''Sorority Life'' was a

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

on MTV that aired from June 24, 2002, to November 19, 2003. The show consisted of girls pledging to become part of a

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

Production

The first season occurred at

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. It followed 6 girls over 10 weeks as they pledged

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi () is a national Jewish sorority. It was founded on October 1, 1998, at the University of California, Davis. History In the early 1990s with the closing of a national Jewish sorority on its campus, the University of Califor ...

, a 4-year-old Jewish sorority that was relatively unknown on campus at the time. The second season occurred at

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

. It followed 6 girls pledging for the Delta Xi Omega sorority. The third season occurred at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. It followed girls pledging

Zeta Sigma Phi Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label=Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived fr ...

, an independent multicultural sorority on campus founded in 1994.

Reception

''Sorority Life'' as a whole has been reviewed by Citynet Magazine, with the reviewer noting the differences between the reality of sororities and the image that MTV was projecting in the series. Citynet commented that MTV seemed "to think that bringing out the sorority stereotypes is going to boost ratings. Maybe they’re right, maybe not. Either way, I’m not overly impressed." The magazine also noted that sororities with similar names to those in the show were also receiving

hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwise ...

from viewers. Multiple sororities have come forward about the show, decrying the show's depiction of sorority life and politics.UTC sororities speak out against MTV's image of "Sorority Life
UTCEcho

Spin-offs

Fraternity Life ''Fraternity Life'' is a reality television show that aired on MTV from February 26, 2003 to November 19, 2003. The show consisted of college boys pledging to become part of a fraternity. The show was a spin-off of '' Sorority Life''. First se ...

'' was a spin-off of Sorority Life that was filmed at fraternities at the same college as the sororities during the second and third season.

References

External links

* * {{MTVNetwork Shows MTV reality television series 2002 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 2000s American reality television series Women in California University of California, Davis