Pledged (51 page)

307
option to deactivate . . . seventy-five sisters resigned:
See Tamber. “Phi Sig Troubles Due to Low Numbers.”

307
chapter president stated . . . “no longer want to be associated with such an organization”:
See Maak, Jamie. “Phi Sig Sorority Members Resign; The Group’s National Organization May ‘Reestablish’ at Penn.”
Daily Pennsylvanian
. November 7, 2002.

307
My daughter will make friends . . . opportunities for continued camaraderie, service, and personal development:
See the National Panhellenic Conference publication
Women’s Fraternity Membership: A Perspective for Parents,
2001.

CONCLUSION

320
Greeks are more likely to graduate from college than unaffiliated students:
See the National Panhellenic Conference publication
Unlocking the Secrets to Success in College: Words of Wisdom from Sorority Women
.

320
two-year survey . . . “show stronger inclinations to give financial support to non-profit agencies”:
See
Women’s Fraternity Membership: A Perspective for Parents;
Thornton, Bonnie, and Debbie Thornton.
Ready for Rush: The Must-Have Manual for Sorority Rushees!
Nashville: Hamblett House, 1999.

320
higher occurrences of binge drinking:
See Wechsler H., G. Kuh, and A. Davenport. “Fraternities, Sororities and Binge Drinking: Results from a National Study of American Colleges.” National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Summer 1996; 33(4).

320
academic cheating and weaker levels of “principled moral reasoning”:
See Callais, Mari Ann. “Sorority Rituals: Rites of Passage and Their Impact on Contemporary Sorority Women.” Ph.D. dissertation, Louisiana State University. May 2002.

320
a 2003 Penn State survey . . . experiencing unwanted sexual advances:
See Freyvogel, Colleen. “Survey Finds Penn State Sororities, Fraternities Drink More.”
Daily Collegian.
Pennsylvania State University, Via University Wire. March 4, 2003.

320
which has an Academic Excellence Committee that distributes a seasonal newsletter:
See, for example,
The Scholar: Academic Excellence News
. Vol. 10, No. 1 (February 2003).

320
“All NPC groups . . . encourage high scholarship as a priority”:
See
Women’s Fraternity Membership: A Perspective for Parents
.

321
as a professor she can tell . . . “can’t claim to be about the academics and then ruin them”:
Interview, Lisa Handler.

321
sororities often encourage the sisters . . . a career in sorority administration:
See, for example, “I Majored in Sorority . . . Now What Do I Do?”
ph factor: A Service of College Panhellenics Committee
. National Panhellenic Conference. March 2002. The publication’s suggested career paths include “becoming a professional staff person for Fraternity/Sorority Life,” Greek Adviser, Coordinator of Fraternity/Sorority Life, Panhellenic Adviser, Traveling Chapter Consultant, and Chapter Adviser, among others.

321
promote the organizations as groups that . . . further the development of women:
See, for example,
Women’s Fraternity Membership: A Perspective for Parents
.

321
In 1994, a study . . . “higher in sociability, hedonism, self-confidence, and social conformity”:
See Atlas, G., and D. Morier. “The Sorority Rush Process: Self-Selection, Acceptance Criteria, and the Effect of Rejection.”
Journal of College Student Development
. Vol. 35 (September 1994).

321
a study of the values . . . lower when rated on the value of kindness:
See Scott, William A., with the collaboration of Ruth Scott.
Values and Organizations: A Study of Fraternities and Sororities
. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1965.

322
“We aren’t diverse . . . ritual makes us the same”:
A sorority sister I met on Spring Break showed me a copy of this report.

322
“protect their institution’s reputation . . . commit offenses such as criminal hazing”:
See Nuwer, Hank.
Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking
. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1999.

322
G. Armour Craig . . . “terrified of offending the alumni and cutting off large, essential contributions”:
See Lord, M. G. “Frats and Sororities; The Greek Rites of Exclusions; Racism and Sexism.
The Nation
. July 4, 1987.

322
“Greek organizations present . . . universities don’t do anything for Greeks, but that’s crap”:
Interview, Daryl Conte.

323
“There [is] a significant need at the undergraduate level for affiliation”:
See
100 Years of the National Panhellenic Conference
.

323
“fictive kinship” . . . utilizing a language that institutionalizes friendships:
See Handler, Lisa. “In the Fraternal Sisterhood: Sororities as Gender Strategy.”
Gender & Society
. Vol. 9, No. 2 (April 1995): 236–255.

324
In Mississippi . . . Ole Miss chapter of their sorority must accept them as sisters:
I first learned of this in an interview with Lisa Handler and have since heard of other examples at other schools in the South. According to Margaret Rose, “Chapters that are particularly difficult to pledge often get applicants from girls who pledged at another school with the intent of transferring to these chapters. Girls who are afraid that they will not be able to pledge a sorority on a large Greek campus go to a smaller school where it is easier to pledge and then transfer.”

