A few days ago, I wrote about a "Sorority Girl" glass made by Lolita Wine Glass company. The glass had images on it that promoted hazing and associated partying and "keggers" with sororities. If you did not read this article, you can read it here.
The next morning, I woke up to my post being seen over 100 times in a little over 12 hours. I was absolutely blown away. I talked to Sara and we decided that we needed to take bigger steps if we wanted to see anything get accomplished. We came up with the idea of starting a petition.
We would like for Lolita Wine Glass company to change the design of their "Sorority Girl" wine glass. There are so many other images that can be used on the glass to convey a much more positive, and accurate, message about sororities. Why not images or saying that convey philanthropy, sisterhood, loyalty, friendship, scholarship, or leadership, for just a few examples? Members of Greek organizations do so much for the community, and most people don't even realize that the people doing such wonderful things are Greek. The kids who read books to your children at the mall? The kids walking the dogs for the SPCA? Who serve meals at the local food shelter or church? Who bring in boxes filled with clothes, toys, and food to their local orphanages, churches, or urban mission? Who host events to raise money for St. Jude, Women's Cardiac Care, Humane Society, and numerous other foundations? Most are probably fraternity or sorority members trying to help those in their community. Don't believe me? Ask next time you see someone doing one of these actions.
Is it too much to ask a company to promote a positive view of Greek life? The images on their "Sorority Girl" glass fall in line with the negative stereotype that has formed around the words "Greek life," "fraternity," and "sorority." Members of the Greek community fight this stereotype day in and day out. These women and men work harder than most people realize in order to be seen as equal, and not less than because they are in a Greek organization.
In a little over 48 hours, the original post about the "Sorority Girl" glass has received 879 views. In almost 34 hours, the petition has received 301 signatures. We hope that this does not stop here. We are receiving more support from websites and individuals who agree with us that this glass is offensive and should be changed. Sorority Sugar, a site that answers questions about Greek life and shares photos of sorority activities and products, has given their support to the cause. We also have submissions processing with other sites as well.
We hope that the company understands how many people do not approve of the design on their "Sorority Girl" glass and change the design. It is not just one person who thinks it is offensive, it is a large amount of people.
Please share the petition with your friends, family, coworkers, or whoever else you want to share it with! Thank you all!
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
"Sorority Girl" Lolita Wine Glass
I am a member of the Theta Psi chapter of Alpha Phi sorority at SUNY Plattsburgh. As a chapter, we pride ourselves on not hazing our members during their new member period, or even after initiation. As a Greek community at SUNY Plattsburgh, and a campus as a whole, we are working to raise awareness of what hazing truly means and does to individuals. Our campus takes hazing very seriously, and again, we pride ourselves on trying to prevent hazing.
Greek organizations are not what they "used to be." We strive to help others, especially those in our community. Each organization has at least one philanthropy linked with them. Most of our events raise money for our philanthropies. The events range from a talent show to a gala dinner to a dodge ball tournament and everything in between. Greek organizations also sponsor alcohol awareness and various other seminars on campus. You will find at least 2-4 Greek events per week at SUNY Plattsburgh that have the sole purpose of raising awareness to help others.
As sorority women, we love to show our pride through buying various products that promote positive images of sorority life. One of my sisters, Sara Wells, saw a wine glass made by the Lolita Wine Glass company. The image she saw of the wine glass (seen below) looked like it promoted the positive things that we personally associate with Greek life.
However, when she received the glass, she was extremely disappointed. She tried to email the company to discuss the matter, but received no help from them on the matter. Below is the email she had sent the company, along with pictures Sara took of the glass.
"Dear Lolita Wine Glass Co.,
I am not sure if this e-mail is being directed to the proper people, but if it is not I hope that you will forward it to the correct person(s). I purchased the "Sorority Girl" Wine Glass earlier this week from the online catalog upon viewing the only picture available to me:the Greek architecture and the Greek Alphabet playing into the spelling of Sorority Girl. Being the proud sorority woman that I am, I could not resist the purchase of this glass! Yes, being a "proud sorority woman" and purchasing a wine glass that promotes the idea of Greek Life and drinking is a bit of a contradiction, but we all have our guilty pleasures. However, where my displeasure comes in is what is left to be desired on the back of the glass. I loved seeing that there was a heart stating "charity" because that is one of the largest things that keeps sororities relevant: our ability to help others in our society and immediate world around us. Whether it be through supporting foundations such as Woman's Cardiac Care, Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, or Prevent Child Abuse America, sorority women across the country support organizations that help others. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of our weekends do not consist of "throwing the best keggers" or other Animal House parties with the chantings of "Toga! Toga! Toga!" rising into the air. We coordinate events to raise money and awareness to issues that we are passionate about, we volunteer early on Saturday mornings to help make where we live a better place for the campus and community at large, and holding the highest GPA's on our campuses. Just to name a few of our accomplishments.
