As formal recruitment approaches September 13-15 for the Panhellenic sororities on campus, it may have many potential new members wondering if all the misconceptions of sorority life are true.

The reasoning behind joining a sorority seems to be the same across the board, wanting to make friends in a new and scary environment like college. 

Through sorority life, girls are able to build social skills through networking with alumni that can help assist them in the working world. Having to go to events also helps build a professional wardrobe that makes entering the working field easier. 

“It gave me a lot of job and internship opportunities. It also has helped me become better at speaking in front of a big group of people and how I communicate through emails. It has made me more professional” said Kat Nguyen third-year at SF State and member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. 

SFSU sorority life is different from other campuses, there does seem to be more diversity amongst them. 

“On our campus, sorority life is very small compared to other schools… Ours is really diverse, especially in Alpha Gamma Delta there are women of different colors, ethnicities, and races. Everyone has their own religions but we can all pitch in with our culture and it makes sororities stand out more” said Nguyen. 

Movies and television shows in the past have misconstrued what sorority life actually is. Making it look like they force girls to drink and pressure them to look a certain way. 

“There are stereotypes because it’s a bunch of girls getting together and I think social media portrays us as girls who pay for their friends or are just partying. I don’t believe in that [stereotype] and I don’t think anybody should until they go through it” says Nguyen. 

A continual stereotype is that the girls are all spoiled, privileged, and their parents pay for everything. 

Third-year Lindsey Benson, a member of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority said, “I know that I pay for my own dues and my roommate does as well… Last year I worked two jobs and a big reason was for my sorority but I don’t regret it in the slightest” said Benson. 

Over the years there have been many stereotypes that have made sorority life to look superficial and a way of “buying your friends”. But SF State’s sorority life haven proven to their members that it has positively impacted the college experience by giving them a plethora of opportunities and a way to build positive connections with other women.