The new
member process is a lengthy time frame that will give you an insight on
sorority life. You get to meet new girls who you get to call your sisters.
You’ll see why that house became your home away from home. However, within the
new member process, a lot of changes can happen. Change can come in the form of
lack of communication, not enough time, and sudden disinterest just to name a
few. Here is a list on why it would be okay to leave your new member period.
It's giving
me a lot of stress/ I have prior commitments that can't be met
No sorority should make a new member feel this way. There
may be stressful moments when you have to do new member education but you have
prior commitments that you need to meet. Everyone has a life outside Greek,
whether you have work, school, or family that you need to tend to, your chapter
needs to understand that. They shouldn't tell you that you have to do something that's causing you to miss those prior events.
Although new member education may seem important, missing an event is not the end of the
world. You need to think if the chapter is worth staying in if it's causing you
a lot of stress, late nights worrying, and not being able to meet your prior
commitments because of "mandatory events", which are in fact
excusable.
No one is reaching
out to me
With a medium sized to large sorority chapter, it is
impossible to meet every girl in chapter and remember them. This is why active
members need to reach out to you and get to know you. They needed to make an
effort into making you feel welcomed in the sorority because it's their job to
help you ease into Greek life and meet new people. If it's a few weeks into
your new member period and you still don't know any active members personally,
it's okay to reevaluate your time to the chapter. You shouldn't spend so much
money and time on sisters that can't make time to get to know you.
I don't like
the image my sorority is portraying
It's understandable if you feel this way because it's almost
as if you see their true colors behind all the glitz and glamour of
recruitment. One night can make you see the wild side of your sisters and
instead of having fun, you’re just turned off by the kind of fun they are
having. This is the red flag that’s waving in your head because this shows how
much you really don’t want to fit in with your sorority, as bad as that sounds-
it happens. If you can’t see yourself being happy with what other sisters are
doing, then it’s time to look into other friends who can offer your kind of
happiness.
I’m being
hazed
Hazing can come both in physically and mentally forms. You
will know immediately if you are being hazed if an active member tells you to
do something that’s shameful like eating something disgusting. It can also come
in a mental memorization form like remembering millions of facts of chapter
history. Although you will need to know chapter history in your new member
period, learning that much in a short time period with other things to get done
can cause you to have a mental breakdown. If you feel at all stressed or
embarrassed with how your chapter is treating you, leave immediately or call a
hazing hotline. Do not continue with your process with “sisters” treating you
terribly.
Being in a sorority may be exciting, but there can be a lot
of problems that can occur. Your new member period will be an eye opener for
the better or worse. You can decide if sorority or greek life is for you if you
find yourself in these type of situations. There is no problem wanting to leave
the new member period because it's not making the happy experience you'd
thought it would be.
