Pledged (50 page)

269
Other schools . . . terminated their Greek systems because of hazing violations:
See, for example, Macpherson, Doug, reporter; Simon, Scott, host. “Controversy Over Faculty Proposal to Abolish Greek System at Dartmouth College.”
All Things Considered
. National Public Radio. May 18, 2001.

269
forty-three states passed antihazing laws . . . House Committee on Education and the Workforce:
See, for example, Hank Nuwer’s web site www.stophazing.org, a clearinghouse for information on the subject. See also Haynes, V. Dion. “Across U.S., Hazing Lives Despite Laws.”
Chicago Tribune
. May 26, 2003.

269–270
“Any action or situation . . . in a chapter or colony of an NPC member fraternity”:
See, for example, the definition available on the National Panhellenic Conference’s web site, at www.npcwomen.org/policies/p_resolutions.php.

270
“Hazing is anything that distinguishes one member from another”:
Many of the students at the Northeast Greek Leadership Association Conference were grappling with this definition, while some current sorority sisters whom I interviewed outside of the conference (like Vicki) were unaware of it.

270
NPC has two levels of policies . . . “tougher on students”:
I gleaned this information from the National Panhellenic Conference web site, specifically from www.npcwomen.org/policies/ p_agreements.php, and confirmed the details in an interview with Sally Grant.

270
When Arika Hover pledged . . . Framed, Arika was tossed out of the chapter:
Interview with Arika Hover. I originally learned about Hover’s story from: Mahoney, Erin. “Ex-Sorority Member Alleges Harassment.”
Arizona Daily Wildcat
. August 26, 1999.

272
“They’ve actually done studies . . . lowest common denominator”:
See Rivera, Geraldo, host; Pretlow, Jose, executive producer. “When Hazing Becomes Torture.”

272
when I asked Brothers . . . “somebody else’s book”:
Telephone conversation with Dr. Joyce Brothers.

273
A 1980s study . . . hazing was important to Greek life:
See Blair, John L., and Patrick S. Williams. “Fraternity Hazing Revisited: Current Alumni and Active Member Attitudes toward Hazing.”
Journal of College Students Personnel.
Vol. 24, No. 4 (1983): 300–305. Cited in Wright.
Torn Togas
.

273
In 2000, a sorority president posted . . . “crossing streets, rock climbing etc.”:
See www.stophazing.org.

274
In December 2001, Michael V. W. Gordon . . . “hazing in sororities is increasing in frequency as well as severity”:
See Abel. “Campus Hazing Reportedly Increasing—in Sororities.”

274
require pledges to wear a “pledge pin” distinguishing them from sisters:
The pledge pin tradition was general knowledge among the sorority girls I interviewed; I confirmed this in an interview with Sally Grant.

274
don’t allow pledges to wear the sorority’s crest:
Interview, Sally Grant.

274
exclude pledges from ritual ceremonies:
This was general knowledge among the girls I interviewed; also, the purpose of initiation for most sororities is to finally introduce the pledges to the sorority’s rituals and secrets. Sally Grant explained to me that pledges cannot wear the sorority crest because they do not know the meaning of it (and won’t know until they are initiated).

274
refuse to initiate pledges until they pass a pledge-only test:
See, for example,
Pi Phi Forever,
which states, “A Pledge Shall Be Initiated Into Pi Beta Phi Only After . . . She has passed the pledge test.”

TRADITIONS AND SECRET RITUALS

277
“Earn Yo Beads Mardi Gras Party” . . . “Free Bongs for All Party Patrons!!”:
This information was printed on brochures handed out to partygoers, as well as posted on signs in the area.

279
While Spring Breaking on South Padre Island . . . “I’m really glad I did it”:
See Ovaska, Sarah. “Girls Gone Wild Holds Competition; Not Everyone Is Wild about the Nudity on the Beach.”
Valley Morning Star
. March 15, 2003.

280
Dissatisfied with the results . . . had not made a final decision on the girls’ sorority fate:
I learned this from SMU sorority members. The Delta Delta Delta national office did not return repeated calls for comment.

