URM Daughter Rushing at UVA or VT
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Anonymous
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OP here, I understand waiting to ask this till she has offers in hand, however, this whole greek stuff does influence her now in her ED choice. I just wanted to get a feel for the greek systems at UVA and Tech. She might end up applying ED elsehwere if we get a negative vibe from the greek systems in those two schools.
Oh, thank you to all for your comments. |
Anonymous
+1 My daughter and I had exactly this conversation last night. Greek life at VT and/or UVA bears almost no resemblance to Greek life at the schools mentioned by OP. I went to a non-Greek school, but would have no problem if my daughter wanted to rush at VT or UVA. And we are an URM family too. |
Anonymous
+1 I would say that about all the VA schools. |
Anonymous
| Virginia Tech is targeting to be over 50% URM so she should have no problem there. Not to be offensive but does anyone really notice if someone is hispanic anymore? I think being unattractive or unpopular is a far bigger risk to sorority initiation than being non-white. |
Anonymous
I have blond hair, blue eyes and light skin, my grandparents on my father's side are from Guatemala and grandparents on mother's side are from Chile. Hispanics come in many different forms. |
Anonymous
OP here. The bolded part is what makes me uneasy about this whole greek thing. Too much value put on looks, and by what lense are the being measured? I hope my daughter will be able to find an inclusive sorority if she ends up rushing in the end. |
Anonymous
OP I posted earlier, rush is a time for her to evaluate them as much as they evaluate you. If she doesn't find a fit than so be it. |
Anonymous
Really ? Can you name a sorority that has a diverse group of girls? |
Anonymous
| Her background will not be an issue at any of the sororities. Some of her choices will be decided by her grades (more on that later). Then it will depend on her looks, demeanor and interests, (in equal parts) will drive where she make connections. Rush (recruitment) is intended to help girls get to know the personalities of the houses. And in turn, it helps the houses get to know people who up until that point are a name, hometown, and major. I was greek at VT years ago and started rush interested in one house and two days in had prioritized others because of my interactions during rush. Now about grades, sororities have GPA minimums to stay in the house as a member but also to be offered a bid. So, if you daughter wants to have the most options, tell her she needs to have good grades. At least when I rush back in the 90s, there was no rush for Freshman Girls until Spring Semester so everyone had grades. |
Anonymous
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Hispanics do come in different shades. But, let’s be real, when the average American person thinks of a Hispanic person, they are thinking of somebody with mixed indigenous blood. I am sure we have all heard the “But you don’t look Hispanic” comment.
Would sororities welcome in a blue-eyed Maria Dolores Perez? Would they also accept an Ashley Gonzales who does look like the “typical Hispanic girl”? I would hope they would both have a chance if they have the credentials, oh and the $$$$ |
Anonymous
It all depends on the house and UVA and VT have enough that everyone should be able to find on where they fit |
Anonymous
Anonymous
Of course sororities, as well as fraternities, will be checking out a rushee's physical appearance. They're young adults, for goodness sake, many of whom have been posting flattering photos of themselves on social media for years (and viewing the flattering photos of others). Plus non-Greeks also consider attractiveness in asking someone out on a date, etc. And let's not kid ourselves, even as adults in the professional world, people will still make judgments about others based on appearances, although no one will admit to it. That being said, I'm sure most sororities consider lots of factors in deciding whether to extend a bid. Attractiveness is just one of them, and far from being determinative. |
Anonymous
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OMG. Give me a break. For a greek event years ago, we did a lip sync contest through the decades. My sorority picked 4 songs across certain decades and I was part of a Rap group. There were 4 of us in my group--3 caucasion and 1 asian. We were doing a song by a group of black men. I didn't paint my face black or anything ridiculous but I absolutely rocked some adidas and had one pant leg up like LL Cool J. Another girl had on MC Hammer pants. We were not appropriating anything. Get a flipping grip. |
Anonymous
as I posted earlier, my dd's sorority at UVA is quite diverse. I am not going to name it because I don't want to put personal info out there but it's a "middle tier" sorority. She has lots of friends from all ethnicities and actually those considered to be "minorities' actually had more options during rush than she did and she is a white girl. I think the houses are trying to be more inclusive and placed high value on URM. I know several of her friends in "top" houses that are URM, but again as someone else mentioned, UVA is really quite diverse so you do not any thing to fear. My DS is in a fraternity at UVA and he is in the minority as a white guy. |