Maintaining Sisterhood in the Time of Social Distancing

Sorority members and their leaders have had to alter many programs and make a lot of changes this semester. It began with cancelled formals back in March and rescheduling several events and meetings. Now six months later, in-person events are nowhere on the horizon.

For sorority executive members and leaders, this has no doubt been a stressful time. At Elon University—where Greek life is prominent in student culture—sororities and fraternities are coming head to head with online events and recruitment, as well as trying to stay connected while still staying apart.

While online events have been happening through Zoom, these events are obviously impaired by the fact that members are not able to see each other or bond in a normal fashion. For members who just joined a few months prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, they have yet to experience a normal semester as a part of their chapter.

In this pandemic, sorority sisters work to keep a close bond while staying physical far away from one another. Photo from pixabay.com.

Katie Cabral, a member of Alpha Chi Omega at Elon, holds an executive board position within the chapter. She sat down to talk with The Edge about her experiences as a leader in her sorority during the pandemic.

“As a member of exec during COVID-19, it is tougher to be a leader,” she says. “We try to keep everyone engaged while still feeling safe.” 

It is almost impossible to maintain a balance between fun events and staying safe, Katie says. “It’s a hard balance to find, which I’m sure other sorority leaders are struggling with as well.”

Greek life looks a little different this semester. Photo from unsplash.com.

For long-time members of organizations, this experience is significantly different than past semesters, Katie says. Usually, a normal semester would consist of fundraising events for philanthropies, as well as date parties and formals for members to engage and bond with one another. “The biggest difference for me this semester is my sorority life,” she explains. “Sororities are built on having and hosting social in-person events, and with COVID, these events are not feasible.”

It’s an unfortunate reality for many who have come to know and love the events that take place each semester for different Greek chapters. Katie shares how she personally misses date parties and formals the most. “I always loved getting outfits and dates together and hanging out with my friends for those events,” she says.

While most chapters at other colleges have already experienced the struggle of online recruitment, Elon University’s sorority recruitment does not occur until the end of January. Unless something miraculous occurs, it seems Elon sororities are on the same path for online recruitment. This opens up another stressful situation for exec members, as their jobs have typically only involved in-person recruitment and planning.

Now, Greek leaders on campus are having to come to terms with a whole new ballgame of adapting sorority and fraternity life to the ever-increasing digital world we face.