By Aelwen Iredale
Rush has finished. Bid Day is completed. Littles and Bigs and united in bonds of sisterhood that will last until the end of time. And sororities take that literally; they bind that bond in blood.
Tell me, what do you know about sorority hazing? Nothing, right? Exactly. Fraternities are the crazy organizations running The Flame, getting drunk, serenading people, and so-on and so-forth. Honestly, so banal. Typical. Boring. The real drama happens in sororities and their bonding rituals. Through some investigative journalism—and totally no torture for information—I have discovered the truth of sorority hazing and their occult nature.
On the night of the full moon after the bids are complete, each sorority heads out to the woods (okay, fine, so it’s Millennium Park. The sororities need a forest they can walk to. The sororities make due with this). The members wear their letters while the pledges carry gifts from their families. The moon lights their way, and the fallen bodies of drunk frat bros line the path.
At Millennium Park, a fire glows. The presidents of each sorority hand a witch hat and broom to each member. While the pledges shiver in the winter air, clutching their photographs and jumpers and blankets to them, their Bigs push them forward. The upperclassmen dance and chant those ancient lyrics, “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play.”
Once the hypnotic, addictive incantation is complete, the pledges are on the edges of their seat. They want to join in with the dancing and singing. They want to really be sisters in this sorority. But they cannot until they reject all other relationships in their lives—they must dedicate their heart and soul to their sorority.
At the ritual, my information remembers it clearly, the first girl moves forward and dumps a photograph of her parents and siblings into the fire. Her Big cheers, and her sisters pull her into a hug. Instantly, there is a rush of excitement. Everyone wants to belong, and they toss their belongings carelessly into a fire. With each burned memory, the fire grows brighter, and the cheers grow louder. Soon enough, another chant—“We are Family” by Sister Sledge—erupts from the crowd, and the sisters join together in a beautiful new family bought by their very souls.
“We are family. I got all my sisters with me.”