Pledged (46 page)

ENDNOTES

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PROLOGUE

2
Southern Millionaires University:
See Fiske, Edward B., with Robert Logue.
The Fiske Guide to Colleges, 2001
. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000.

2
“college in country club clothing”: The Insider’s Guide to Colleges 2000,
compiled and edited by the Yale Daily News. New York: St. Martin’s, 1997.

2
such as “Running of the Bulls” or “Squeal Day”:
Running of the Bulls—Oklahoma State University. See Saucier, Heather. “Crushed by the Rush: When Perfect Matchmaking Doesn’t Work, Sorority Rejection Can Be Painful.” Tulsa World. August 24, 1997.
Squeal Day
—at the University of Alabama, among other schools. See Zengerle, Jason. “Sorority Row: Alabama’s New Schoolhouse Door.”
The New Republic
. February 4, 2002.

INTRODUCTION

5
“Delta, Delta, Delta, Can We Help Ya, Help Ya Help Ya?”:
This was the line sisters used to answer the telephone in a sorority skit on
Saturday Night Live
.

6
“Old Blue” and “Café Au Lait” (Sigma Delta Tau):
See Thornton, Bonnie, and Debbie Thornton.
Ready for Rush: The Must-Have Manual for Sorority Rushees!
Nashville: Hamblett House Inc., 1999. See also http:/www.sigmadeltatau.com/info/pmfc.html.

6
“Olive Green” and “Pearl White” (Kappa Delta):
See Thornton and Thornton.
Ready for Rush
. See also
The Norman Shield of Kappa Delta,
an intrasorority publication given to new members, last revised in July 2003.

6
sorority emery boards, money pouches, picture frames, bottle openers, and refrigerator magnets . . . “Sorority Lip Balm” . . . sorority air freshener . . . sorority bath crystals . . . sorority tissue:
All of these were actual items for sale on tables and in bins at a Greek boutique.

8
sorority’s national office:
Because several sororities now have chapters in Canada, they are beginning to refer to their offices and headquarters as “Internationals” or “Inter/nationals.” The current college sisters whom I spoke with still call them “Nationals”; for this reason, I refer to headquarters as Nationals throughout this book.

8
MTV had just aired a show called
Sorority Life: MTV’s
Sorority Life
tracked a local sorority at the University of California-Davis.
Sorority Life 2,
which followed a local sorority at the University of Buffalo, aired in spring 2003.

9
The twenty-six member groups of the National Panhellenic Conference . . . established in 1902 to oversee the historically white national sororities:
See
100 Years of the National Panhellenic Conference
. Published by the National Panhellenic Conference, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, to celebrate its century anniversary. Within Greek communities, groups in the National Panhellenic Conference are often referred to as “historically white” sororities, or “NPC” sororities, as opposed to the “historically black” sororities or “NPHC” groups overseen by the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Because in all of the sororities I came into contact with, the “historically white” sororities were indeed heavily majority-white and the “historically black” sororities were heavily majority-black—and because the NPC and NPHC designations can be confusing—I sometimes refer to the groups as “white” or “black” groups.

9
claim to instill within their sororities . . . whose motto is “Many Hearts, One Purpose”:
See www.aephi.org; www.aephi.org/story/phacts.asp.

9
goals such as Delta Delta Delta’s, to “. . . assist its members in every possible way”:
See www.deltadeltadelta. org/about/about.htm.

9
They foster, like Kappa Kappa Gamma, “friendship rooted in a tradition of high standards”:
See www.kappakappagamma.org/new_about.htm.

9
when one school’s Panhellenic adviser attempted to blacklist me on her campus for writing this book, she insisted she must “protect our women”:
The adviser, who oversees the sororities on her campus, included in an e-mail the line “. . . we would like to do what we can to protect our women and our Greek community.” I refer to this letter again in December’s chapter.

AUGUST

25
Sorority “types” are inevitable . . . “Klan’s Daughters”:
Sorority sisters told me about these stereotypes in interviews.

26
Ready for Rush: The Must-Have Manual for Sorority Rushees! . . . “hotbed for controversy”:
See Thornton, Bonnie, and Debbie Thomton.
Ready for Rush. The Must-Have-Manual for Sorority Rushees
. Nashville: Hamblett House, 1999.

