The majority of students can agree that Greek life is one of the best things about college. It’s a great way to make friends, they have the best parties, and you can feel good about yourself by helping out various philanthropies. But according to Syracuse University student Victoria “Tori” Valentine, it’s also one of the most terrifying.
In a new video uploaded to YouTube – then taken down and reuploaded due to copyright infringement from Gamma Phi beta and Kappa Delta – Valentine compares sororities to cults. It’s pretty f*cking creepy considering the robotic voiceover paired with the things we usually love – footage from sorority recruitment season.
Several commenters were less than thrilled about the comparison, which is legit since the majority are probably sorority girls and already experienced the said brainwashing.
This is the most disturbing and f*cked up comparison you could ever make to an organization of women trying to form bonds, raise money and awareness, and in the end better themselves as young professionals. I can’t speak for ALL sororities throughout the country, but in my case we were FAR from all this bullshit portrayed. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without the lessons I had learned and my amazing group of supportive sisters. Hope you enjoyed making a very large group of woman extremely angry and targeted. End rant.
I’ll just requote what another sister said through her Facebook: “This is sickening. I am a member of a philanthropic organization. I am a member of a family. I am a member of a support system. I am a member of a 24 hour comedy club. I am a member of a house. I am a member of a service team. I am a member of a study group. I am a member of a council. I AM a member of a sorority. I AM NOT a member of a ‘cult’.” I’ll just leave that here.
Valentine shot back with her own comments:
I honestly did not expect it to receive so much attention; from one art student to another I’m grateful for your constructive feedback. This was made for a found footage assignment for one of my classes, and I was engrossed in continuing to edit it even after my critique and was actively working on it for the rest of the semester. My concept was to draw parallels between a video by Carey Burtt and a group of recruitment videos I came across on the internet and was not meant to personally offend anyone. I have friends in sororities; my best friend and roommate is in one herself. From what I’ve read it has generated some discussion and has made people think differently, and I couldn’t ask for anything more out of a project. I have no personal agenda against Kappa Delta, or any other sorority or institution, just drawing on connections I saw between youtube videos.
No personal agenda… right. Regardless of the intent, her message is pretty clear. Is she right? Check out the video below and you tell us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTCGe4neOM
[H/T: Total Sorority Move]
