The Common Misconceptions of Greek Life

Stereotype - noun - a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image of idea of a particular type of person or thing 

When I think of the word "stereotype" naturally my mind drifts to the many times I've watched movies like "The House Bunny" or "Legally Blonde" or the time I reluctantly watched the television show on TLC called "Sorority Girls". All of these portray sororities and Greek life in general as an understated group of people with shallow morals. The media even does a fine job of shining a negative light on Greek life, capturing only the bad and rarely the good. 

Being Greek myself and coming from a Greek family, I thought it would be unfair for me to preach about the common misconceptions I hear regularly. So, to make sure the common misconceptions were in fact authentic, I took it upon myself while writing this blog post to get an outside perspective on how non-Greeks view Greek life and here is what I found.

1. "Everything Greeks do revolves around partying in their house and getting drunk" - False. Each chapter of each Fraternity or Sorority has a national board overseeing their activity and regularly sending regional representatives to chapters do to check-ups. Granted we're in college and college students like to let loose on occasion but to say that Greeks only care about partying and getting drunk is like saying the football team only cares about pumping iron and getting jacked. There's much, much more to Greek organizations than what meets the eye.

2. "Greeks haze their new members" - Speaking from a sorority affiliated with NPC (National Panhellenic Conference) there are strict guidelines to determine what is considered "hazing" and what is not with the safety and well being of new members constantly in mind. If a chapter neglects to follow those rules and regulations the appropriate actions will be taken, including fines, the chapter being suspended, having their charter revoked, and even termination of the chapter as a whole. Additionally, why would you want to be a part of something that made you feel as though you are less amazing than you already are? The purpose of Greek life is to build you up, not break you down. 

Delta Zeta sisters showing their bid day t-shirts

3. "They are all the same" - Absolutely not. Each chapter is so incredibly unique because each chapter is made up of different girls. The only things that remain consistent from chapter to chapter is the respective values and traditions each individual sorority upholds. Yes, some sororities and chapters wear matching outfits during recruitment season or during a special time of year but the sole purpose of that is to be identified as unit, a group, a sorority - not because we are all identical clones of one another.

Alpha Omicron Pi sisters and campus rep KateLynn Dotson

4. "Daddy must pay for everything" - First, I would like to speak from my own experience - I have worked full or close to full time throughout my entire college career which, at this point, is going on 5 years. I have always been an extremely independent person and I would never rely on my parents to support my extra curricular activities or anything else in my life, I'm 22 years old. With that being said, I know hundreds of sorority women and fraternity gentlemen who are also working their way through college to pay for not only their chapter dues but their basic needs as well. 

5. "You pay for your friends" - I hear this one the most and it was no shock to me that I heard it again when asking non-Greeks how they feel about Greek life. Let me lay this out for you, any Greek organization is exactly that, an organization. You have to pay a membership fee for a variety of organizations so does that mean you're paying for your friends in organizations such as the environment club or colleges against cancer? No. Each chapter has a set amount of dues, a portion stays local to support the chapter and a portion goes to their national board to support their efforts. If your chapter has a house, there are house dues to pay as well for regular house maintenance. When I paid my first set of dues I didn't automatically have 100 new best friends. Friendships, like everything in life, take time and effort. It takes time to form those deep connections and no amount of money could ever "pay" for that. 

Kappa Tau Epsilon sisters, Olivia, Nicole, and Kaitlyn (me!) - bonding at a formal event

6. "You will never get a "real world" job being in a Greek organization" - This misconception really threw me for a loop because being Greek has taught me so much more about myself than I could have ever imagined. I've learned and polished my time management skills, social skills, speaking skills, marketing skills, conflict resolving skills, team building skills, team work skills, and the list could go on. My point is that being Greek has given me and many others the opportunity throughout college to work together for a common goal. Isn't that what the "real world" is all about? In my personal opinion, being Greek has been more beneficial for me than anything else I've done in my life thus far. By the time I graduate I will have almost 4 years of "real world" experience working in my career field and about the same being involved in Greek life serving on different boards and committees - the two paired together sound like a dynamic duo if you ask me. 