280
“a symbolic and often emotional expression . . . between the individual and the organization”:
See Callais, Mari Ann. “Sorority Rituals: Rites of Passage and Their Impact on Contemporary Sorority Women.” A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership, Research, and Counseling. May 2002.

281
In 1999, the national president of Alpha Sigma Alpha . . . “we would never lose our way”:
See Kilgannon, S. M. “The Ritual Provides Direction for Alpha Sigma Alpha.”
The Phoenix of Alpha Sigma Alpha
. Fall 1999. Cited in Callais. “Sorority Rituals.”

281
An Alpha Delta Pi document . . . “The ideals remain unchanged”:
See Hensil, K.
Alpha Delta Pi History Workshop I–III
. Atlanta: Alpha Delta Pi Fraternity, 1994–1997. Cited in Callais. “Sorority Rituals.”

281
Kappa Alpha Theta was the first university Greek-letter fraternity for women:
See Kappa Alpha Theta’s web site, at www.kappaalphatheta.org. Several sororities like to claim to be the “first.” In 1851, women at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia, founded the Adelphean Society—the country’s first secret society for college women—which later became Alpha Delta Pi. (See, for example, MacDonald, Jessica North, editor.
History of Alpha Delta Pi: From the Founding of the Adelphean Society in 1851 at Wesleyan Female College, Macon, Georgia, to the Establishment of the Fifty-fourth Chapter of the National Organization at the University of South Carolina in 1928
. Ames, Iowa: The Powers Press, 1929; See also
100 Years of the National Panhellenic Conference
.) The following year, Wesleyan women formed the rival Philomathean Society, later known as Phi Mu. (See, for example, Nuwer, Hank.
Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking
. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1999, for the rivalry.) In 1867, I. C. Sorosis (eventually Pi Beta Phi) was established at Monmouth College as the first women’s college secret society to be modeled after men’s fraternities. (See
Pi Phi Forever;
see also Pi Beta Phi’s web site, at www.pibetaphi.org.)

In 1882, Gamma Phi Beta at Syracuse University was the first to call itself a “sorority,” at the urging of the members’ Latin professor. (See Owen, Christopher Kent. “Reflections on the College Fraternity and Its Changing Nature.”
Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities
. Menasha, Wis.: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Primary, 1949–, 15th ed.;
100 Years of the National Panhellenic Conference;
Callais. “Sorority Rituals;” Gamma Phi Beta’s web site, at www.gammaphibeta.org.) “Soror” is Latin for sister, but many sororities still officially continue to refer to themselves as fraternities. See, for example, Thornton, Bonnie, and Debbie Thornton.
Ready for Rush: The Must-Have Manual for Sorority Rushees. Nashville:
Hamblett House, 1999.

281
In 1870, Bettie Locke . . . wear their badge only if she agreed to be their mascot, she declined:
See Kappa Alpha Theta’s web site, at www.kappaalphatheta.org.

281
At her father’s suggestion . . . only begun to admit women three years before:
See Johnson, Clyde Sanfred.
Fraternities in Our Colleges
. New York: National Interfraternity Foundation, 1972. Cited in Benjamin, Faye. “Fraternity Girls” [a Brown University term paper]. December 2002.

281
Ida Shaw Martin argued that . . . “residence in a dormitory will tend to destroy right ideals”:
See Martin, Ida Shaw.
The Sorority Handbook
. Boston: privately printed, 1907.

281
“were reminded not to disgrace themselves, lest they bring shame on their sorority”:
See Nuwer.
Wrongs of Passage
.

282
state laws prohibiting sororities . . . as “inimical to the public good”:
See Oklahoma State Legislative Council Research Department.
States with Anti-Fraternity and Anti-Sorority Laws: A State Legislative Council Compilation
. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, March 24, 1953.

283
Mega-author Sue Grafton . . . “hasn’t contributed anything to my success”:
Grafton included this statement in a response to a set of written questions I faxed her.

283
sororities developed rituals to reflect the values . . . “made the group special and unique”:
See Callais. “Sorority Rituals.”

283
the crest of the national sororities’ . . . “inscribed the name of the National Panhellenic Conference”:
See
100 Years of the National Panhellenic Conference
.

