What Sorority Truly Means

Council Connections – February 2016

By National Vice President Erika McManus Bukva, Delta Rho

My 7-year-old and 9-year-old boys hear the word “sorority” all the time. Very few weeks go by without a sorority conference call, or Mom leaving after dinner for an alumnae chapter event. The boys have sorority “cousins” all over the East Coast who we are lucky to see often. My youngest was my date to our alumnae chapter anniversary celebration a few years ago. They’ve absorbed the subliminal message that green and gold go well together, and I hope I am modeling for them that it’s important to find fulfillment outside of family life through service and friendship. Sorority is part of my kids’ worlds, but not something we talk about directly.

So I asked them what they thought “sorority” meant. Owen, the second grader, is reliably blunt and said sorority was “a bunch of people that have meetings and go to each other’s houses and talk, and talk … and talk and talk.” His older brother, Evan, has a little more perspective: “A girl company that does things for the world.”

Of course his answer fills me with pride. I’m glad he recognizes that sororities are for women, that it is one of our defining features. At school, his class pretends to operate as a toy company to work together, each with a different role, to practice accomplishing shared goals. So he understands what’s behind ΑΣΤs contributing their share to the progress of mankind.

Their responses are very different from a common perception of sororities. We all know the stereotypes; one doesn’t have to look far for a movie or television show that perpetuates them. As members, we know the value of our Sisterhood and the gifts it has bestowed: personal development, unique experiences, guiding values, lifelong friendship. Yet many times, ΑΣΤs tell me they never thought about joining a sorority because they weren’t or aren’t a “typical sorority girl”.

The sorority women I know are dependable and organized, driven and caring. Some are incredibly successful in their careers and some are devoted to improving their communities or the world. Some are raising a family in an always-changing society. Some are traveling the world, experiencing different cultures and adventures. Some have committed to sharing their lives with beloved partners. Most of them are doing many of these things simultaneously! But all of the Alpha Sigma Taus I know value the same things: belief in our Creed and the pursuit of excellence.  These are “typical” sorority women.

I’m lucky to know these women and grateful to ΑΣΤ for bringing us together. By wearing the letters of Alpha Sigma Tau, I’m associated with so many sisters that I admire.  Being a typical sorority woman is not something to be ashamed of. Don’t sell the sorority experience short by using language that associates sorority membership with something negative or distasteful. Be proud and vocal about what ΑΣΤ has brought to your life, and strive to be a positive representation of our Sisterhood that “does things for the world”!