Bullying, racism and ‘hotness’ rankings: New doc makes bombshell allegations about Alabama sororities
University of Alabama’s sorority recruitment week has been a smash hit on TikTok as blonde-haired college freshman don their best pink outfits, but the campus’ Greek life has had its fair share of controversies from racism to bullying, a new documentary claims.
The craze has caused many young women to find solace and friendship in Greek life, but the HBO Max documentary “Bama Rush” aims to expose some secrets behind the glamorous, expensive life of a wannabe sorority sister.
University of Alabama’s sororities received widespread fame among Gen-Z a few years ago when #RushTok took over For You pages on TikTok.
However, dangerous hazing practices have sparked lawsuits and accusations of racism and bullying behind the glamorous doors of the houses.
Former members have come forward to express how the exclusive Greek life can lead to discrimination.
Sororities ranked on hotness
Gracie O’Connor, who appears in the documentary, claimed that sororities received their rank largely based on how “hot” they are deemed by the campus fraternities.
“The rankings come from fraternity boys,’ O’Connor said in the trailer. “So the top house has the hottest girls.”
A quick search of Instagram shows profiles dedicated to highlighting girls who are rushing. Many blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls with bible quotes in their bios grace the page with professional photos of themselves and an introduction paragraph excitedly explaining why they wish to rush.
The new documentary exposes girls admitting to having eating disorders because of what boys said to them growing up and it takes a deep dive into the mental health inside Greek life.
Filmmaker Rachel Fleit told Vice: “I wanted to create a documentary that was grounded in this culture, this Greek system, and it would serve as this lightning rod to talk about what it means to be a young woman.
“We could talk about feminism, and we could talk about competition between women, body image, racism, sexism, classism, and sexual assault on campus or in general. There were all these big topics that I thought we could explore in the film by going into the Greek system. And we did.”
Bullying and racism are still happening
Despite the fact that Greek life became desegregated in 2013, The University of Alabama has still been hit with accusations of racism.
In the HBO trailer, an unidentified woman claimed the University of Alabama has a “prominent” history of racism, saying there’s a strong “undercurrent” of it at the school.
“The culture at Alabama is f—ing weird,” one girl admitted.
Another unidentified girl said she received weird looks for the color of her skin while on campus.
“Everyone here will just look at you when you have any color in you,” she said in the trailer.
Makayla Culpepper was reportedly dropped from every sorority last year after she revealed she was mixed race. Although the true reason she was dropped was never revealed, many speculated that it was due to her race, according to DailyMail.com.
In 2021, the school’s sororities were nearly 90 percent white, according to the Crimson White, the school’s paper.
The sororities have also been plagued with bullying rumors as well, with some saying the girls are being fake nice. Ex-members said they were ‘constantly screamed at,’ treated like children, and accused the houses of being cliquey.
Sororities are pricey
According to the University, members spend more than $4,000 on fees per semester.
However, for those living in the house with an added meal fee, it could go up to around $7,500 per semester.
One girl, named Jess, claimed her sorority tried to charge her $3,200 for missing recruitment.