284
“What is really exciting . . . Kappa stories became one”:
See Strength, D. W. “These Are Our Stories.”
The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma
. Summer 2000. Cited in Callais. “Sorority Rituals.”

284
encompass formal readings . . . she should be asked to leave:
See Callais. “Sorority Rituals.”

284
These oaths, however, are not necessarily steadfast:
I learned about most of the secret rituals in the following section from interviews with scores of sorority sisters.

285
Delta Zeta has a sorority whistle . . . G, G, high E, high C:
See Miner, Florence Hood.
Delta Zeta Sorority 1902–1982: Building on Yesterday, Reaching for Tomorrow
. Columbus, Ohio: The Sorority, 1983.

285
“The roots of the flower are the Founders . . . petals stand closely united around these to defend and protect them”:
See
Pi Phi Forever
.

287
National Song of Alpha Delta Pi . . . “For Alpha Delta Pi”:
See MacDonald, editor.
History of Alpha Delta Pi
.

287
In “hard-core” Chi Omega chapters . . . pronounced dead, and then reborn as sisters:
According to the web site www.chiomegasecrets.com, run by Kristin Verzwyvelt, the former Chi Omega who alleged her sisters arranged her date rape, a Chi Omega initiation song entitled “Unto Persephone” goes as follows:

Unto Persephone

Maiden now we yield thee

Rest thou in deepest dream

Til comes the wak’ning gleam

Spirits attend thee

Light and love to lend thee

In Chi Omega

(pause)

To a new life rise

Blest by Demeter wise

In these bonds to find

Strength in friendship kind

Sister, we greet thee

Ever one with us to be

In Chi Omega

287
Kappa Delta’s First Degree Ceremony . . . “virtually unchanged since 1897”:
See
The Norman Shield of Kappa Delta
.

288
crucial that the pin not “fall into the possession of a nonmember” . . . or alumnae association:
See Isbell, Lila A. “Deep the Sweet Significance . . . What You Should Know About Your Kappa Badge.”
The Key: A Kappa Kappa Gamma Publication
. Vol. 120, No. 1 (Spring 2003).

288
at the National Panhellenic Conference Centennial Celebration . . . “secrets must be maintained to maintain intimate association”:
See Letitia Fulkerson, Chi Omega Fraternity, 1st Alternate Delegate.
NPC Summary 2002
. “Celebrating 100 Years of Leadership, Values, and Friendship”: the National Panhellenic Conference Centennial Celebration and Interim Session. Held at the Marriott Oak Brook in Oak Brook, Illinois, October 10–12, 2002.

APRIL

293
Sisterhood is not as strong as brotherhood . . . “boys can
pierce
it
”
:
Interview, Lisa Handler.

294
I visited Zeta Delta Xi . . . Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island:
I am grateful to the brothers of Zeta Delta Xi for allowing me to use their actual names and affiliation.

294
Faye, who wrote a paper . . . encouraged experimentation:
See Benjamin, Faye. “Fraternity Girls” [a Brown University term paper]. December 2002.

295
The Zetes originally were affiliated . . . “fraternity founded on principles of equality”:
See the Zeta Delta Xi web site at www.zete.org.

297
“Well, that’s not as much fun . . . you do anyway”:
Interview, Melody Twilley.

305
I attended a Subrosa meeting at the University of Pennsylvania:
I am grateful to the women of Subrosa for allowing me to use the name of their club and school.

306
joined Subrosa after their Phi Sigma Sigma chapter was shut down in the fall:
Phi Sigma Sigma’s national office did not return repeated calls for comment on the closing of the chapter.

306
In 2002, the Phi Sig chapter had the highest sorority GPA . . . “Outstanding Greek Leader”:
See the chapter’s web site, at http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~phisig/awards.htm.

306
one of the few sororities on campus that hadn’t broken rules in recent memory:
See, for example, Tamber, Caryn. “Phi Sig Troubles Due to Low Numbers; Nearly All Members of Penn’s Chapter of the Sorority Resigned Wednesday.”
Daily Pennsylvanian
. November 8, 2002.

306
three other sororities at Penn were under investigation for alcohol violations:
See Dulberg, Andrew. “OSC Concludes Investigations into Six Greek Houses.”
Daily Pennsylvanian
. April 10, 2003.