By Addison Burke, Sports Editor

If you were to ask Nov. 2021 me who was studying at a different university about my opinions on sororities, I would have told you that they are cool, and that I love being in one. Ask me again in May 2022, I would have told you that it was the worst experience of my life, and it is part of the reason I decided to transfer.

Going into my first year of college, I was really worried about making friends and finding my community. I went into college very anti-joining a sorority, as I had those stereotypes of sororities that everyone else does because of “Bama Rush Tok.” 

My dad somehow convinced me to go through the recruitment process, his hope being I would find my people and something to be involved in. The recruitment and rush process were interesting to say the least, but it was also really lonely as it didn’t feel like any of the groups wanted me. Even when I did get a bid for one of the groups, I still wasn’t sure how to feel and if this was really something I wanted to be a part of. 

As the semester went on and I had the chance to get to know some of the girls in the group, I became more comfortable with being a part of a sorority and I even had some friends. The fall semester was good, but the spring semester was a whole other story. 

I somehow managed to end up with a position on the e-board as a freshman, and this was the start of the downward spiral. I was tasked with planning our biggest philanthropy event of the year. I had about four weeks to do so. Strike one. I brought up the idea of moving it to the coming fall semester because I didn’t want to plan a bad event, but this made the seniors mad as they wouldn’t get to be a part of it. Strike two.

In the spring semester, I moved onto the group’s floor in a different dorm building (we didn’t have sorority houses since it was a small school) and I regret that idea every time I think back on it. At some point, there was a major argument among us on the board, and we also all lived on the floor as well. We were divided into two groups, but I don’t even remember what the argument was about anymore as the fighting itself was that bad. 

I found myself feeling like I was to blame for this division or that no one liked me anymore in the group simply because I was the one trying to resolve the issue. I felt isolated in a group that was supposed to be there to support me. Strike three, I’m out of there!

Don’t even get me started on how much it costs to be in a sorority. 

So, when one asks how I feel about sororities, or adding Greek life to Xavier, my answer is an instant no. Sure, I know this is just my experience and there are plenty of girls across the country that love their sororities.

Unless the university wants to deal with the undeniable drama that comes along with Greek life, enforce Collin’s law to avoid hazing – which still happens even if advocated against – and so much more, the university really needs to rethink this idea and truly consider every single aspect of what it means to bring Greek life to our campus.  

There are positives to a sorority, such as growing leadership skills, building community and raising money and awareness for various philanthropies across the country. But for me, the bad outweighs the good. 

The miserable experience I had in a sorority is a major part of why I transferred out of that school. If an experience is so bad that it made me transfer, this is something the university also needs to consider unless they want enrollment to continue to go down. 

So, no — Greek life is not a good idea here at Xavier. I encourage the university, when the time comes for a decision to be made, to say no to Greek life. There are so many better avenues that the money to develop these groups could go to instead. While I get the effort to be like other schools of our size, it just should not be a thing here, especially in the time we currently live in.