Leslie Klein | Features Editor
The biggest scandal at The University of Alabama for nearly the past year has been the
rumors surrounding HBO’s sorority rush documentary, which aired May 23, 2023. The
documentary was rumored to expose the University’s sorority recruitment system for their
negative tendencies. While everyone was awaiting the day that they could cozy up and get the
inside scoop of all the toxic habits that supposedly go on inside recruitment, HBO had other
plans.
The biggest question floating around right now is, does the documentary, as claimed,
change Greek life as we know it. In short, no. While the trailer portrayed the documentary as a
story that will discuss the toxicity going on behind sororities at The University of Alabama, it
glides over the surface of the problems that viewers were most intrigued by. Morgan Shriver,
rising senior at The University of Alabama says, “I wonder why they didn’t deep dive into
anything serious.”
Most people who were waiting for the documentary to release were disappointed that it
did not live up to their expectations. Angelique Hays, a rising junior at The University of
Alabama says, “I thought it was actually going to expose something crazy, but instead it hardly
even caught my attention.” The rumors that formed around the production of the documentary
became as invasive as HBO sending in spies disguised as PNM’s (girls with plans to rush) to
infiltrate the process and expose the true reality. While this was only a rumor, it had countless
people, especially those in sororities, in a chokehold.
According to the director, Rachel Fleit, the documentary did not intend to expose Greek
life’s deep dark secrets. It was meant to be about what being a young woman is like, and she
decided to tell the story through the lens of each of the young women presented in the
documentary. It is evident to most viewers that Fleit inserted her own experiences and ideas into
the film many times, and to what end? While some think it was to bring awareness to individual
experiences, others simply do not care. Meredith Griffin, Assistant General Manager at Holiday
inn Express says, “she (Fleit) was out of place. She inserted herself a little too much, and I feel
like it distracted from the original purpose.”
deeper, and then played it off as if that was never a part of the plan. While we can never know
of sketchy in my opinion.”
tell a story. Although its purpose was not what people thought it should have been, it was not
entirely bad. Hays says, “I wish it talked more about the real problems going on, but you can’t
always win. At least it somewhat got across a few experiences.” Regardless of the individual
before we know it.
Communication with a minor in creative writing. After college, she plans to move to
Massachusetts and gain experience to discover her purpose!