Greek Statistics

7. "Greeks don't care about their grades" - Each chapter sets a GPA minimum that each member must at least maintain to remain active in their chapter. In addition, each chapter sets a minimum amount of study hours that must be completed each semester. Greeks are serious about their grades and it shows as statistics have proven that individuals in Greek life have, on average, .15 grade point markings higher than those who are not affiliated with Greek life.

8. "Greeks have no respect for their universities or community" - Each chapter sets a minimum amount of philanthropy hours that must be completed each semester in order to maintain active membership. Those philanthropic endeavors can be completed either on campus, in the community, or on a regional level. We strive to give back to what surrounds us as much as possible.

Kappa Tau Epsilon sisters participating in Tau Kappa Epsilon's Zombie Run For Reagan Philanthropy Event

Campus rep Brooke Benson and her littles at Leigh Valley's Kidney Walk

Panhellenic Women from Central Michigan University volunteering at a mobile food pantry - featuring one of our campus reps, Lucie Sertich

9. " Greeks live and breath by Total Frat Move (TFM) and Total Sorority Move (TSM)" - Both websites are intended for fun and fun only. What is stated on those websites are by no means what each person in Greek life lives by. 

10. "Greeks act like they love each other but really they all hate each other" - I can't speak for everyone at every university but I'll speak for the Greeks at my university. My university has a small Greek population with three IFC Fraternities and three NPC Sororities making us a very tight knit bunch. I'll share a short, tragic story from this past year to hopefully give you a better idea of just how close we all are. Within a matter of two weeks a Tau Kappa Epsilon alumni passed away and a brother of Phi Kappa Tau lost his battle with cancer. This hit our community hard, not because we all knew the individuals or because we were very close with either of the gentlemen but because they're part of our Greek family. I've never been more proud to say I belong to a group of people than I was in that moment when we all came together to support and help those suffering the most from the losses. The best way that I could possibly explain it is we're like literal brothers and sisters, we may have disagreements and not see eye to eye but at the end of the day we're always there for each other. 

Saginaw Valley State University Greek Life Fall 2013

The point I'm attempting to make is that being involved with Greek life is much more than what it's "cracked" up to be. This goes back to how the media portrays Greek life because from an outside perspective, that is really all you see. Do a lot of girls and guys in Greek organizations fit the "stereotype", sure but a lot of girls and guys who are NOT in Greek life also fit the "stereotype". Not every chapter is a cookie cutter and not every organization is 100% perfect, nothing in life ever is. Along with all the decorated paddles, the mixers, and the formals there is hard work, dedication, and integrity that goes in to being Greek. If you're considering going Greek I strongly encourage it because I can promise it will be one of the most rewarding things you ever do in life. If you're not, I hope this post helped to debunk some of the common misconceptions associated with Greek life.

XOX & LP,
Kaitlyn

Getting Involved With Your Sorority Without Being a Leader

Holding a leadership position in a sorority is a great resume booster--but not everyone who is involved in sorority life has a nice title to back it up. Sometimes you are just you and that is okay. You can still be involved in your sorority without being a "leader" holding a chair position or being on exec board is nice, but you can be a leader in many different ways. Here are some ways that you can get involved without holding a leadership position.

1. Participate in a dance

2. Play intramurals

3. Cheer at intramural games

4. Help paint a banner

5. Be a door greeter for alumni at an event

6. Be attentive during chapter meetings

7. Ask questions during chapter meetings to clarify things your sisters are confused or concerned about

8. Get to know a new or old member

9. Help raise money for your sorority by participating in fundraisers and philanthropy events

10. Be a good face for your chapter by going to your classes and being a great person

11. Raise a motion in meeting

12. Comfort a sister in need

Image from Lilly & Letters

13. Get a little sister

14. Hang out with your big/little sister

15. Be an example for younger and older members alike

16. Attend a tailgate

17. Go to events your sisters are a part of

18. Get involved with activities outside of your chapter

19. Show your sorority pride to anyone who will listen

20. Wear your letters with dignity an respect

These may seem an awful lot like being a good member--the important thing to realize is that simple tasks are getting involved. By volunteering to help hold doors or paint that banner you are helping your sorority out in the long run. Attending the events that you can go to and cheering on your sisters along the way is important. If everyone realized that all the small things they do help the chapter out people would get more excited to do the small things.

