This fall to my surprise and no one else's, I joined a sorority. After a tedious rush process that I calculated took up 36 hours of my life, I finally joined a house. Although sorority rush is unquestionably worse, there are some definite benefits in belonging to a sorority as opposed to a fraternity.
One of the most obvious benefits is the lack of a pledge period. Despite the convenience of being able to recognize my boyfriend from 200 yards away by the ugly, puffy, blue foam hunting hat he had to wear, I am grateful I didn't have to wear anything similar.
All fall I was a silent observer of the various pledge requirements but recently I have been possessed by an uncontrollable urge to comment. Now, as we are in between pledge classes I feel at liberty to do so.
For instance, every time I saw a Theta Delt pledge last fall I wanted to say to him "Cool, I've been thinking about getting the new Friends 'do also." Another example is the way in which I admirably restrained myself from asking the SAE carrying around the giant pencil "is that a pencil in your hand or are you just lonely?"
One of my favorite pledge accessories were the Chi Gam signs. These were great because I never had to worry about forgetting names. Unfortunately, the pledges get rid of them in the winter and now I'm stuck referring to them as "Hey you" for the next three years. The Psi U uniform was undoubtedly one of the worst pledge requirements. For an entire term these boys were denied their khakis and oxfords and had to survive in jeans and sweatshirts -- no wonder pledge term is referred to as hell.
The Heorots had it comparatively easy. They only had to endure a few days of social isolation when the noxious fumes of their unwashed pledge shirts finally made them impossible to approach. I would conjecture that the AXA hats are probably one of the most practical forms of pledge wear; not only do they identify the male as an AXA, but they can also double as hunting gear. Then of course there is Sig Ep. Sig Ep doesn't have a pledge period, kind of the like the sororities -- hmm ...
The Zete backpacks and AD lunchboxes are somewhat similar. Through the use of Disney, Barbie and the color pink, both houses attempted to make grown men look like little girls -- or in the ADs' case, like little girls with mustaches.
Finally there is Phi Delt. No one knows exactly what went on during Phi Delt's pledge period, but it is rumored to have been horrible. In addition it was accompanied 24 hours a day by loud obnoxious music that some suggested was to drown out the screaming.
I do realize I have skipped Tri Kap, Sigma Nu and Bones Gate but it's been over eight months since they rushed, and it's hard to remember. Lastly, the frats are an important part of Dartmouth, and pledge period is an important part of the frats -- but remember, you are supposed to laugh.
Why else would anyone carry around a three foot-long pencil?
