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Question:
What do we need to do to get sororities to like our fraternity? I just joined and we have already had some guys make a bad impression with them.
Answer:
Getting sororities to like your chapter and brothers may seem difficult at first glance, but it doesn’t have to be at all. Sororities don’t generally like chapters made up of guys who are crude, sexist, or just plain jerk-offs, or who are just plain disgusting. Unfortunately, our chapters do occasionally have jerks, but they don’t have to be reflective of the entire group.
A couple of suggestions on improving relations and standing with sororities:
Be clean. Have a clean place to have parties and a CLEAN bathroom. Wear clean clothes. Bathe on a regular basis. Fraternities (and our members) have a reputation for being gross and not well kept. Try not to encourage the stereotype – it will go a long way.
Respect women. I think this is a big one. If you treat women as objects or anything less than a person, it won’t endear you to any sororities- you’ll be known as the “sexist asshole fraternity”. Think about how you’d want another fraternity to treat your girlfriend or sister.
Avoid sexist rush shirts and sexist themed parties – and despite the fact that the women may not say anything about it being crude or offensive, it doesn’t mean they’re ok with it.
Find all of the founder’s days for the sororities on your campus or find out when the chapter’s initiation day is – buy a card and flowers for either occasion, and have your entire chapter or specific brothers present the card and flowers.
The bottom line is that you don’t want your chapter to be known as the asshole chapter who are the sexual predators/rapists or the one known for a dirty house. Sororities talk, they know which chapters they prefer to hang out with, and I’m pretty certain that the dirty, sexist ones are not in their top five. It isn’t rocket science.
On a final note, with regard to when brothers make a bad impression, it might be worthwhile to invest in having a social skills or dressing to impress workshop hosted by a sorority or such. I’ve seen that work very effectively.
Good Luck!
This question was submitted by one of our readers. If you have a question you want me to answer go here to submit it: Fraternity Advice.
– This was written by Ben Ring, an alumni brother from Alpha Epsilon Pi and contributor for the thefraternityadvisor.com. If you are interested in writing for thefraternityadvisor.com – let us know (CLICK HERE)!