Next time your chapter needs a volunteer or as a game and you can help or attend--do so. Obviously you have a life, you can't do every single thing--but you can help out to the best of your ability. Start realizing that the small things you do matter as much as the things that people with leadership positions do. What you do matters more than you think.

Apply to be a Little Problems Campus Representative!

Little Problems is seeking new campus representatives at this very moment. If you would like to join the ranks of these sorority women all across the country that are coming together to do amazing things come on and join us.

Campus Representatives come from all of the US. We are at different stages of our sorority careers, and we love Little Problems! Little Problems is a non-profit organization that seeks to spread the word about the bond that bigs/littles have as well as to help our chosen philanthropy the Wounded Warrior Project. WWP holds a special place in our heart.

If you want to join the ranks of this amazing organization check out the application here.

Need a little more convincing? Little Problems Blog has spotlighted many of our amazing campus reps over time, and we have many more spotlights to come. Check out those spotlights here.

We hope that many of you all decide to apply to be a Little Problems Campus Rep! We would love to expand on to your campus!

Switching to Fall Formal Recruitment

This year my school decided to change our recruitment up a little bit. In previous years we had spring formal recruitment or deferred recruitment. This meant that students with less than 12 hours could not go through any form of recruitment formal or informal until their second semester of college. This gave students a chance to get themselves situated on campus for an entire semester and make friends outside and inside of Greek life before they decided to join.

Don't you love fall? Photo found here.

The decision to switch to a different time of recruitment was based on a lot of factors. Numbers played a role because ultimately people were very excited to join in the fall and so it's important to catch those people before they decided not to join. By switching to fall formal recruitment we gained about 100+ potential new members at the start of formal recruitment from the numbers we had the previous spring. This made all the classes of new members much larger than they would have been if we had done spring formal recruitment.

It wasn't an easy switch though. There were many questions that came along with it such as grade point averages, the size of the classes, and the switch in general. It wasn't easy financially because of the fact that we had to prepare for back to back formal recruitments. It wasn't easy mentally because that is a lot to go through for a class that has just been initiated a few months back, or for the classes that had to go through two formal recruitments on the sorority side in a row.

Ultimately it was well worth it in the end. Was it difficult/nerve-wracking/hard to deal with? Yes. Was it amazing/lovely/earth-shakingly great? Yes. As organizations we have to be willing to move and shake with the times. It was definitely a hard thing to deal with, but in the end I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.

Photo credit to my lovely sister, Christina H.

Finally, my advice to you if your school is planning to switch to formal recruitment in the fall: go for it. It can seem daunting or nerve-wracking but it is honestly such a great experience. The transition is going to be an icky time period but the ends will justify the means in this situation!

How To: Recruitment Edition!

This month’s craft project comes straight from our formal recruitment. Our recruitment chair decided that because of the mold incident (our campus decided to turn off the AC in our Greek Village resulting in mold growing EVERYWHERE. It ruined everything) we would have to make all the preference night decorations. She passed around sign up sheets at the meeting and I thought that making “puff-balls” couldn’t be too bad. Well, I thought wrong. We had to make 30 of the suckers. In all honesty, they are actually super simple to make, just not when you’re making 30 of them in one sitting.

To start, you need a package of tissue paper in whatever color you want (we went with white), a stapler, scissors, and lots of patience. Grab the package of tissue paper and count out 8 sheets.

Take those 8 sheets and fold them accordion style. When you’ve got it all folded cut off any excess, if there is any.

Next, staple the middle of the paper. I folded it in half to figure out exactly where the middle was.

Then, cut the edges. The ‘puff-balls’ look weird if you leave the edges uncut plus they’re easier to fluff later.

 

HUGE CRAFTING TIP: if you can do a little extra work now to make it easer later, DO IT. You’d be surprised how easily things go when you get the hard work out early on.

When we cut the edges, we made them either pointed or rounded. After you cut the edges it is time for fluffing! And yes, I mean exactly what you’re thinking when you hear ‘fluffing’.

Once you get the ‘puff-balls’ fluffed you can hang them by tying a piece of rope around the center part to whatever you want to hang them from!

 

Website Spotlight: Craft Cuts

Hey ladies! How have we all been the past few weeks? I hope recruitment has been going great, and I want to give a huge congratulations to all of the new member classes that we've all had the chance to take on this Fall semester!

