2008 Woodie Awards
I don't need a label; I'm me
By: Diana Edmonson
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Opinion
Am I a Theta? A Kappa? A Pi Phi? What does each one signify? If I am an Alpha Phi, what does that say about me? Does membership in one make me better than someone in another? What if I end up in a house I don't like? Worse yet, what if I don't get into the house I want? All these questions have certainly been buzzing through the brains of this year's rush participants over the last few weeks. As one of those participants, I will openly admit that those questions were only a fraction of the ones I had.
Well, the good news is, it's all done. Rush is over, and now everyone has been thrown into the piles of T-shirts, pictures and crazy outfits that make up DePauw's greek community. Everyone has been neatly tucked into the sorority or fraternity that best fits their personality and is perfectly happy and content with where they are. As promised, rush works out exactly how it is supposed to for everyone involved. Right?
I don't think it's quite so simple. Even if everyone landed into his or her version of Barbie's college dream house, it would be nearly impossible to say no one's ego, feelings or confidence were bruised along the way. "Meetings" - which you thought went well - may have excluded you from the house's "A list," and you are clueless as to why. Then you start questioning, "Were they just faking enjoying my company the entire time I was talking to them?" or "Do I really suck that bad in social situations?" If nothing else, you wildly wonder what was said about you behind closed doors.
Even upperclassmen in houses will tell you that rush is excruciating, but since it's necessary for the continuation of the house, everyone participates. In a way, it's a highly developed and closely monitored high school popularity contest - but for college. Only in this contest, we stand outside in heels with goose bumps creeping up our legs. Now, I am not saying that only the popular get into sororities or fraternities, but that everyone is evaluated according to standards set up by the house, just like a "new kid" would be evaluated by a new group of friends. One of the main concerns is who will fit in and who won't.
But what about those that don't fit into the dimensions of any house? I know plenty of amazing girls who feel like outsiders in their house, or dropped out of rush because they felt like they wouldn't fit into the choices they were left with. Of course, the arguments could be made that they will learn to love their house, or that greek life isn't for them. It's unfortunate that their evaluations were based on a couple of five-minute conversations.
We should not be defined by the results of these quick conversations. Even if we feel like we fit perfectly into the house we belong to, our identity is not dyed into the colors of our shirts or the letters we wear on our chest. I am more than an Alpha Chi, a Kappa or a Delta Gamma. I had an identity outside those words before I signed my name in a book. And so did you.
Well, the good news is, it's all done. Rush is over, and now everyone has been thrown into the piles of T-shirts, pictures and crazy outfits that make up DePauw's greek community. Everyone has been neatly tucked into the sorority or fraternity that best fits their personality and is perfectly happy and content with where they are. As promised, rush works out exactly how it is supposed to for everyone involved. Right?
I don't think it's quite so simple. Even if everyone landed into his or her version of Barbie's college dream house, it would be nearly impossible to say no one's ego, feelings or confidence were bruised along the way. "Meetings" - which you thought went well - may have excluded you from the house's "A list," and you are clueless as to why. Then you start questioning, "Were they just faking enjoying my company the entire time I was talking to them?" or "Do I really suck that bad in social situations?" If nothing else, you wildly wonder what was said about you behind closed doors.
Even upperclassmen in houses will tell you that rush is excruciating, but since it's necessary for the continuation of the house, everyone participates. In a way, it's a highly developed and closely monitored high school popularity contest - but for college. Only in this contest, we stand outside in heels with goose bumps creeping up our legs. Now, I am not saying that only the popular get into sororities or fraternities, but that everyone is evaluated according to standards set up by the house, just like a "new kid" would be evaluated by a new group of friends. One of the main concerns is who will fit in and who won't.
But what about those that don't fit into the dimensions of any house? I know plenty of amazing girls who feel like outsiders in their house, or dropped out of rush because they felt like they wouldn't fit into the choices they were left with. Of course, the arguments could be made that they will learn to love their house, or that greek life isn't for them. It's unfortunate that their evaluations were based on a couple of five-minute conversations.
We should not be defined by the results of these quick conversations. Even if we feel like we fit perfectly into the house we belong to, our identity is not dyed into the colors of our shirts or the letters we wear on our chest. I am more than an Alpha Chi, a Kappa or a Delta Gamma. I had an identity outside those words before I signed my name in a book. And so did you.
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Vegetarian
posted 2/09/08 @ 5:21 AM EST
You cannot let those around you, define you. The country that Albert Einstein was from, had decided that he was better off being dead. That said, you are in the best place for you to learn what you need to learn. (Continued…)
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