WhΔt GrΣΣk LifΣ is Like for SmΔll TΘwn MΣ
I went through recruitment my freshman year not really knowing what I was getting into but definitely wanting to give Greek Life at OSU a chance. My close friend from home goes here and is a year older in Kappa Kappa Gamma and with her glowing recommendations of the Greek system I had her house in mind as a goal as I met girls and took house tours. I am from Banks, a small rural town that is so unlike Portland in terms of the social scene. I basically hate my hometown/ high school. Sucks to say it, but it was full of very close minded, honestly “hick” people and there is not much to do. When I got to OSU I was opened up to a new world with my dorm friends I met that were mainly from Portland, Seattle area, and Southern California. They had going out clothes, wore lots of Nike and North Face, and wore MAC makeup. My wardrobe embarrassingly was a lot of Abercrombie and American Eagle- a phase most of them went through in MIDDLE school, but my high school had not caught onto yet. Anyway when I went through Go Greek Days, 3 days in the MU where you talk to the different houses’ booths and give them a card with your name on it, I wore such an uglier outfit than everyone else. As a junior in the house, the older girls have told me stories when they remember me as the girl with UGGs, a skirt, and way too much Jergens on. I don’t know how I ended up in such a good house. I ended up choosing AGD on preference night, the night that you have narrowed down or been narrowed down (it’s a mutual selection process) your top two houses and you have dinner and conversation with the girls to make a final pick of what house you want to be in. The next morning everyone assembles in the MU in different rooms and is given a bid card telling you which house you got into. My two “pref” houses were Kappa Kappa Gamma and Alpha Gamma Delta. I chose AGD and they chose me. I had some explaining to do with my friend from home in KKG but it turned out fine and were still very close and it actually turned out in my advantage because now I have my own house of friends, and large group of Kappa friends. Win win.
I chose my sorority based on the girls who were part of it. You meet so many during house tours, Go Greek days, and pref night. During that week you are watching the girls on campus wearing letters like a hawk. It sounds weird, but the girls I met in my sorority were basically the kind of people I wanted to be. I sound creepy. But they were down to Earth, unspoiled, pretty, funny, and happy people who were honestly the group that I wanted to have in college. Coming to college without knowing very people here at OSU, I naturally wanted to find a niche and group to fit into.
I also made my choice based on the aesthetics of the house. It is located on 26th St on Greek Row, compared to KKG which is quite far away from the dorms on 14th St and not by any other Greek houses. I was in the dorms so obviously that was a factor. Not I live on 14th and it’s close to the library and campus, and I have a different perspective on Corvallis than I did my freshman year. Kappas almost swayed my choice with the inside of their house. It is a gorgeous mansion that matches the classic Greek style, with a very modernized interior. They have a lot more alumni support than AGD does, and honestly I like the inside of their house better. It’s bigger and has this really cool hatch up to the roof where they can go up and lay on the roof and tan and enjoy the outdoors. AGD felt homey to me though. It is pretty inside, and has been remodeled twice since I joined with new bathrooms and a newly done dining room and living room. I’ll include a picture of the outside. I’m bad at describing what it looks like. I’m obviously bias toward my own house, but we have the best lawn of all the sororities.
Girls in my sorority introduced me to so many different things. I found it funny at first with the slang- words like “sketch” and “prefunk” have been added to my vocabulary, I can read Greek letters that used to look like gibberish symbols, and my clothing style has evolved quite a lot.
One of the major benefits of being in a sorority is all the people you meet. Its hard to find a class I don’t know at least one person from my house or another sorority or fraternity. When I want to go to the library during finals week and it’s packed, I just write on our Facebook group page and ask who has an open spot at their table. I love the tank tops and sweatshirts we order basically bi-weekly as lame as that seems and a lot of my wardrobe is “letters” aka clothing with AGD on it. The rule of letters is that you cannot be seen smoking or drinking in them. It misrepresents the sorority I guess.
There are plenty of lame drawbacks also. It’s expensive. As a live in my rent was $750 a month. As a live out it is currently $130 a month, plus any costs I add to my house bill like shirts or fines. Fines are hell. Simply. Many other houses don’t fine, which I am jealous of, but we do. For not attending chapter, study tables, philanthropies, recruitment, for leaving cups in the rooms, for not being dry when we are supposed to be, are associated with varying fines. Having to listen to rules so often was a major reason I am a live out. Naturally I don’t like doing house chores with the alternative of being fined 15 dollars is annoying. To get live out was a challenge. I had my doctor write a note saying I’m allergic to the mold in the old house. Lied but I have no regrets, and I can still hang out at the house when I want to.
There have been many times where I have wanted to DA (disassociate) with the house when I am frustrated with a new rule or bothered with having to attend recruitment every day for 6 hours a day the two weeks before school starts. I get a lot less out of it than I did my freshman year. Everything is more exciting for the freshman because they are meeting so many people and the functions and fraternities are all new to them. I made such great friends out of it so far though, and it does feel great to be part of a group. Plus I have bought so many letters I wouldn’t have very many clothes left. (It’s a social faux pas to wear letters as a DA). And at this point I want to get alumni status after having spent so much money on it over these past 3 years. I will be an alumni after paying my final house bill at the end of my senior year. Can’t wait.
I am so glad I went through recruitment freshman year, as intimidating as it was, and found a group of people that I love. It has made my experience at Oregon State so much better than it otherwise would have been, and I am so thankful for the people I have met. I’m also so glad it helped take any of the trashy Banks hick out of me that I had acquired from my high school.