Today, we're doing something a little different from my usual how-to. Since initiation is just around the corner for some of you, I'd like to share with you a great website that my mother found while browsing the internet one day. She had been looking for a present to get me over the summer, something she knew I'd appreciate and would last me a while to come.

Wooden Greek Letters.

If you'll remember correctly, most of us have large, Greek letters, something creative and cute to show off at events and rituals. You may remember that they look a little something like this:

Aww, lookit how cute, letters~

I'm sure that jogs your memory. I'm sure we've all posed in front of our letters and held them up, proud to display the letters that we wear across our chests and across our hearts. And, though many of us may have gotten these done by a carpenter, or someone we know, or some other hole-in-the-wall place that many of us, collectively, may have never heard of, I'm here to tell you that there's a place where you are get all of this and more for a cheaper price than you'd expect.

It's a website called Craft Cuts.

My mom should have been particularly proud of her self when she found this one. Craft Cuts is a division of a company called Woodland Manufacturing Inc. that specializes in craft lettering and shapes, small Greek letters, custom stencils, and decorative vinyl designs. Of their products, which specifically include unpainted and painted wooden letters. When ordering, you can specify a size and a width, ranging from  6inches in height to 48inches and 1/8inches in width to 2inches. They're incredibly easy to order from and have a lot to choose from. Their customer service is fast and friendly and they know what we want.

Shown below are various examples of purchases that my sisters and I have made over the past couple of months since using their website:

A set of portable letters my roommate made for tables and club fair.

A small set of letters, 6inch height and 1/4inch width, for a crate for my Little.
There were painted by the manufacturer and sent to me this way.

1 1/2inch thick and 9inch high, these are perfect for the window of my suite.

Each set of letters has been a great addition to my crafting collection as a whole. They're so convenient to have around (I buy them in sets at a time), and they're sturdy and made to last. I cannot tell you how often I've dropped the bottom set, or how often the letters on the crate get shoved into a wall while hiding it from potential littles.

As far as pricing goes, they're reasonable and cheap. Including shipping, I paid $15 for an unpainted set of 6inch letters, similar to the ones in the middle picture. My roommate paid $35 for the ones on the top, a 14inch height with a 1/4inch width.

Not only does Craft Cuts sell Greek letters, they also sell the English alphabet, stencils, vinyl wall decals, and carved monograms. On top of their painted, patterned, and unpainted finishes, Craft Cuts also sells letters made specifically for the outdoors, starting at $12 before shipping.

Craft Cuts is one of the best finds I've made since sliced bread. It has everything I could need as a demanding sorority girl and has given the answers needed to every #sororityproblem I've ever had. This site, along with Little Problems, has been the answer to many "What Am I Gonna Do For My Little?????" themed questions.

I hope everything has been going well for us all, and I hope you'll continue to follow us here at the Little Problems Blog! We love to have your smiling faces here everyday, and nothing will stop us from bringing you the best of our best. Again, congratulations to all of the new members of Greek life and a happy Bid Day to all of those to come!

Sorority Newsletter Ideas

As Correspondence chair of my sorority I am responsible for writing monthly newsletters to the chapter. As I have gone through my time as Correspondence chair I have picked up a number of ideas on newsletter making.

Pick a newsletter development platform:

Two of my favorites are Mailchimp and Microsoft Publisher. Use Mailchimp if you want kind of an e-newsletter format that anyone can subscribe to. It has a pretty simple to learn and use format and up to 2,000 people can join your list which is perfect for any chapter. Use Microsoft Publisher if you are making newsletters with multiple pages of information. I use Microsoft Publisher to make all my newsletters.

What to put in your newsletter:

Newsletters are the perfect way to keep your chapter up to date with what is going on with the chapter. Here are a couple of ideas on what to include in your sorority newsletter:

1. Sister Spotlights: If you have a particularly big sisterhood, or even a smaller one sisterhood spotlights are great! You can just include facts about their hometown, major/minor, why they chose to Go Greek, their favorite memory of Greek life, and an interesting fact about them.

2. Stories about sorority happenings: I got my sisters to write small articles about our sisterhood and submit creative works to the newsletter that they wrote about the sorority.

