Why I Love My Sorority

I joined Alpha Xi Delta Women’s Fraternity during my freshman year of college, and I’m so thankful I did. Today is the first day of my last recruitment and I’m sad that I have so little time left with my sisters, but I’m simultaneously so excited to have a new group of sisters and to watch them fall as in love with the chapter as I have. Of course, that’s a bit sappy and emotional, so instead of focusing on the mushy stuff, I want to share the things that I have loved about being in AXiD and the Greek Community that girls interested in rushing or going through recruitment can look forward to.

01. My sorority is where I met my best friends

My college experience would not have been the same if I hadn’t joined a sorority. So many of my closest friends, including my roommates, are people I met because of AXiD and the bonds I’ve formed are ones that will last a lifetime.

02. You never have to sit alone in class again

Once I joined a sorority, gone were the days of not knowing where to sit during class. Almost every class I’ve had since joining has included one of my sisters. With over 100 people in the chapter, there’s bound to be people you’re not close with, but no matter how close you are, you can always count on being able to sit and talk to your sisters during classes. They’re built-in study buddies and group project partners.

03. CUTE. CLOTHES.

This is admittedly incredible superficial, but what can I say? I love all of the sweatshirts and t-shirts and hats and tote bags that we get throughout the year with our letters on them. It makes getting ready for class a breeze!

04. You have a whole house of sisters to support you

In addition to being a member of Alpha Xi Delta, I am also the executive director for Syracuse University’s Dance Marathon. The amount of support I receive from the chapter is incredible. Everyone registers and fundraises for the event and shows out to support me and the other girls involved in Dance Marathon from our chapter and I can never thank the girls in my chapter enough for their support.

05. You get to have a positive impact on the community

In a sorority, as a chapter you put on philanthropy events to fundraise for a variety of causes, depending on what chapter you’re in. We’ve also held food drives, feminine product drives, and volunteered around campus and around the community. It was important to me to get involved in something in college that helped give back to the community I’d be living in, and I definitely found that within my sorority.

06. You can enact positive change from within

It’s no secret that Greek life isn’t perfect. In fact, it’s far from it. However, there’s no opportunity to fix a broken system from the outside. During my time in Alpha Xi Delta, I’ve gotten the opportunity to take a variety of trainings on bias and racism on college campuses. We’ve been trained on how to be allies to marginalized communities as well as how to intervene in situations of sexual assault and how to support survivors.

Personally, the most positive change I’ve been able to be a part of was being a part of the group of women who advocated for the end of Alpha Xi Delta’s national partnership with Autism Speaks. For anyone unfamiliar with Autism Speaks, it is an organization that is widely un-supported by the autistic community. It was founded on a basis of finding a “cure” for autism, and it takes little input from autistic individuals. A lot of their messaging is harmful and they lack transparency about where donations go. Overall, it was not the greatest thing for us to be supporting them. We wrote letters and had open forums with leaders from our national headquarters, and thankfully, Alpha Xi Delta ended its partnership with Autism Speaks in 2021. Being a member of my sorority helped me to get involved in making this change, and it’s a legacy I’m proud to leave behind.

Overall, I’m so thankful for my sorority and I am sad to only have one semester left. To all the girls getting ready to go through recruitment, good luck, be yourself, and get excited for all that’s to come in the next few years.

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