Pledged (49 page)

235
a fifth of the campus—join the UA Greek system:
See Zengerle, Jason. “Sorority Row; Alabama’s New Schoolhouse Door.”
The New Republic
. February 4, 2002.

235
Residents who aren’t members . . . rarely break into the state’s political and economic elite:
Ibid.

236
“I was glad she was going . . . We thought we could help her”:
Interviews, Dr. Kathleen Cramer.

237
“This is a system steeped in tradition . . . doing a progressive thing”:
Ibid.

237
University of Alabama remains . . . never to knowingly admit an African American:
Interview, Pat Hermann; Associated Press. “All-White U. of Ala. Sororities Again Fail to Pledge Minority.”
The Commercial Appeal
. September 12, 2001. Also, the
New Republic
’s Jason Zengerle reported, “When Melody Twilley stood in front of the Delta Zeta house last September, it was believed that no white fraternity or sorority at the University of Alabama had ever offered membership to a black student.”

237
One sister with a white mother . . . her background:
Interviews with a University of Alabama faculty member and with Melody Twilley.

237
in the late 1980s . . . burned a cross on the front lawn of the new house:
See Zengerle. “Sorority Row; Alabama’s New Schoolhouse Door.”

237
“We have one hundred percent illegal segregation here . . . ‘just any nigger could get in’”:
Interviews, Pat Hermann.

240
Alpha Kappa Alpha began in 1908 . . . were founded in 1920 and 1922:
See, for example, Ross, Lawrence C., Jr.
The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities.
New York: Kensington Books, 2000.

240
One of the main purposes . . . the social status of African American women:
See, for example, Nuwer, Hank.
Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking
. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1999.

240
National Pan-Hellenic Council:
For more information on the National Pan-Hellenic Council, see http://www.nphchq.org.

240
grew out of “racial isolation” . . . “positive change for Blacks and the country”:
See the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s web site at http://www.nphchq.org/about.htm.

240
Until the 1960s . . . national organizations to refuse membership to nonwhites:
See McKee, C. William. “Understanding the Diversity of the Greek World.”
Fraternities and Sororities on the Contemperary College Campus.
San Francisco, Jupsey-Bass. Inc., 1987. Whipple, E. G., J. L. Baier, and D. L. Grady. “A Comparison of Black and White Greeks at a Predominantly White University.”
NASPA Journal
. Vol. 28, No. 2 (Winter 1991).

240
author Rita Mae Brown . . .
“Delta colors”: See Brown, Rita Mae.
Rita Will: Memoir of a Literary Rabble-Rouser
. New York: Bantam Books, 1997.

240
1963, when federal law prohibited Greek groups from discriminating based on race:
See Whipple, et al. “A Comparison of Black and White Greeks at a Predominantly White University.”

240
Black Greek-letter organizations estimate that 75 percent . . . NPHC sororities or fraternities:
See Fine, Elizabeth C.
Soulstepping: African American Step Shows
. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.

240
women as Star Jones . . . Gwendolyn Cherry (Sigma Gamma Rho):
See Ross.
The Divine Nine.

241
Patricia Roberts Harris . . . “Delta Sigma Theta which gives me the most security”:
See Giddings, Paula.
In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement
. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1988.

241
graduate chapters expect each member to . . . “affecting the community in which he or she lives”:
See the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s web site at http://www.nphchq.org/about.htm.

241
the presentation of “Spirit Awards” to . . . Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele:
See the event brochure,
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 72nd North Atlantic Regional Conference Public Meeting: Spirit of AKA.
April 10, 2003.

241
salmon pink and apple green—the AKA colors:
See, for example, Thornton, Bonnie, and Debbie Thornton.
Ready for Rush: The Must-Have Manual for Sorority Rushees!
Nashville: Hamblett House Inc., 1999.

242
“Always giving back to the community . . . foundation of the heart of Alpha Kappa Alpha”:
The international president at the time was Linda Marie White.

