Well not to offend in Sorors in here but (and I'll leave out the chapter), I have 3 sisters who are AKA's, I call them pinkies (they don't like that) and I have 1 sister who is a delta.
When i went to college they tried to force me into picking a sorority to join. At the time I had quite a few friends who were pledging and they were asked to do things to alter their appearance such as cut hair, not wear certain things, wear no make-up to social events (if they normally did), don't shave legs at social events but they'd want you to wear a skirt, etc.
As quiet as I know things were supposed to be, when I heard about this I thought it was ridiculous. It was emotional hazing. They asked women to do things that were demeaning (the AKA's) and I had a serious problem with that. Now, I've met AKA's from other chapters that were very nice. One of my nieces has since become an AKA and the other a Delta (they are sisters) at different colleges and they say it's wonderful. But I never would have joined the chapter I was close to because those women were stuck up and vicious. I have "sisters" - and a lot of them. If I have to go through all that just to prove myself screw em and that's exactly what I told my siblings. To this day they try to get me to pledge graduate status. They keep telling me something about being a legacy member. I'm like ok, let it go. I think it embarrasses them that they have a sibling who didn't pledge.
erplexed
Also, I got into an argument with an AKA once when I told her why I didn't become one. This was a few years ago. She was really nice about it but continued to persistantly tell me how much more fulfilled my life would be as an AKA and that "many doors would be opened" as a result of my association. And I'm thinking opened to where? I was almost willing to listen to her but later that night when she went out partying she apparently been drinking or something and called me on my cell phone telling me what a bytch I was from talking about the AKA's and how they rule the black community and support the black community and I mean it she was serious. I kept hanging up on her and she kept calling me back. She was from some chapter in Virginia.
erplexed
The next day she called to apologize but I didn't answer my phone. She left one message that started off in a winey voice - I'm sorry for what I said last night and then she'd call again and everytime I didn't answer she'd get progressively abusive with her language until she ended up calling me a bytch again for not answering my phone!
So I know all AKA's aren't like that but my experiences with sororities are not pleasant so I will never join one as a grad - legacy or not and I tell my mother, and my great aunt who graduated from Spelman (she's almost 70 now) and they get preachy but i don't care.
But, I was married at the time soooooooooooooooooo wasn't really worried about finding a group to accept me.
Spare me all the parks that come with being a soror (not meaning to be offensive) but I work in white corporate america and they don't care what historically black sorority you came from.