Parents

On this page, we try to answer the most common questions parents have about the chapter and sororities in general. If you do not understand a term or phrase, please contact the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life (link on the left).

Is there hazing?	What do you do?	How much does it cost?
Will this harm grades?	Do you have a house?	Are the stereotypes correct?

Absolutely not. Hazing has been largely eliminated from most campuses and chapters nationwide. The stigmas associated with hazing have remained, but a combination of reforms, reorganization, and education have created an environment in sororities, including the Epsilon Pi Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta, that rejects hazing. The chapter is closely monitored by GMU, Gamma Phi Beta on a regional and national level, as well as from within by the sisters who are well educated on this topic.

Sisters of Epsilon Pi chapter participate in many activities. The average week of a sister may include study sessions where she is assisted by expert sisters in particular subjects, attending fundraisers, attending philanthropy events, performing charitable service, leadership meetings, a few intramural games, and other activities. Perhaps most importantly, sisters do things with each other. Gamma Phi Beta is a social Greek Letter Organization. Sisters bond together on the Gamma Phi Beta floor, eat lunch together, attend classes together, and more. There are trips that sisters go on together, conventions, formals, and semi-formals. Sisters do everything a regular college student does and more, but they tend to have a lot more fun doing it. Plus, sisters have a constant network of help and support for anything that may arise.

Dues are required each semester except for very special circumstances. Epsilon Pi includes most expenses in the dues. So, dues cover many expenses including some clothing, many activities, national insurance, and more. Dues are generally higher for new members because of extra fees involved with gaining membership. Dues vary, but they are usually between $250 and $450 each semester. Payment plans are always available. If those numbers seem high, consider the usual expenses of a high school senior (senior dues, yearbook, prom, homecoming, senior pictures, sports fees, etc.). Sorority dues are very little in comparison.

Gamma Phi Beta exists to assist young women in college and in life afterwards, not take away from it. While a sister in a social sorority like Gamma Phi Beta is likely to have a full schedule, school is made the absolute priority. The sorority encourages class attendance and performance. Sisters must maintain a certain GPA to remain active members of the chapter. There are study hours, sisters who volunteer themselves as resources for some subjects, and a large network of students with experience in a variety of courses.

There is no traditional Greek Housing at GMU. However, Epsilon Pi is one of the lucky few organizations to have a floor in the University Commons, a dorm area on campus. Many sisters live on the floor and many meetings are held there as well.

There are many negative stereotypes about sororities, Fraternity & Sorority Life, and college students in general. Here we present the common ones and respond to them:

There are many ways to answer to this common misconception. Beyond knowing where dues go, it helps to consider that sororities are social organizations full of social women. Social women have no need to pay for friends.

Impossible. Sororities are scrutinized by their national offices and by their universities for scholastic performance and general conduct. Sisters are responsible for each other. They keep each other focused on studies and keep each other out of trouble.

--"All sororities are just like the ones in [insert book, TV show, or movie]"

GMU is not a stereotypical university. The students are not stereotypical. The sororities are certainly not stereotypical. GMU is not a party school, there is no 100-year old Greek Row, and things have changed a great deal since previous decades when the people writing these books and movie scripts attended college. Even GRSSK, which is a modern television program that strives to present realistic situations in Sorority life, isn't a representation of Gamma Phi Beta at GMU.