29
In the spring of 1996 . . . “It was surreal”:
See Hubbard, Kim, Anne-Marie O’Neill, and Christina Cheakalos. “Out of Control; Weight-Obsessed, Stressed-Out Coeds Are Increasingly Falling Prey to Eating Disorders.”
People
. April 12, 1999.

29
A 1990s study . . . self-induced vomiting were sorority sisters:
See Meilman, Philip W., Ph.D, Frank A. Von Hippel, and Michael S. Gaylor, M.D. “Self-Induced Vomiting in College Women: Its Relation to Eating, Alcohol Use, and Greek Life.”
Journal of American College Health
. Vol. 40 (July 1991).

29
Turned to plastic surgery to better fit in:
See, for example, Wright, Esther.
Torn Togas: The Dark Side of Campus Greek Life.
Minneapolis: Fairview Press, 1996.

35
There are three stages . . . alumna:
This information is in basic sorority guides and glossaries. See, for example, Rose, Margaret Ann.
Rush: A Girl’s Guide to Sorority Success
. New York: Villard, 1985.

35
These elected officers . . . a philanthropy chair, and others:
In addition to learning about sorority structures through interviews, I gleaned information from copies of chapter bylaws given to me and from sorority manuals such as
Pi Phi Forever,
the guide distributed to new members by “The Grand Council.”

37
According to a private investigation . . . pledging activity:
See “Sorority Accused of Hazing in $100 Million Suit.” CNN.com. September 24, 2002.

37
with at least three AKA sisters and two other pledges:
See “Sorority Accused of Hazing in $100 Million Suit.” CNN.com; Banks, Sandy, and Jill Leovy. “Drownings Raise Hazing Questions.”
Los Angeles Times
. September 14, 2002; and Hayasaki, Erika. “Victim’s Mother Starts Anti-Hazing Group.”
Los Angeles Times
. October 13, 2002, reported two other pledges and at least three sisters on the scene. Fields-Meyer, Thomas, and Susan Christian Goulding. “A Sea of Pain Eager to Join a Sorority, Two Women Die in the Surf. Was It a Hazing Gone Wrong?”
People
, October 14, 2002, noted there were five witnesses.

37
After running . . . jogging clothes and sneakers:
See “Sorority Accused of Hazing in $100 Million Suit.” CNN.com; Ayres, Chris. “Sisterhood Initiation Rite Blamed for Drownings.”
London Times
. October 19, 2002; Associated Press, “Sorority Hazing Is Blamed in 2 Deaths.”
San Diego Tribune
. September 11, 2002.

37
had lost sleep . . . paint over them:
See Ayres. “Sisterhood Initiation Rite Blamed for Drownings”; Fields-Meyer and Goulding. “A Sea of Pain Eager to Join a Sorority.”

38
When police officers . . . fifty yards from the beach:
See Ayres. “Sisterhood Initiation Rite Blamed for Drownings”; Banks and Leovy. “Drownings Raise Hazing Questions.”

38
Kristin’s family . . . $100 million wrongful-death lawsuit:
See “Sorority Accused of Hazing in $100 Million Suit.” CNN.com.

38
The national AKA office . . . were missing:
See Ayres. “Sisterhood Initiation Rite Blamed for Drownings.”

38
forced calisthenics are a common ritual . . . West Coast pledge periods:
See Banks and Leovy. “Drownings Raise Hazing Questions.”

38
Kristin’s mother, who, following Kristin’s death, founded the group Mothers Against Hazing:
See Hayasaki. “Victim’s Mother Starts Anti-Hazing Group.”

38
“stop these savage acts of passion in the name of sisterhood”:
See “Sorority Accused of Hazing in $100 Million Suit.” CNN.com.

SEPTEMBER

42 Song lyrics available on www.greekchat.com.

58
rape and sexual assault are particularly prevalent at Greek events and houses:
See, for example, Binder, Ron. “Changing a Culture: Sexual Assault Prevention in the Fraternity and Sorority Community.”
Sexual Violence on Campus: Policies, Programs, and Perspectives
. Springer Series on Family Violence. Ottens, Allen J., and Kathy Hotelling, editors. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2001; Copenhaver, S., and E. Grauerholz. “Sexual Victimization among Sorority Women: Exploring the Link between Sexual Violence and Institutional Practices.”
Sex Roles
. Vol. 24, Nos. 1/2 (1991).

