I actually stayed in a sorority house for a few days in 1987. I kid you not.
I was an undergraduate in England at the time and, the preceding year, I'd made friends with two American exchange students, who had been staying in the same residence as me.
I ended up going to visit them towards the end of the summer. My visit coincided with the start of (their) new academic year. As they both lived in the sorority house, that's where I ended up staying, at least for a few days.
To my British mind, the whole sorority / fraternity experience was an incredibly bizarre one, and I'm sure that I only got a very partial glimpse of what really goes on!
The house I was in was actually made up of small apartments -- four I think, though my memory could be failing me here. I remember each had its own kitchen, and one or two bedrooms. And the girls / young women shared, two to each bedroom. Not all the sorority members lived in the house. (And one of those that did got done for using a fake ID while I was there, but I think, maybe, that's another story...)
While I was there, I visited two fraternity houses, and I found these utterly fascinating. The lads seemed to live more communally, in that there would be lots of guys sharing one kitchen, living room etc.
One of these houses was a fairly new build, if I remember correctly.
The other was an older house -- big and rambling, and I absolutely adored it. The frat boy's had beds all over the place, including in the most amazing cubby-holes built into the walls. There were loft beds, and all sorts. And all the rooms seemed to bleed into one another. It was a fabulous maze of a house, one I'm guessing that had originally been built in the late 19th / early 20th century. Big porch. Nice yard. Lovely.
If there was a no-go area in any of these houses for non-members, I didn't notice / don't remember.
I do remember a gin and juice party, which was held early on a Sunday morning. I still can't quite get over the idea of holding a party at seven or eight a.m. AND with alcohol. (ML, I also spent my student days studying, and I found this experience rather difficult to process!) This was at one of the frat houses. I rather gathered that fraternities and sororities would party together.
I seem to remember that, while the sororities and fraternities held events to 'advertise' themselves to freshmen, 'rush' was later in the year. Students weren't allowed to join until at least their second semester or their second year. I don't remember which. Certainly, freshmen weren't allowed to 'try out' for the sororities as soon as they got to the university.
I talked to my friends about the whole Greek thing, and I tried to understand the system, but I never really 'got' it. They certainly found value in it, loving the idea of the close bonds they formed with their 'sisters'.
The official line was that the sorority I was visiting didn't go in for hazing, but they seemed to have some kind of initiation ritual they wouldn't speak about. They also seemed to require that the sisters maintained certain academic standards. (I can't verify; this is just what I was told.)
Me? I'm really happy we didn't have anything similar where I studied as an undergraduate! My friends loved it. I just thought it very, very weird. But, I guess, that's the joys of being from different cultures. Still, I'm glad I had that very quick glimpse into another way of student life.
Krissie
