Sally Donaldson ’19 is a first-year student who has finally “found herself” in college after having joined Kappa Upsilon Lamda Tau (or KULT for short). Sally spent her first semester at Lake Forest College aimless, unsure what her true purpose was. Her only friends were people with similar interests, hobbies, and values, but she never felt a true connection with any of them because there was no hierarchal structure telling them to love each other. She was unsure if they were even really friends, since she did not have to pay any money to call them her friends. It was pretty bleak. Sally had plenty of time for homework, socializing, and relaxation, but she felt empty on Sunday nights when she did not have to dress up and attend a meeting in the basement of the dirtiest building on campus.
All of that changed when KULT chose her. KULT was everything Sally wanted: strict, full of secrets and nonsense rules, and, above all, totally exclusive. Nothing says sisterhood like an invitation-only friend group. Sally did not care, though. She was in! She had made it! And now, for the rest of her life, she could proudly call herself a member of the Lake Forest College KULT. There was no longer any reason for doubt; she knew these girls were her friends – they had all posted on her wall! They loved her already! They said things like, “Love you! Can’t wait to meet you!” and used Greek letters in hashtags! She hadn’t met most of them, but Sally just knew KULT life was for her. Sally threw herself fully into her new KULT life, forsaking everything that was not associated with her new life after paying a measly sum of $700. You can’t put a price on lifelong friendship and sisterhood. But if you could, it would be $700.
Sally felt pretty bad for her friend, Brenda, who did not get a bid into a sorority. What is it like, Sally thought, to have no formal obligations to your friends? What do groups of friends without a national organization even do on the weekends? Sally pitied her friend, Brenda, adrift in the college world, without matching t-shirts or governing body. Sally wondered how Brenda could even recognize her friends—did they have special hand signals, too? Sally was no longer sure how anyone who was not a part of Greek life could function. She only knew one thing: she was a KULT member.
