My name is Melanie, and I am a student at a large state university—a place that has quite a reputation as a party school. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I am masquerading as a student to get some interesting perspectives on college life in the millennial age. I am really a writer/blogger working for an alternative newspaper. My editor approached me with the concept and offered to pay all expenses if I would be willing to go undercover to experience college life firsthand. I was admittedly rather hesitant since I am a rather modest person with limited experience in the world of parties and sex, but I agreed when he told me that the project might lead to a book project and possibly an independent art film. It seemed like a promising way to take my career to a new level, and so I accepted the challenge. I vowed to push myself to explore experiences I might otherwise have avoided, and, in the end, I surprised myself with a newfound sense of courage and adventure. Here is a chapter in my series titled "Coed Confidante".
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Since so much of the college social life centers around the fraternities and sororities on campus, I decided that my first "assignment" would be a full immersion into the Greek life. I was a bit nervous as I waited for my interview with the senior leaders of sorority that I had picked out, though I really had no reason to fret. Everyone had been so nice to me during the entire week of social events and get-togethers, and I was so relieved when they told me that they do not believe in the humiliating and degrading hazing rituals that other sororities stage every year. I knew that this interview was my final hurdle, and I was confident that I would nail it. As I sat waiting, I had a feeling that this was going to be a great introduction to my Coed Confidante series.
I heard the door open and I stood up when Nikki, the sorority president, motioned me to step into the next room. It looked like a coaches meeting room, but now the tables had been pushed to one wall and the chairs rearranged to form a semi-circle. I was surprised to see several guys sitting with the sorority leaders in the room. I was also startled by the fact that a video camera on a tripod was set up, presumably to record the interview. There was one chair facing the others, and I knew this was the "hot seat" reserved for me.
"Welcome, Melanie." the president began when everyone was seated. "Congratulations! You have made it to the final interview. You are one step away from becoming a member of our sorority."
"Thank you, Nikki," I replied. " I am thrilled to be here today, and I hope that I live up to your expectations. But if I can ask, what's the deal with the camera? And is there a reason that there are guys on the selection committee?"
"We are sure you will," Nikki said with a smile. "The camera is just a way for us to document the interview. We have never had an incident before, but if a pledge were to disagree with what went on during this final step in the process, we like having some proof as to what actually was said or done.
"We've done this for years," added Jonas, the president of the fraternity that planned many social events with the sorority I was hoping to join. "Like Nikki said, we have all enjoyed spending time with you this week, and we feel confident that you will soon be one of our group."
"Do you know why we are here?" Nikki asked with a slight smile on her face as she looked around the locker room where they were sitting.
"I was told to be here to answer some final questions to prove to you that I would be a good pledge to the sorority." I dug around in the sport bag I had brought and pulled out one of the swimsuits I wore to my swimming practices. "And I brought this since I heard that the new pledges were invited to a swimming party with the rest of the members after the interviews."
"Since you no doubt heard the splashing and yelling from the pool area, I guess you know that the party has already started," Nikki explained. "We will soon find out if you will be joining us. We rent out the pool and locker room in this old gym a couple of times every year for our swimming parties."
"I'm ready for whatever questions you have for me," I said with rising confidence. "I promise you I will be a credit to the sorority."
"Then let us begin," Nikki responded as she and the others pulled out folders with my name on them.
There were four senior sorority leaders and four senior fraternity leaders facing me, and we spent the next ten minutes discussing my answers to a survey form they gave me the first day we met. Most of the questions were pretty mundane, but I began to tighten up a bit when they got to a few questions that I had struggled with when I completed the form.
"We noticed that you did not write an answer to question #22 on the form," Nikki said after a brief pause. "That's the question where we asked if you had ever been to a nude beach or if you thought you would feel uncomfortable if you were at a nude beach."
"I-I guess I thought that was an odd question, so I left it blank," I replied. "I am not sure why that is relevant to the sorority."
"Actually, it is one of the pivotal questions," Jonas explained. "There is a popular nude beach along the river just a few miles out of town. We usually have two or three outings there each summer, and so we need to know if new pledges would be comfortable there."
"Why a nude beach?" I asked nervously. "I know that there are many other beaches closer to town."
"There are," Nikki stepped in, " but the nude beach plays into two of the core philosophies of our two houses." She could see that I still had a confused look on my face, so she continued. "We have two main goals. First, we try to challenge all of the members of our houses to push themselves beyond their usual comfort levels so that they can learn more about themselves. We find that so many people our age have insecurities about their bodies and the ways that they feel others see them. We think this is an important way to grow and challenge those insecurities."
I could see that Jonas and the others were watching my reaction carefully. "Second, we get tired by the social status game on campus," he added. "There are always some people trying to impress others with their wealth and their possessions while others are made to feel that they are somehow less important if they are not as well off. It's bullshit! The way we see it, there is nothing more democratic than stripping away the artificial facades that society creates and reducing every person to the bare...essence. There is no rich or poor on the nude beach—only people learning to feel comfortable in their own skin and having fun with friends."