There have been multiple accounts of fraternity gang rapes. See, for example, Weiss, Kenneth R. “‘Animal Houses’ Try to Sober Up; A Fledgling Temperance Movement Is Struggling to Take Hold at Some Fraternities Chastened by Bad Binges and Hijinks Gone Wrong.”
Los Angeles Times
. April 6, 1997. The
Los Angeles Times
reported, “Of 110 gang rapes reported on campuses in a seven-year period, 80% occurred at frat functions.” See also Schmich, Mary T. “Gang-Rape Accusations Scar Fraternities.”
Chicago Tribune
. May 13, 1988.

58
At one university . . . parties anymore:
See Collison, Michele N. K. “Although Fraternities Bear Brunt of Criticism for Hazing, Activities of Sororities, Too, Stir Concerns on Campuses.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
. October 10, 1990.

59
rules that seem to discourage sex . . . strict bylaw:
See, for example,
The Norman Shield of Kappa Delta,
which stipulates in its policy section, “There shall be no male visitors permitted in the sleeping quarters of any Kappa Delta house, apartment or suite or any property designated as ‘Kappa Delta’ by the institution unless the chapter has a male visitation policy that has been approved by the National Council.”

60
In 1997 . . . and depledged:
See Rivera, Geraldo, host; Pretlow, Jose, executive producer. “When Hazing Becomes Torture; Panelists’ Experiences with Hazing, the Ramifications of It and Problems It’s Given Them.”
The Geraldo Rivera Show
. August 8, 1997.

60–61
the late 1970s . . . sleeping with strangers:
See Weingarten, Paul. “Media Step Warily on SMU Story.”
Chicago Tribune,
March 29, 1987; Associated Press. “S.M.U. Acts on Sex Report.”
New York Times
. March 25, 1987; Associated Press. “SMU Allegedly Provided Sex for Recruits.”
Los Angeles Times
. March 24, 1987; Rossi, Rocco. “Money the Root of Evil in U.S. College Sports.”
Toronto Star
. April 7, 1987.

61
the NCAA to impose its first “death penalty” . . . 1987:
See Lane, Wendy E. “SMU Will Find Out If There’s Life After NCAA’s Death Penalty.”
The Record
. August 30, 1987.

61
“Ponytail Gate”:
See Weingarten. “Media Step Warily on SMU Story.”

61
in 1988 . . . dropped out of school:
See
20/20
. “They Never Call It Rape.” ABC News. April 13, 1990.

61
Fraternity chapters started the little sister programs . . . in the 1960s:
See “Campus Life: California; Fraternities Phase Out ‘Little Sister’ Groups.”
New York Times
. September 17, 1989.

61
by the late 1980s . . . sexually exploiting the girls:
See, for example, “Campus Life: Missouri; ‘Little Sister’ Program Stopped After Assaults.”
New York Times
. October 22, 1989; Volland, Victor. “‘Little Sister’ Auxiliaries Dying Out; Fraternities Under Pressure to Stop; Practices Called Sexist.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
. October 18, 1989.

61
In 1988 . . . “‘second-class’ status”:
See “Campus Life: California; Fraternities Phase Out ‘Little Sister’ Groups.”
New York Times
.

61–62
At the University of Missouri-Columbia . . . before meeting their “big brothers”:
See “Campus Life: Missouri; ‘Little Sister’ Program Stopped After Assaults.”
New York Times
.

62
The University of South Florida . . . complaints of sexual harassment:
See Harper, James. “‘Little Sisters’ Abolished at USF.”
St. Petersburg Times
. December 7, 1990.

62
1994 report . . . breasts were too small:
See Hill, John. “Abolish frats, sororities, Rhode Island Report Says.”
Providence Journal-Bulletin
. April 3, 1994.

62
little sisters are generally defined . . . little sister meetings at the fraternity house:
See Rose, Margaret Ann.
Rush: A Girl’s Guide to Sorority Success
. New York: Villard, 1985;
often pay dues:
See, for example, “Campus Life: California; Fraternities Phase Out ‘Little Sister’ Groups.”
New York Times
.

62
cheerleaders at athletic events:
See Harper. “‘Little Sisters’ Abolished at USF.”

62
to cook for them, to clean up after parties:
See Stombler, Mindy, and Irene Padavic. “Sister Acts: Resisting Men’s Domination in Black and White Fraternity Little Sister Programs.”
Social Problems
. Vol. 44, No. 2 (May 1997).