Sorority Life at Northeastern University
When I first came to Northeastern, I never imagined Greek life would play such a meaningful role in shaping my college experience. There is no denying that there are misconceptions surrounding Greek life, and it is often difficult to understand what encapsulates these organizations. As a member of a Panhellenic sorority at Northeastern University, I want to share my experience having been a part of Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) for the past three years.
Going through the traditional recruitment process my second year was definitely nerve racking at first, as I knew very little about the process and what joining Northeastern’s Panhellenic community entailed. I spent my first year on the Boston campus, and while I made friends through dorm life and hometown connections, I struggled to expand my social bubble further than that. Additionally, I was interested in the social, academic and philanthropic activities that sororities seemed to offer and this is what led me to go through Panhellenic formal recruitment. Formal recruitment is two weekends long and gives you the opportunity to meet 12 different Northeastern Panhellenic Sororities. I found out through this process that rushing as a second year is extremely common due to the plethora of global first year programs Northeastern offers. While N.U.in students who spend just their first semester abroad are able to go through informal recruitment in the Spring, many wait until the Fall in order to meet all sororities in a more structured way. Most of the friends I made during the recruitment process were second years like me, also looking to further their academic and personal journey at Northeastern through joining a sisterhood.
Once bid day arrived, I ran home to Delta Phi Epsilon. My sorority helped me form some of the most genuine and important friendships that I made in college. The very first day I joined Delta Phi Epsilon, I was introduced to my friend Sara, who has since become my rock while at college. I also joined a lovely sorority “family,” which is a collection of mentors and newer members to help the sororities feel more intimate and manageable. These girls also became super close friends to me, and when I studied abroad in Ireland my third year of college, seven of them flew over to visit me. We bonded over our passion for travel, and my best friend Sophia and I have been to almost 10 countries together. While there were plenty of social benefits to joining a sorority, it certainly provided many more opportunities than that.
In every sorority, members are able to hold various leadership positions throughout their time at Northeastern, which can range from creative to academic to administrative tasks. For two semesters, I held the position of Sexual Violence Prevention Educator (SVPE), in which I met with other representatives from FSL to discuss prevention strategies and resources to bring back to our chapters. We worked with the Office of Prevention and Education at Northeastern, who provided us with training and education on sexual violence prevention. This position meant so much to me, and it truly was one of the most rewarding experiences I had during my time at Northeastern.
I also was very involved in an FSL event called Take it to the Floor, also known as Greek Sing, which is a dance and fundraising competition between sorority and fraternity teams that occurs every semester. All of the fundraising efforts were donated to a local organization in the Boston area, and just last Spring we raised over $79,000. In this competition, every sorority gets paired with another organization, typically a fraternity, and each team performs a six minute long dance and skit routine. While this sounds quite silly (and it certainly is), teams take this even more seriously than you’d think. We practice three to four times a week in classrooms and dance studios around campus.
Just as important as the dance skills is the fundraising efforts, and teams get very creative with events to raise money. Last semester, we collected clothing from members and sold them at thrift pop-ups events around campus. My team was able to raise over $10,000 that went to Boston Center for Youth and Families. Philanthropy is a major part of FSL and organizations put together numerous fundraising efforts to support national philanthropies as well as local organizations. The four semesters I did this dance competition were incredibly rewarding, and it also led me to meeting some of my closest friends in other FSL organizations.
Only about 15% of Northeastern’s undergraduate population is a part of FSL, so it is by no means required to join in order to make connections on campus. I have plenty of friends from other campus involvements, but Greek life allowed me to connect with amazing people I wouldn’t have otherwise met through my classes or clubs. I learned how to hold leadership positions and it also connected me to dance at Northeastern which has since become a passion of mine. I’ve held a wide variety of positions from SVPE to coordinator of apparel, where I designed and ordered merchandise for our sisters. I’ve attended multiple community service events, from raising money at Celtics games to picking up trash around Mission Hill. Whether or not you decide to join, going through recruitment is a great way to learn more about the Panhellenic community and see firsthand the community, leadership, and opportunities that make it so special.
