When I first came to JMU, I went through the recruitment process and I joined a sorority. This was one of the best decisions that I made because I found my lifelong best friends and family. We learn about service, honesty, friendship, compassion, support, and so much more. However, all of Greek life seems to be uneducated on a specific topic, which is the importance of unity among all the organizations. Every year, I attend the same meetings such as Stop the haze, sexual assault awareness, and more. These meetings are definitely necessary and extremely important, but I think the community would be so much stronger if we were educated on the impact of allyship in Greek life.
Through my experience of being in a sorority, I have noticed constant rivalry between the different organizations. Fraternities organize sporting events where the sororities compete for the number one spot. During Greek Sing, we try to chant the loudest and be the best. During sorority recruitment, each organization tries to convince potential new members that they are the best in hopes of getting the “best” new membership class. Almost everything seems to be a competition. It seems like all of these women aim to bring other women down to make themselves the best. There is always an emphasis in sororities that they need to support their sisters and always encourage them to be the best versions of themselves. While this is all very important, don’t you think we should encourage all sororities to build up the members of other sororities? I think it is cruel that women in their late teens and early 20s are taught that it is acceptable to bring others down.
Throughout the past year, I feel like there has been more division than ever before and I believe that with these annual mandatory meetings, we could include awareness and training on building inclusivity within different organizations. If we held meetings that helped strategize allyship, our community would be so much stronger. There would be less judgment towards others, less conflict among these women, and a more connected campus.
So now the question is, how can we redefine sisterhood? Each sorority has values and if we all bring our values together we can work to enforce these values outside of just our own chapter. If we had more support across sororities, we could create a stronger and more inclusive environment that uplifts all women in Greek life. If sororities started working together for philanthropy events, we could bring more awareness to all of our philanthropies to demonstrate the power of unity over competition. Greek organizations could also create a safe space for emotional vulnerability across the chapters which would provide safe spaces for people to find connections. I think as a community, the sororities at JMU could work together and raise awareness on this topic and make an impact on campus that stretches far beyond unity.
We are taught to think that this treatment towards each other is acceptable. Within my own organization, I am always supported and cared for. They are the most amazing group of women, however, we all have the potential to be better. I believe that we should treat all other organizations with the same kindness and respect as we do our own. We have so much potential and I believe we can achieve unity if we raise more awareness.
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