Now, to address the "Rush" paddle and "survived" written under it. I was more disappointed to see this tied to "Sorority Girl" then seeing the keg and empty red cups. On my campus (State University of New York [SUNY] in Plattsburgh), we have been working hard for many years to eliminate the hazing atmosphere that surrounds Greek Life. Hazing is not something that should be joked about so lightly as to throw it into a design for a mass produced wine glass; hazing causes irreversible psychological and emotional damage, and at its worse: physical harm and/or death. I am so incredibly proud to be able to honestly say that I am a Sister of a sorority that does not haze. Let me repeat that: I am honestly able to say that my sorority does not haze. So to have purchased a product of yours that idolizes everything I stand against, makes me rethink about the integrity of the Lolita company.
To assist in counteracting the negative connotations tied to sororities like the majority of the media upholds, the Lolita Wine Glass Co. should reconsider their design for the "Sorority Girl" wine glass. Some suggestions that apply to sororities as a whole?
*Womanhood
*Leadership
*Sisterhood
*Activist
*Scholarship
*Loyalty
Just to name a few.
Sororities stand for so much more than partying and, according to the Lolita company, hazing. We are women who have come together to improve the world for the better, as well as to develop and grow as women with the assistance of our sisters. Many of our organizations were founded because we wanted to be equal to the men, we wished to be in companionship with like-minded women, we wished to make a change. The Lolita Wine Glass Co., should take some of these values and ideas into consideration when promoting the continued sale of this product.
I would like to hear your thoughts on how to rectify this situation through the redesigning of your Sorority Girl glass.
I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Sara Wells"
Personally, I feel the same way that Sara does. Members of Greek organizations are working so hard to fight the stereotype that is associated with us. When companies like Lolita sell products that go against what we are working towards, it is offensive and demeaning. Please tell us, or even better Lolita, how you feel about this glass!
Greek organizations are not what they "used to be." We strive to help others, especially those in our community. Each organization has at least one philanthropy linked with them. Most of our events raise money for our philanthropies. The events range from a talent show to a gala dinner to a dodge ball tournament and everything in between. Greek organizations also sponsor alcohol awareness and various other seminars on campus. You will find at least 2-4 Greek events per week at SUNY Plattsburgh that have the sole purpose of raising awareness to help others.
As sorority women, we love to show our pride through buying various products that promote positive images of sorority life. One of my sisters, Sara Wells, saw a wine glass made by the Lolita Wine Glass company. The image she saw of the wine glass (seen below) looked like it promoted the positive things that we personally associate with Greek life.
(Picture taken from the Lolita Wine Glass website)
However, when she received the glass, she was extremely disappointed. She tried to email the company to discuss the matter, but received no help from them on the matter. Below is the email she had sent the company, along with pictures Sara took of the glass.
Picture of the unseen sides of the wine glass from Sara's Facebook
"Dear Lolita Wine Glass Co.,
I am not sure if this e-mail is being directed to the proper people, but if it is not I hope that you will forward it to the correct person(s). I purchased the "Sorority Girl" Wine Glass earlier this week from the online catalog upon viewing the only picture available to me:the Greek architecture and the Greek Alphabet playing into the spelling of Sorority Girl. Being the proud sorority woman that I am, I could not resist the purchase of this glass! Yes, being a "proud sorority woman" and purchasing a wine glass that promotes the idea of Greek Life and drinking is a bit of a contradiction, but we all have our guilty pleasures. However, where my displeasure comes in is what is left to be desired on the back of the glass. I loved seeing that there was a heart stating "charity" because that is one of the largest things that keeps sororities relevant: our ability to help others in our society and immediate world around us. Whether it be through supporting foundations such as Woman's Cardiac Care, Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, or Prevent Child Abuse America, sorority women across the country support organizations that help others. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of our weekends do not consist of "throwing the best keggers" or other Animal House parties with the chantings of "Toga! Toga! Toga!" rising into the air. We coordinate events to raise money and awareness to issues that we are passionate about, we volunteer early on Saturday mornings to help make where we live a better place for the campus and community at large, and holding the highest GPA's on our campuses. Just to name a few of our accomplishments.
