Double Standards

Finding interesting topics to write about for this blog is challenging for me. So, I have decided to just write about different interesting things that occur in my life from week to week. I apologize in advance if you don’t think that these things are as interesting as I find them to be. 

Keeping on brand with the theme of COVID-19, last Sunday was bid day for all of the Greek life sororities on campus. For those of you who don’t know what bid day is, bid day is the end of the formal recruitment process where the girls who rushed a sorority get to go home to the sorority they ended up a member of. Formal recruitment as well as bid day looked entirely different this year due to COVID-19. Every round of formal recruitment was held online instead of in person. This was hard on both the girls rushing and the members of each sorority. A large part of our recruiting process is getting to physically meet with the girls and chat with them. All of our interactions were very limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. Thankfully, our team in charge of formal recruitment did a phenomenal job rolling with the punches and accommodating to the virtual setting in which we had to perform all of the recruitment rounds in.

We were very fortunate to be able to hold part of our bid day in person. Even though it wasn’t the same, we made do with what we were given. We had to wear masks and break up into smaller groups to accommodate the COVID-19 rules set by the university. The only time we took our masks off during the day was either to eat food or snap a quick picture with our sisters and or new members, which took us approximately 15 seconds. Right after we finished eating or took pictures, we put our masks back on to comply with university’s rules and regulations. 

If you follow a girl in a sorority, you probably saw at least one picture from bid day. It is an exciting day for all girls, whether they be new members or girls who have been involved in Greek life for a few years. However, when everyone posted their bid day pictures on social media, we received notice that we should/have to remove them because some of them had been reported due to people not wearing their masks in pictures. We complied, but it wasn’t enough. Some girls got a notice that they had to meet with two individuals about a possible punishment for not complying with the university's rules. 

I personally find this ridiculous. I know I posted pictures of bid day and every single one of my pictures no one was wearing a mask. I didn’t want to remember bid day in that manner. Everything has been taken over by COVID-19 and I wanted something to feel somewhat remotely normal for a change. I also think that it is funny how sports teams are allowed to practice and post photos without having to wear masks and it isn’t seen as an issue while us in Greek life were called out for taking our masks off for 15 to 20 seconds to take a few photos. This is in no way an attack on the sports teams here. It isn’t their fault. They were also given a set plan on how they were going to adapt back into normal life, including when they are allowed to be in groups of larger than 10 people. Greek life was given no such plan. All I have to say is double standards. If you are going to criticize and punish one group, the other(s) should receive the same treatment.