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Leah Webster
Rhetoric 101
Ms. Weaver
17 October, 2014
Delta Omicron Theta: The Sisterhood
A sisterhood, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the close relationship between women
based on shared experiences or interests. When observing the sisters of Delta Omicron Theta, or
DOT, this definition proved to be accurate. One thing that the sisters made very clear was that
although none of them are related they are still sisters. Through observations and interviews, I
was able to not only describe why this was a discourse community, but also why and how people
can become members. Since I am pledging for this sorority right now, I decided to research and
analyze it for my ethnography paper.
DOT is a community and social based sorority at Lees-McRae College providing a
sisterhood for girls who need it. There are three stages of becoming a sister. The first stage is
rushing. Rushing is to let the current sisters kind of get a feel for who you are. They want to
make sure they arent letting anyone in who doesnt deserve it. The second stage is pledging.
Pledging in sororities is usually associated with hazing and obnoxious rituals that involve
dangerous activities. This, however, is not the case with DOT. Pledging, which is the stage I am
in right now, consists of doing fun and interesting things that show if we are dedicated to the
sorority or not. You must be invited to pledge. After your pledge process is over you will
hopefully become a sister. We have meetings two times a week and the days vary. This past
week we had a ritual on Tuesday. This is the day I observed the sisters and the sorority as a

whole. On Tuesday our ritual consisted of a scavenger hunt but we had to meet in King Shivell
first. As we walked in the doors there was warmth. The paleness of the room made it seem more
inviting until I saw the sisters sitting professionally on the red couches. I dont want to use real
names so I will create code names based on what they were wearing that night. Blue collar was
eying me down for some reason while red blouse was gathering her papers together to later give
us directions on what to do. Green hat then stood as we sat on the itchy carpet. Then everything
was silent. Green hat then welcomed us to our first ritual. We sat in silence looking at one
another wondering what was to happen. The current sisters were almost asleep in boredom as if
they have heard this speech before. Once again I saw blue collar staring straight into my soul it
feels like. I could see some of the pledges looking intimidated. I could also see that green collar
was in charge because she was the only one talking. But then red blouse stood up and started
talking. She told us about the scavenger hunt that we were to complete that night. She told us we
had thirty minutes to complete it and that we would be on teams. I saw the pledges start to look
at one another already planning out who they wanted in their groups. However, red blouse then
informed us that she had already picked our teams. She handed out a piece of paper to everyone
saying the groups and what we were to look for. I got put with the one girl I did not want to be
put with. Then we were released outside to start. It was pouring outside. I then received a text
that said Flash flood warning; stay indoors. We started to run and try to find as many things on
the list as we could. As we came back indoors soaked, we realized we had come in last. I was
disappointed but was too soaked to even care. One of the sisters, blue scarf, saw I was upset and
came over to talk to me. She comforted me and I decided to interview her. I also interviewed one
of my friends who is pledging as well. This way I could have answers from an old and new
member. Krisyln, the old member, is first. The Jenny, the pledge, is after her.

Leah: Why did you decide to join DOT?

Krislyn: I joined because I wanted a sisterhood and a group that I could hang out with outside of
school.
Leah: Do you have a language or do you all communicate a certain way?
Krislyn: Well of course we use abbreviations like DOT for Delta Omicron Theta and BOK for
Beta Omicron Kappa who are our brother fraternity. We also use words like rushing and
pledging and for people who arent in a sorority, this may confuse them.
Leah: Do you believe that you all hold a common goal?
Krislyn: Yes I do. I think that the girls all want to have a perfect sisterhood where they can join
and be loved just like if we were all actually related. Also the current sisters have a goal to
introduce and rush as many new members as possible.
I then asked similar questions to the new member, Jenny.
Leah: Why do you want to join DOT?
Jenny: Um, I really love the idea of having a sisterhood here at school. I miss my sister from
back home so its nice to know that I could have sisters here as well.
Leah: Do believe that the sisters pledging have a certain goal?
Jenny: Yes, I think they all have a goal to be bid on during pledge stage.
Leah: You said bid. Is this part of a language that DOT shares?
Jenny: Yeah you could say that. Words like bid, rushing, pledging and rituals are used daily in
DOT.

During this study, new and old members of DOT were observed. The interaction among
the sisters and the observations I completed were both vital for me to analyze this discourse
community. I discovered how DOT follows Swales six characteristics of a discourse community.
All the sisters have a goal to be there for each other and introduce and rush as many new
members as possible. They also have a certain lexis, or language, that they follow. Words like
bid, rushing, pledging and rituals are used daily in DOT. And of course DOT has old members,
sisters and new members, pledges. Although many sororities have stereotypes of being ditzy
blondes and participating in dangerous activities, I believe that this paper and DOT will prove
differently.