Now, to address the "Rush" paddle and "survived" written under it. I was more disappointed to see this tied to "Sorority Girl" then seeing the keg and empty red cups. On my campus (State University of New York [SUNY] in Plattsburgh), we have been working hard for many years to eliminate the hazing atmosphere that surrounds Greek Life. Hazing is not something that should be joked about so lightly as to throw it into a design for a mass produced wine glass; hazing causes irreversible psychological and emotional damage, and at its worse: physical harm and/or death. I am so incredibly proud to be able to honestly say that I am a Sister of a sorority that does not haze. Let me repeat that: I am honestly able to say that my sorority does not haze. So to have purchased a product of yours that idolizes everything I stand against, makes me rethink about the integrity of the Lolita company.
To assist in counteracting the negative connotations tied to sororities like the majority of the media upholds, the Lolita Wine Glass Co. should reconsider their design for the "Sorority Girl" wine glass. Some suggestions that apply to sororities as a whole?
*Womanhood
*Leadership
*Sisterhood
*Activist
*Scholarship
*Loyalty
Just to name a few.
Sororities stand for so much more than partying and, according to the Lolita company, hazing. We are women who have come together to improve the world for the better, as well as to develop and grow as women with the assistance of our sisters. Many of our organizations were founded because we wanted to be equal to the men, we wished to be in companionship with like-minded women, we wished to make a change. The Lolita Wine Glass Co., should take some of these values and ideas into consideration when promoting the continued sale of this product.
I would like to hear your thoughts on how to rectify this situation through the redesigning of your Sorority Girl glass.
I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Sara Wells"
Personally, I feel the same way that Sara does. Members of Greek organizations are working so hard to fight the stereotype that is associated with us. When companies like Lolita sell products that go against what we are working towards, it is offensive and demeaning. Please tell us, or even better Lolita, how you feel about this glass!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Cover Photos
Recently I downloaded a free trial of Adobe Photoshop! I have absolutely fallen in love with it! I've been using it mostly for my internship.
However, when I was bored a few nights ago, I decided I wanted a new cover photo for my personal Facebook page. I'm in a sorority, and fall recruitment is quickly approaching. I decided I would make myself a new fall recruitment cover photo, because why not?!
Once I started making them, I couldn't stop! I was having a lot of fun experimenting with Photoshop and figuring out what patterns look good with what colors. I made some for my own sorority, some general go Greek ones, and a few patterned ones that have no words!
I know these cover photos aren't the best, but I'm working on making new and better ones! :) You have to start somewhere, right? Feel free to leave feedback or suggestions on my work!
Here's a few different ones :)
However, when I was bored a few nights ago, I decided I wanted a new cover photo for my personal Facebook page. I'm in a sorority, and fall recruitment is quickly approaching. I decided I would make myself a new fall recruitment cover photo, because why not?!
Once I started making them, I couldn't stop! I was having a lot of fun experimenting with Photoshop and figuring out what patterns look good with what colors. I made some for my own sorority, some general go Greek ones, and a few patterned ones that have no words!
I know these cover photos aren't the best, but I'm working on making new and better ones! :) You have to start somewhere, right? Feel free to leave feedback or suggestions on my work!
Here's a few different ones :)
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Shop Fishie Giveaway!
Shop Fishie is giving away a $50 gift card to their website! Only 2 days left to enter! Log into your social media sites through the link below to enter! There are so many wonderful things you can buy from shopfishie.com, and having a gift card from them makes it even better! And use the code 3P5Q5 for 20% off of your purchase, too! :)
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Americana Bow Graphic Crop Top
Absolutely in love with this Americana Bow Graphic Crop Top from Charlotte Russe! I’m known for wearing bow and sparkles. This shirt has BOTH and therefore was the perfect shirt for me to wear for some 4th of July celebrations!
The blue and red have a little fade to them, but is intentional. There is a lot of small details in the way the bow (and pattern) folds that make the bow more authentic!
I wore it with a black lace bandeau and dark jeans to the fireworks for my small town. It was nice and cool to the beach during the day as well! I have an extreme sunburn on my stomach, chest, and shoulders, and this was a shirt had some flow to it and didn’t bother my sunburn at all!
I'm wearing a size medium shirt, and it fit really well. I wanted it to be a little loose on me.
This shirt is originally $17.99, but is on sale for $15 on charlotterusse.com or at a Charlotte Russe store!
Barbados Blue Dress
I am wearing a size medium in this dress. I am 5'7". I usually wear a small/medium top and size 4 pants. The medium fit well across my chest and wasn't to tight. The length was great! Usually my parents complain that my dresses or skirts are too short (I have really long legs), but they thought that this dress was very appropriate!
I wore this dress out shopping this morning. But I would wear it to a sorority ceremony or to church with a light jacket or cardigan. Perfect color for spring or summer!
I definitely recommend this dress! It is only $40 on shopfishie.com! You can also get 20% off of your purchase with the code 3P5Q5! :)
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