Topic Proposal

In my WRD 110 class students have been assigned to select a community to create a documentary about over the course of the semester. I have chosen to write a documentary about the Greek life community here at the University of Kentucky. I will specifically focus on the Delta Zeta chapter since I am a member of this sorority. The Greek life community here at UK is home to 47 different sororities and fraternities and also has over 5,000 individual members. The Panhellenic Association is the largest student organization here at the University with 14 different sororities.

When joining a sorority, almost every woman claims that they have found their home away from home. I feel as though this is what a community should be- your home away from home. A community should make you feel secure, wanted, and accepted and this is what sororities do for young college women. Sororities are a great way for women to branch out and meet new people. The women learn leadership skills, participate in community service events, attend social outings with their peers on and off campus, make lifelong friendships, and find a great way to get involved in the campus community.

From joining the Delta Zeta sorority I have learned a great deal. I have learned that there are academic requirements in order to maintain/acquire membership to the specific sorority. I have learned that each individual sorority has a specific philanthropy that they support and give valuable time and effort to. I have learned about the different rush processes including fall rush, spring rush, and continuous open bidding (COB). These are just bits of information that I have acquired over the past month of being a member of a sorority.

Although I have already learned a great deal about not only my sorority but other sororities on campus as well, there is still so much information to learn and obtain over my course of being a member. One of the main questions I have been thinking about is why there are so many stereotypes of sorority women and their specific chapters and if these stereotypes hold true or not. I want to know how the official members feel about the common stereotypes and if they feel that these hold true or false for not only their sorority, but other sororities on campus as well. I also want to know if hearing these stereotypes influenced the members' decisions on what sorority they ended up joining.

Over the course of this semester I hope to learn more about the different sororities on the University of Kentucky's campus and learn how they cope with the stereotypes. I have chosen this topic because as a sorority women myself I personally didn't let these stereotypes affect my overall decision on what sorority I pledged, but I have heard numerous stories of women who did. I am looking forward to gaining more knowledge about the sororities and gaining insight on the stereotypes so many people seem to hold.