Another new semester brings with it recruitment for sororities, fraternities and clubs. We all know about these groups by now because of the constant congestion caused by their booths in the quad.

I know what it was like to be a student on the outside looking in and for years I was annoyed that I had to squeeze by the wall of students that forms at the beginning of each semester in the pathways trying to get students to join their sorority, fraternity, or club.

I was one of those students who would murmur about how stupid sororities were. “Sororities are just a way to relive high school. Only ex-cheerleaders join sororities,” I would tell myself as I walked by. I heard other students relate joining a sorority to paying people to become one’s friend and I would nod my head in agreement without ever finding out what sororities were really about. Sacramento State, for many, is known of as a commuter campus, where students never make a connection between themselves and the school that they attend, but students who are part of groups, clubs, organizations or fraternities make a strong connection with their school.

These groups are the lifeblood of Sac State. Without them no one would care what happens to the campus. There would be very few extracurricular activities to attend; activities that add culture to the education received here.

Groups on campus sponsor activities like “The Vagina Monologues,” the war of the robots, and movie nights, as well as many art galleries.

Joining these groups does not have to be something done as a freshman for it to give students a meaningful experience. Joining during senior year can be enough of an experience for some students. Some of us take longer to realize that we want to be a part of these organizations. Last semester I joined the State Hornet, the environmental student organization and I joined sorority. It was the first semester that I made that connection with campus, where I understood why some people care so much about what goes on campus. For the first time I was paying attention to what was going on in ASI and I learned how to get grant money for activities that I wanted to take part in.

I am not the stereotypical 18-year-old freshman joining sorority and clubs as a way to socialize, but am a 24-year-old, married, graduating senior who was looking for education opportunities, volunteer activities and something that would make me want to remember my time here at Sacramento State.

I sometimes feel awkward admitting to people that I am in a sorority or that I am part of a controversial organization because it is something that has a negative public connotation associated with it, but stereotypes are not always true.

My sorority is not composed of only cheerleaders as I had previously assumed, and the clubs that I am associated with are not full of democratic, Bush-haters, and even if that were the case there are a number of other organizations on campus that can suit the needs of conservative students. Students who take the time to stop by those booths in the quad instead of just being annoyed by their presence will find something that will make the time spent at Sac State much more valuable.

Rebecca Adler can be reached at [email protected]