242
all of the black sorority sisters they interviewed said . . . was a bag of potato chips:
See Berkowitz, Alexandra, and Irene Padavic. “Getting a Man or Getting Ahead: A Comparison of White and Black Sororities.”
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
. Vol. 27 (1999): 530–557.

242
thesis about whites in black sororities . . . “has six people and it’s functioning”:
Interview with Mary L. Bankhead. Her thesis is entitled “A Qualitative Exploration of White Women in Historically Black Sororities: at predominantly white institutions in the Midwest.”

242
“Membership Intake Process” . . . as an undergraduate and/or after she graduates:
I learned about the Membership Intake Process primarily from interviews with Mary L. Bankhead and Dr. Walter Kimbrough.

243
attention to scholarship . . . achieved higher GPAs than white Greeks:
See Binder, R., M. B. Seiler, W. Schaub, and T. Lake.
Greek Academic Achievement Update: Gamma Sigma Alpha and Bowling Green University Partnership.
Paper presented at the 2002 Conference of the Association of Fraternity Advisers. Columbus, Ohio. December 7, 2002.

243
active black Greeks are “the best trained . . . black church doesn’t have it”:
See Fine.
Soulstepping: African American Step Shows
.

244
“Message from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.” . . . “racial, social, and economic parity”:
Cited in Ross.
The Divine Nine.

244
chapters use “the paper bag test” . . . skin darker than the bag don’t get in:
See Wiseman, Rosalind.
Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence
. New York: Crown, 2002.

244
in 1990 the presidents . . . history, structure, and values:
Interview, Dr. Walter Kimbrough.

244
“old school” and “new school” camps . . . nonpledging sisters haven’t earned their letters:
See Fine.
Soulstepping: African American Step Shows
.

244
In 1998 . . . bled into them—and then to eat the cereal:
See Nuwer.
Wrongs of Passage
.

244
In 2003, Virginia Union University . . . taken to the hospital for her severe bruises:
See Williams, Michael Paul. “VUU Sorority Chapter suspended for Hazing.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
. April 3, 2003.

244
In many chapters . . . the step show has become more important as a way to prove and publicly display devotion to the group:
See Fine.
Soulstepping: African American Step Shows
.

244
The NPHC recommends . . . “social justice, and moral messages”:
See the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s web site at http://www.nphchq.org/about.htm.

245
New sisters are now taught . . . “the status of each group within the social order”:
See Fine.
Soulstepping: African American Step Shows
.

245
fourteen national Latina sororities . . . National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, which formed in 1998:
See
NALFO, Inc. Update
. NGLA 2003. For more information, see the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations’ web site, at http://www. nalfo.org.

246
Mu Sigma Upsilon . . . “unity among all women”:
See, for example, http://www.geocities.com/ msu_anansichapter/MSUinfo.html and http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Stadi-um/2583/MSU.html.

247
Panhellenic . . . has yet to reach out to Alpha Delta Sigma:
Interview, Melody Twilley. This was the case as of summer 2003.

MARCH

254
In May 2003 . . . fish guts, coffee grounds, and mud:
See, for example, Black, Lisa, and Courtney Flynn. “Students’ Mothers Charged in Hazing; 2 Northbrook Parents Accused of Providing Beer.”
Chicago Tribune
. May 22, 2003.

255
The incident, a hazing rite . . . one with a head wound:
See Black, Lisa, and Courtney Flynn. “School Will Try to Expel Girls in Hazing Fracas.”
Chicago Tribune
. May 13, 2003.

255
needing ten stitches:
See, for example, Black, Lisa, and Courtney Flynn. “5 Juniors Suspended Over Hazing; Students Refused to Sign Waiver.”
Chicago Tribune
. June 3, 2003.

255
Seniors shot juniors with paintballs and forced meat down a vegetarian’s throat:
See Black and Flynn. “School Will Try to Expel Girls in Hazing Fracas.”

255
school district expelled more than thirty seniors . . . two parents:
See Black, Lisa, and Courtney Flynn. “Former Students Link Teachers to Hazings; Grease Supplied, Court Papers Say.”
Chicago Tribune
. June 5, 2003.