3. Question of the month: To get more input from sisters I asked a question each month and asked my sisters to send in responses. I tried to make them themed to the month we were in and ended up being a super cool thing.

4. Pictures: I usually make a two page spread with just pictures on it. I use all kinds of pictures from all the months happenings. If their is a sisterhood, a picture is up. Recruitment? Tons of pictures. Just show your sorority doing awesome things.

Distributing the newsletter:

I wanted to make the newsletter viewable to more than just my sisterhood. From alumnae to potential new members--newsletters are the perfect way to show what your sisterhood is made of. I use a site called Scribd to share my newsletters. It allows me to share them publicly to everyone--anyone can download them and print them off if they please, but I don't distribute copies of them in meetings.

If you would like to see some of my newsletters click here, they are all on Scribd and anyone can view them.

Living in a Sorority House

Believe me when I say, the last place I ever wanted to live was in a house with 65 other girls. I never saw myself living in any type of all girls establishment, but after living in one for about a month now, I cannot begin to explain to joy I get from living here.

Unity

Living in the sorority house, has made me realize how many girls I may not have made friendships with if I had chosen to get an apartment. For the most part, we all get along extremely well and enjoy each other's company. There are always girls in the dining room studying, rummaging the kitchen pantry for food before our house mom locks the kitchen for the night, or a group having a Keeping Up With the Kardashians marathon in the TV room. So many of us have become better friends from just being able to walk into another girls room and talk about random things. 

Food 

You know I have to bring this up. THE FOOD IS SO GOOD. It's like having a homemade meal right in front of you without actually having to cook it. What is better than that? Not to mention, everyone in the chapter comes for lunch and dinner. Fried Fridays?? You don't have to tell me twice. 

Convenience 

I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the fact that I have 60 other closets to raid when I need something to wear. What sorority girl do you know that is completely satisfied with her clothes in her closet?? Exactly. 

Another fabulously convenient thing about living in the house is rush workshop. I will admit, I would rather sleep until the very last minute and look not so great. (I mean my sisters have to love me regardless, right?!) Anyways, I loved being able to legitimately roll out of bed, throw some yogas and a T-shirt and go down stares three minutes before roll call. 

Obviously, every school is different. Some don't have sorority houses to live in, but if your school does, make sure and live in the house! 

Time Management 101: Dealing with Schedule Constraints

Being in a sorority is hard work. Amid sorority meetings, intramurals, socials, and library hours there is a ton of other things. You have the obvious--school, the not so obvious like a job or other extra-curriculars, and you have that pesky thing called sleep that you have to pencil in from time to time. It can be difficult, painstaking, and generally not a lot of fun. You have to learn time-management skills and I am here to give you a crash course in Time Management 101.

1. Use a planner: A sorority girls number one accessory besides her favorite pearl bracelet should be her planner. Planners are absolutely essential in college. Buy a Lilly Pulitzer one, or one out of the dollar bin--it doesn't matter. As long as there is a nice place, with a calendar, that can help you see into the future it's perfect. Once you buy the planner, be sure to use the planner. That may be a dumb thing to emphasize, but planners are nothing if you don't use them.

2. Start the year off organized: One of the biggest things is to start the year off in an organized fashion. Courses are usually back-loaded (meaning most assignments are due at the end), if you are organized from the beginning it becomes a habit and habits help you stay focused throughout the year.

3. Remember to prioritize: Pick a night (usually Sunday night) to sit down and take a serious look at the week ahead. See what's coming up in school, work, and with your student organizations and plan around that. Also take some time to look at the next week and really see what is happening long term as well as short term. That way if you have a test you need to start preparing for now you know this and can start doing what you need to do to get great grades.

4. Remember you are a student first: The scholarships you receive aren't going to evaluate your involvement and dedication to Greek life in order to be renewed. Remember that good grades are important to school life as well as Greek life. You need a certain GPA to stay in school and in your sorority.

5. Exercise your right to say no: Even during the new member process you have a right to say no to things. Taking on responsibilities is wonderful but be aware of how much responsibility you are taking on. Someone may be able to do the job better because they don't have as many responsibilities so make sure you take only what you can handle.

I hope this time management lesson was helpful for all the people who are just joining college and Greek life. For all the older sorority member what is your favorite time management tip?

How to: Make a Paddle!

