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#5179 to 5171, I rushed my freshman year with poor grades and did not have the right GPA. I did meet many wonderful people and it was a great experience to meet them. But they won't accept you at all even if they do want you. They can't do anything about it. So, if you do the process knowing you won't get into anywhere, do it and meet people. You'll hear bunch of girls/boys talking about what sorority/ frat they want. But honestly, Bid day is the worst day when all your friends are called and have new sisters, when you're sitting in your room hearing people cheer. So either way, you're missing out and gaining experience
#5178 @5172 you're kidding right?! i'm not gay so i can't pretend to know what homophobia feels like but I'm very sorry for anyone who has had to experience it. however, how is it okay to tell someone they are not allowed to admit to having a positive experience? that's just as dismissive as saying that homophobia doesn't exist (which nobody ever did, btw).
#5177 to 5178: honestly, your post sounds way more silencing and dismissive than the previous one. No one has ever denied that homophobia exists on Rollins campus or elsewhere. But having someone share their experience of feeling safe and comfortable in their sexuality is NOT deserving of the attack you presented. If we're supposed to call out the issues, I'll be the first to step up and say your post is out of line. Someone should be allowed to claim that they have had a positive lgbt experience at this school without being shut down for it. It's not a secret that at this school the majority of lgbt discomfort is caused by members of the community itself (as was my personal experience prior to graduation) and your post is a true example of that aggression that I and many others have experienced. However, prospective students often read this page and I for one hope they don't read all of the recent bullshit and assume the worst about this school, or else there really will be no diversity in the future and many kids will miss out on a great college experience. Many people are comfortable at Rollins and in general the school IS a safe place for members of the queer community. There are instances of homophobia anywhere but it's not misinformed to say that the general culture is gay-friendly. It is, however, pretty offensive to see someone silenced for voicing a positive experience simply because it doesn't fit into the oppressed picture people are trying to paint at the school. You can admit to the good without denying the bad exists, but if you deny that the obvious good exists despite many experiencing it, people will stop believing you at all. Let's start by treating the opinions of other minority students with respect and then maybe more people will care about yours.
#5176 Meryl Streep in "Into the Woods" = amazing.
#5175 at #5171
Yes, but sororities have academic standards so you will be doubtful to get in anywhere. I would wait until your grades are up.
#5174 fuck, recruitment is in a week.
#5173 @5171 I don´t think so... as far as I know to rush a sorority you need to have a minimum 2.5 overall GPA and be on good standing with Rollins, but I could be wrong. I would go to the Student involvment office and ask to talk with the fraternity and sorority director and she will be able to answer all of your questions. Good luck
#5172 @5168 im gay, too, and i totally understand why you find it appalling that someone else feels harassed on a daily basis because that has not been your (nor that of anyone you know) experience. ive personally had a similar experience to yours--everyone ive ever been around since i came out in high school has always been really supportive, and ive always felt really safe in my sexuality. i honestly didnt know that there were still hostile, homophobic people or that i would ever feel unsafe because of my sexuality and/or gender presentation because hello its 2014 and thats CRAZY, but then someone literally threatened my life because of my sexuality, and the reality of things hit me. homophobia is still a thing, the lives of lqbtq people are still threatened in our society, harassment is an everyday (yes, EVERYDAY) reality for some of us. that ugliness only had to creep into my life once for me to recognize that ive been incredibly fortunate and that not all of us are fortunate enough to rarely or never be subjected to homophobic slurs/actions/microaggressions/etc.
i think that your response to our peer who voiced his experience was really silencing and dismissive, and im really disappointed that any member of a marginalized group would use a public space to undermine (despite that you claimed that you weren't) another person in that same group rather than offering them their empathy, their solidarity, and their voice against the type of hateful behavior that has been directed toward them.
as far as your claim that the whole campus is very gay-friendly, i have to disagree with you there. am i the direct recipient of homophobic speech on a regular basis? no. does the hate speech that goes on on yik yak and on here negatively affect me and my perception of my safety on this campus? absolutely. do i feel comfortable walking past a group of bros outside the campus center or in a group at night? absolutely not. i dont think this is specifically a rollins thing by any means, but at the same time, it feels somewhat reaching to claim that the campus as a whole is very gay friendly just because the casual homophobia that goes on here every day rarely bubbles up. like, okay, so we have one lgbtq org and a handful of out faculty. thats hardly progressive.
(also, i HIGHLY doubt that it is that person's friends/people they hang around who is harassing them--like, your suggestion that they reevaluate who they hang with is ridiculous)