be heard by all. An array of cowboy boots and stylish flats swarmed the streets. During the second and third days of rush, each group toured the 10 houses and made the trip to the Hillel for Sigma Delta Tau.
Bang, bang and bang as the sisters pounded on their front doors. I was taken back. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. YELLOW! I had to close my eyes for the brightness was too much. I saw about 30 girls in yellow T-shirts all singing in unison. Estrogen overload was my first thought. A girl immediately took me and another rushee, sat us down and started to question us. With a smile on, I answered the questions. "Where are you from, where are you living, what do you like to do", these were some of the typical questions that I was asked. After chatting it up for a while, we were then passed off to another sister. "This is _, we were just talking about _, it was nice meeting you, good luck with the rest of Rush." That's how each sister made her exit. The whole process was like a job interview. It's like my T-shirt said "For Sale" and I had to convince these girls that I am a good investment.
"If you don't know whether to go Greek or what sorority is for you," was one of the lyrics to an adapted version of 'N sync's, "Dirty Pop." The sisters paraded around the houses putting on a show for the rushees. The skits were my favorite part of rush. The roles had switched; they were selling themselves to us! During one of the 11 skits, I looked over at my friend and mouthed, "I want to do one." She found this amusing since I was the most anti-sorority girl.
As the days of rush came to end I was in shambles. I had decided to join one but couldn't figure out which one I wanted to do. I became a girl obsessed with Rush. I must have flip-flopped which sorority I was doing about 15 times. Occasionally, I would see the girls that rushed me when I was out on the town. We were not allowed to speak, touch, or acknowledge each other at all. Sometimes we would slip in an occasional smile or a "shady" chat. That could be construed as "dirty" rush, a practice taboo to some of the houses on campus. A sorority that "dirty" rushed was looked at in a bad light, but that didn't stop some of them.
It was the last night … the night before everyone would receive their bids. The girls that I was rushing with had all decided to do one sorority, but I wasn't sure whether that was the one that I wanted. I was a royal mess, my stomach was churning, my thoughts were scattered.
The sun was down, the air getting colder by the minute, my time to make a decision fading. I was one of the last two girls on line, then a revelation came; I had to do what was right for me.
The gaggle of girls marched this last time. Each girl was handed an envelope with her bid. RIP! I pulled out my bid and a smile instantly stretched across my face. I got what I wanted.
I am a pledge. I figured going Greek would add to my social life and my overall experience of Madison. Is it necessary? I don't think so. Is it right for me? Yes.
Skye Kalkstein (kalkstein@wisc.edu) is a freshman.
Anonymous (September 27, 2005 @ 8:34am):
oh boy - not another one of these
Anonymous (September 27, 2005 @ 9:30am):
Who cares?
Anonymous (September 27, 2005 @ 10:55am):
what a touching story
Anonymous (September 27, 2005 @ 2:01pm):
Lame, lame, and lame as the yearly article justifying pledging for the Greek life appears in the Badger Herald.
Anonymous (September 27, 2005 @ 4:30pm):
ah skye is amazing.... awesome article...
you got all my love from umich.
jkro
Anonymous (September 27, 2005 @ 10:46pm):
this same article seems to appear in some fashion a couple times throughout the year. the next one will be about how greeks have above 3.0 gpas and volunteer atleast 2 hours every 5 months.
Anonymous (September 28, 2005 @ 12:51am):
as a dedicated advocate of my sorority and greek system in general, i'm glad to see skye took away such a valuable lesson from this experience. since the entire point of recruitment is to meet new people, it's so commendable that her and all of her friends went into rush together and came out together.. fearful of not conforming with the rest regardless of which sorority each actually wanted.. and thank you for clarifying that in order to be in a sorority you need to own a pair of either cowboy boots or stylish flats. it's so great to have a new participant in the system helping us create a positive image. really enjoyed the article.
Anonymous (September 28, 2005 @ 1:26pm):
Last Tuesday afternoon, on the way to my discussion in Van Hise, I picked up a copy of September 27th's Badger Herald. Thrilled to see an article on the positive aspects of Greek life at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I raced to page 6. After the first paragraph, practically before her story had even started, I already had enough of Skye Kalkstein's qualms with the Greek system. I found her recollection of the experience far from insightful and borderline offensive.
As an ardent participant in a sorority, her ignorance pertaining to the recruitment system is unfathomable. Regardless of the "bumping buzz" or "city flare" I feel the spirit and enthusiasm associated with joining a sorority are what make Madison that much more enjoyable. It's incredibly heart-warming to see the individual who wrote this article decided she'd enroll in the recruitment process because everybody else was doing it, but really isn't the incentive to meet new people?
I'm also overjoyed to see Skye was able to get past the creepy ice-breakers and cheesy "old-school tunes", but let's be honest...how else can girls from all over the country, who are going to end up in 11 different houses, be mainstreamed? As for the cowboy boots and stylish flats... after rushing 700 girls I'll be the first to say only a handful of them felt it necessary to make a fashion statement in a cohesive effort to "sell themselves". I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but perhaps those were the "new friends" the writer mentioned.
There is a science to the systematic conversations that active sisters partake in with newcomers. Skye commented, "That's how each girl made her exit," however, brilliant she is not, the script she regurgitated is no coincidence. Rigid rules, strict structure, and overt organization are involved in every exchange that takes place during the recruitment process.
Endless hours of work go into preparing for recruitment, so it is no surprise that after first rounds being a member of a house seemed somewhat appealing. While partaking in the preparation to convince 700 girls that they essentially want to be you, it is far too easy to get carried away with the process. Skye mentions "dirty rushing" and labels it "taboo to some of the houses on campus" how does she know members of those houses aren't dirty rushing people who are not in her social circle?
As a perspective member of a sorority, it is difficult to comprehend how vital it is to get the new members you covet. I have never met Skye, and she seems slightly overzealous; however, I could see how the "occasional smile" could be misconstrued. I'm assuming the "girls she was rushing with" are the same new friends she mentioned earlier, but it's comforting to see she didn't want to join a house with the same people she knew before recruitment.
In Skye's happy ending, we, as readers are elated to see that she got what she wanted. Furthermore, I wish the writer had taken a broader-minded view of the system and all of the wonderful things that come along with it. Understandably, those unacquainted with the charm and allure of a sorority must think my compassionate feelings seem ludicrous. Think what you wish, you'll never understand.
Anonymous (October 13, 2005 @ 4:47pm):
skye....i love you!!! you are the best writer in the worllddd
Anonymous (March 21, 2006 @ 11:04pm):
this article just reminded me why i dont want to EVER be in a sorority...i dont want to have to deal with skye and a bunch of other girls just like her.
Anonymous (March 28, 2006 @ 8:11pm):
"She found this amusing since I was the most anti-sorority girl."
then why did you decide to rush?
Anonymous (April 2, 2006 @ 12:45am):
good and informative article.. very well written. I now want to join a sorority too.. The whole rush process seems so interesting and fun. I hear Chi Omega is a really fun group of girls who are really down to earth.. not to mention really pretty. Just curoius to what sorority the author joined please e-mail bkaplan@wisc.edu with any further information available. Keep up the good work!