Nine times out of ten, when I go to craft something, I have a clear view of what I want the finished product to look like. There are always some minor adjustments along the way, because let's be honest, my mind imagines things that can’t always be done. Of course, this project was furthest from the truth. 

The supplies you need for any paddle are very simple. I have a tendency to use paper and modge podge instead of painting but that’s only because I make stick art look hard. You can buy everything you need at your local craft store and probably for cheaper than I got it. The paddle that I use is from Michaels. Really, other than the paddle you only need a couple of things if you use paper like I did. I picked this beautiful gold glitter cardstock and got regular modge podge and glitter modge podge to go with it. I also bought two wooden ovals and stick on letters to use for her name. Everything cost me under $20.

The before picture.

Using my paper cutter, I cut the cardstock into manageable strips and began to modge podge them onto the paddle. This is the tricky part; you want to use a lot more than you think. And by that I mean drench the paper and paddle in modge podge. Only drench it if you’re using cardstock like I did. If its normal scrapbook paper then you’ll have a way easier time. I got the middle part done fine and pretty quickly too. Now this is where I started to run into MAJOR issues. The cardstock I chose was just too thick to fold over the rounded parts of the paddle.

The process of adding card stock to the paddle.

I decided to take a trip back to Michaels to see if they had anything similar to what I used but in a thinner paper. I was in luck, I found something that could work, it wouldn’t be perfect but it would work. When you use the thinner paper, you work around the curves much like you would when wrapping a gift. I left the paddle to dry and came back about 10 minutes later to finish it. Of course, as soon as I left one of my sisters accidentally dropped her project onto my drying paddle. It was COVERED in bright pink paint. By the time I got back, there was no saving it.

While attempting not to cry over spilt paint, I painted one of the wooden ovals blue and then covered it in glitter modge podge (which by the way is amazing). I put her initials on it and set that aside to dry.

Cute wooden oval for the paddle.

I had to do something about the pink paint that covered the top half of my paddle. It luckily got mainly on the new paper that I had just added. I remembered that I had a ton of gold glitter in my craft box and decided to make it work. To remove the old paper from the paddle, you’ve got to pull it off and then sand the paddle down. This is really important because if you don’t, it won’t go on flat and the paddle surface will be uneven. 

Thick modge podge layers.

Once I covered the rest of the paddle in glitter, I put a thick (and I mean THICK) layer of modge podge over it to seal it down. Don’t skip this step. If you do, then I hope you like living covered in glitter. The next morning, the paddle was dry and my suite mate was overjoyed to have it!

The finished product!

Quote of the Week: August 29, 2013

"We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."

Going into my senior year and examining my life, I know the beginning of this quote well.  I don't have it all together, I don't know what type of job I will have when I graduate.  I don't know where I will be, what I will be doing, or who I will be with, and right now I am okay with that.  I know that I will get it all together, usually at the last minute. I also know that whatever happens, my sisters will have my back.  They are the connections that can help me get a job, or the friends I will have when my job causes me to move to a new city.  Whether these girls come from my chapter or afar, none of us have it all together, but together we will have it all.

XOXO- Taylor S

Welcome to the Little Problems Blog!

We are so excited to introduce the latest endeavor of Little Problems. This blog is dedicated to helping you! We want you to be the best you can be when it comes to big/little, formal recruitment, and everything Greek life. With the help of our amazing team of bloggers we are here to give you all the advice you need to know!

Being Greek is important to the members of Little Problems. We have all been there and done that and we want to offer you the blog we wished we had when we went through recruitment and first joined our sororities. We don't want to be pigeonholed though because we will offer tons of advice for even the most seasoned Sorority pro!

On a consistent Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday timeline you will see posts from our amazing line up of bloggers; Campus Reps Amanda Cross, Amanda Ramirez, Christine Cassimus, Karlee Nuttelman, Morgan Miller, Samantha Bender, and Taylor Stewart will give you ideas on all aspects of Greek Life and give you some insights into the wonderful world of Little Problems!

On Tuesdays we'd love to hear from you! Contact Amanda C. at amandac.litprobs@gmail.com to pitch guest posts! We'd love to feature your work on this blog because it is all about collaboration!

We are so excited to take this journey into blog-land with you!

Love in Little Problems,
The Little Problems Blog Team