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Recruitment video montage likens sororities to joining a cult

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Criticisms around sororities are nothing new – remember the backlash over the University of Alabama Alpha Phi recruitment video earlier this year?

ALSO SEE: Beauty & Bounce: University of Alabama Sorority Slammed for Recruitment Video

Sororities have faced this kind of response for years, being called superficial, expensive, exclusive, and in the case of the U of A video, “worse for women than Donald Trump.” But perhaps no one has created such a strong point of view on sororities as Victoria Valentine.

A Junior Art Photography major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts At Syracuse University, Valentine’s video “Recruitment 2016″ serves as a public service announcement, warning viewers of the cult-like qualities of sororities.

Using recruitment videos from sororities like Gamma Phi Beta and Kappa Delta, Valentine weaves these with statements pulled from her own research on cults. The results are pretty shocking.

The video was pulled from Vimeo after complaints by a number of sororities whose clips were used claiming copyright infringement. The video has since resurfaced on YouTube and is slowly building momentum.

The video begins by asking the question, “don’t you want devoted followers who leave their families for you, give their money to you, give their bodies to you, give up their lives for you?” It then tells you what to do.

“Establish front groups,” it advises, cutting to various girls saying the word “philanthropy.” Next, it shows how sororities deceive and lie, how they promise a brighter futures and a feeling of community. Some of these things may seem harmless until you see them juxtaposed with tactics used by cult organizations.

While it’s likely the video will once again get pulled, it does offer an interesting perspective on the subject. Let us know what you think by tweeting to @YahooStyleCA