255
masturbate with salt shakers:
See Rivera, Geraldo, host; Pretlow, Jose, executive producer. “When Hazing Becomes Torture.”
The Geraldo Rivera Show.
August 8, 1997.

255
drop trousers . . . in front of a room of fraternity brothers:
See Broadbent, Lucy. “Dangerous Liaisons—The Hidden Perils of America’s Secret Societies.”
Cosmopolitan UK
. January 2003.

255
Some sororities also force their pledges to wear similar hairstyles:
Interviews; See also Nuwer, Hank.
Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking
. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1999.

256
As one recent Phi Mu said, “We were essentially slaves to the sisters”:
Ibid.

256
In 2001, Northeastern University . . . separating candy with their noses:
See Abel, David. “Campus Hazing Reportedly Increasing—in Sororities.”
Boston Globe
. December 15, 2001.

257
One sorority made its pledges call fraternity brothers . . . they were coming over:
See Wright, Esther.
Torn Togas: The Dark Side of Campus Greek Life.
Minneapolis: Fairview Press, 1996.

257
A Phi Mu . . . “Nose, tits, and toes!”:
See Nuwer.
Wrongs of Passage
.

258
pledge class was told to prick . . . prayed the blood wasn’t contaminated:
See Wright.
Torn Togas
.

258–259
In 1997, in accordance with a tradition . . . wearing a fake penis:
See Vargas, Elizabeth, Diane Sawyer, and Sam Donaldson. “Sorority Hazing: Tales of Abusive Initiation Rituals.”
ABC 20/20
. April 28, 1999; See also Nuwer.
Wrongs of Passage
. After the pledges complained to the school, DePauw issued one-semester suspensions and social probation to the branders, put the chapter on social probation, and cut its quota in half for the next two years. The chapter voted to keep the offending sisters. A sister who wanted to expel the hazers moved out of the house after other sisters ransacked her room. (Branding is hardly new to sororities. In 1988, a sorority at the University of Maine blindfolded sixteen pledges at a cemetery and branded them on their lower backs with a hot metal stamp of the sorority’s letters.) See “No Charges in Sorority Pledge Branding.”
UPI
October 13, 1988.

259
circle the fat was described . . . “‘It’s just going to make you a better person’”:
See Soos, Margaret J. “With Friends Like These.”
OC Weekly
. August 27, 1999.

260
In 1970, Alpha Gamma Deltas . . . died of injuries sustained to her head:
See Nuwer.
Wrongs of Passage
.

260
In 1993, Sarah Dronek pledged . . . able to save her toes:
See Vargas, Sawyer, and Donaldson. “Sorority Hazing: Tales of Abusive Initiation Rituals.”

260
started referring to Hell Week with the euphemism “Inspiration Week”:
See Wright.
Torn Togas
.

262 The
National Panhellenic Conference had declared March 3 “Badge Day”:
For more information on Badge Day, see the description on the National Panhellenic Conference’s web site, at http://www.npcwomen.org/newsevents/n_badgeday.php.

262
the “Panhellenic Creed” . . . “tenet by which we strive to live”:
See, for example,
Speaking of Sororities: A Guide to Understanding the Privileges, Responsibilities, and Benefits of Sorority Membership
. First edition, 1961. Revisions by NPC Publications Committee, 1989, 1995, 2001; see also the National Panhellenic Conference web site, at http://www.npcwomen.org/about/ an_creed.php.

269
In the 1990s, national Greek organizations . . . Greek deaths had been attributed:
See, for example, Yee, Kelly T. “Fraternity, Sorority Hazing Under Increased Scrutiny.”
Times-Picayune
. September 11, 1994.

269
In May 2002, Alfred University . . . because of a beating during pledging:
Interview, Daryl Conte, Alfred University’s associate dean of students and formerly the administrator in charge of Greek life. For more on the issues that led Alfred to abolish its Greek system, see Goetschius, Sue. “Greek Life at Alfred: Proud Tradition, Uncertain Future?”
Alfred: The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Alfred University
. Spring 2002.