Sorority Life 2, Episode 3: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Previously on Sorority Life: The pledges move into their pledge house and sisterly bonds form. Or not. Brooke says the first step to all this unity the sisters are talking about is to be friends and even that's not happening.

But before Karissa can really begin bonding with the pledges and the sisters, she's got to do some quick explaining to her family, who is apparently really religious, and concerned she's in a sorority (and probably that it'll be on MTV too, although that's not mentioned).

First she meets with her mom at Applebee's, which, if this episode is any indication, is one of the few places in town that would allow cameras. Mom says out loud that most Greeks are crazy and there's an "appearance of evil." She must have been fun to grow up with.

Karissa says her family is afraid she's going to turn into a drunken slut. She tells her mom she might feel better about it if she sees the house and meets some of the people. And, oh yeah Mom, she's already living in the house.

Mom meets Nicole and sees the house rules and feels a little better. One down, Dad to go. Karissa says her dad can make her cry in five seconds and it'll be hard to tell him.

But before Karissa gets the support of her family, the pledges have to get their pledgebooks. It's the book they write down information they get in interviews with the sisters - thus getting to know the sisters. But mostly it's something the pledges have to guard with their lives and if they don't the sisters have full reign to give them all kinds of hell about it.

So the Karissa family is back at Applebee's with Dad and brother in tow. This is making me hungry for Applebee's and I only have 32 cents in my bank account. Payday's Friday, I know what I'm having!

Dad asks what the sorority has to offer, if the girls have the same values as her, and if she can make true friends there.

Karissa holds up pretty well and says she's going to church with one of the sisters Sunday and that she was invited to go to ::gasp::: a BAR, but declined. She said she specifically spoke to the sisters about her beliefs and was told there are a lot of sisters who share the same values. She assures Dad she'll find good friends.

In an interview, Karissa says she wants her family to realize she's not as naive and she seems and she's been raised right and will do the right thing.

Back at Applebee's, Karissa asks her dad if he got along with all his fraternity brothers. Dad admits some of them were weird and Karissa reminds him he was in an engineering fraternity. I bet those were some fun parties.

At the pledge house, Janel goes over to have interviews with Maggie and "steals" her pledge book as soon as Maggie gets up to get a pen. She winds up giving it back right away, even though she says normally the pledge would have to do something to get it back. Brooke says the whole thing reminds her of middle school.

I'm starting to wonder if Brooke knew ANYTHING about sororities before she pledged.

Janel later takes the pledge book and "orders" Maggie to make "pretty Greek letters" to get it back. Whatever. That is indeed pretty middle school if you ask me.

Later, on a night I'm sure was a weekend, the sisters call to get rides downtown to the bar. Nicole says it's the pledges job to be at the beck and call of the sisters and do what they say when they say it.

"Ma'm yes Ma'm!" Someone's certainly thriving in the pledging process. Hopefully someone will order Nicole to get a new personality.

Anyway, MacKenzie and Maggie wind up shuttling the sisters to their watering hole. When they get back they realize they're going to have to stay up because the sisters will need a ride back. They stay up until about 4 a.m. then try to wake up Brooke and Karissa to work the night shift.

That part doesn't go well. Karissa tells Maggie in her sleep-stupor that she'll be able to answer the phone. Then she asks that the lights be turned back off. Maggie decides not to risk missing the call and stays up anyway, but isn't happy about it.

Karissa says in an interview that the girls should do what the sisters tell them to do, and not blame us. That's some unity for ya.

The anger spills over into the pledge meeting the next day, where the sisters are asked "what pledging means to them." Maggie says it's the time the pledges are made to feel they belong there and show devotion to the sorority.

Pledge mom Stacey asks Karissa what kind of devotion she would have if asked to go pick up a drunken sister at 1 a.m. Karissa says she would and Maggie calls her out on it.

"You said you could hear the phone."

"I said I wouldn't hear it."

Well, you get the idea.

Brooke says the unity is crap and their main objective shouldn't be to tattle on each other to the sisters. Stacey basically tells the group they will have to work it out.

At the sorority house meeting, the sisters talk about the pledges. No other pledge class has fought so much before, but then again, no other pledge class has been forced to live together and have it taped for national television. They decide to go over to the pledge house and talk to them after their meeting.

Before they get there, however, the pledge house gets another set of visitors, some Sigma Chi Omega pledges. They don't ransack anything but leave little post-it notes around the house. Oh those clever college students.

So when the sisters get to the house, the pledges are gone and the sisters think the notes are for them. This is how people are spending college these days? The sisters immediately think it's a trick and feel disrespected, so they stick copies of the house rules everywhere. They also ransack the house and take something from the fridge.

When the pledges get home, they're upset, since of course they had nothing to do with the prank. Karissa calls pledge mom Stacey and the sisters feel disrespected by the call. Talia has her hair in pigtails and between the hair and that voice, well, it's just all bad.

Brooke says she didn't think the notes - whoever did it - was disrespectful. Weird, yes. Disrespectful, no.

"It's hard to be respectful when your house is trashed," Brooke says. I'm starting to like her.

Next week: Nicole has a date and the sisters strike the Sigma Chi Omega pledge house because they "want to be first." Little do they know... Oh and there's some more fighting.

Jennifer Shrader is a fan of most reality television shows and is a newspaper reporter in the Deep South.

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