324
In Texas, some die-hard sorority mothers . . . Texas school after initiation:
See Schwartz, Maryln.
A Southern Belle Primer: Or Why Princess Margaret Will Never Be a Kappa Kappa Gamma
. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

324
National Panhellenic Conference . . . 3.5 million initiated women in nearly three thousand collegiate chapters:
See
100 Years of the National Panhellenic Conference
.

324
with numbers generally holding steady and increasing in Texas and the Southwest:
Interview, Sally Grant.

324
In 2001, the NPC added eighty thousand sisters, a 9 percent increase from 1999:
See La Ferla, Ruth. “How to Move Up? The Sorority Track.”
New York Times
. July 13, 2003.

325
university assistance:
For example, before Santa Clara University decided in spring 2001 to phase out its Greek system, it was providing approximately $30,000 each year in in-kind services and funds to the campus Inter-Greek Council. See “Santa Clara U. to Shut Down All Fraternities and Sororities.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
. April 6, 2001.

325
a practice that a few sororities already encourage as a supplement to the rush period:
See, for example, www.alphachiomega.org.

325
Alabama’s associate vice president Kathleen Cramer . . . de-emphasis of some sororities’ recommendation processes:
Cramer sent me a copy of the letter recommending this de-emphasis that she and the University of Alabama faculty senate sent to sororities in May 2002.

326
College literary and debate societies began by assigning every interested student an affiliation:
See, for example, Bagg, Lyman Hotchkiss.
Four Years at Yale (by a Graduate of ’69).
New Haven: Charles C. Chattfield, 1871.

327
“It is in accord with the dignity . . . to avoid negative publicity on Panhellenic matters”:
See “A Lesson in Public Relations.”
ph factor: A Service of College Panhellenics Committee
. National Panhellenic Conference. Fall 2002. The publication specifically emphasizes, “All Panhellenic Associations should remind their members [of] the
NPC Unanimous Agreement IV, Standards of Ethical Conduct
#6” and reminds students to contact headquarters if they are approached by the media.

327
Some Greek groups . . . “Membership Development Program”:
See
Greek Gazette
. Vol. 1, No. 5 (September 23, 2001).

327
“Something as simple . . . changing a culture of hazing in an organization”:
See “Terminology: Pledge Versus New Member.”
Greek Gazette
. Vol. 1, No. 4 (September 16, 2001).

328
serve a role in loco parentis:
See Risman, Barbara J. “College Women and Sororities: The Social Construction and Reaffirmation of Gender Roles.”
Urban Life
. Vol. 11 (July 1982). Reprinted in Deegan, Mary Jo, ed.
Women and Symbolic Interaction
. Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1987.

331
In the 1980s . . . stricter host-liability laws regarding student drinking:
See, for example, Goetschius, Sue. “Greek Life at Alfred: Proud Tradition, Uncertain Future?”
Alfred: The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Alfred University,
Spring 2002.

331
“Sororities need to realize . . . the institution is not part of them”:
Interview, Daryl Conte.

331
in fact, some schools . . . move rush from first semester to second:
See, for example, Johnson, Michelle. “ASU Bans Freshmen Greek Pledging in the Fall: Hope Is for the Students to Start College Life with Studying, Less Partying.”
Winston-Salem Journal
. July 24, 2002; George, Maryann. “University of Michigan Delays Fall ‘Rush.’”
Detroit Free Press
. November 20, 2001.

332
adult representatives . . . flexibility in the time and energy they put into supervising students:
The NGLA session was entitled “So, You Think You Hate Your Greek Advisor?” For more information on the demands placed on Greek advisers, see Colgan, Susan, and John H. Opper, Jr. “Using Organization Development Techniques to Enhance Chapter Functioning.”
Fraternities and Sororities on the Contemporary College Campus
. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 1987.

332
Alfred University . . . brings in free pizza for the students:
Interview, Daryl Conte.

333
sorority sisters are prone to exaggerating and outright lying:
Besides learning this through interviews, I also was made aware of it when I observed the “practice conversation” meeting, during which the chapter adviser and the recruitment chair instructed girls on ways to misrepresent the sorority in front of rushees.

EPILOGUE

336
“[Name] . . . she will please sign and return this invitation”:
2003 Bid Day Card, Southern Methodist University.

338
At the Theta house, First Lady Laura Bush’s old haunt:
See, for example, Schindehette, Susan, Jane Sims Podesta, Bob Stewart, Laura Calkins, Anne Lang, Hilary Hylton, Gabrielle Cosgriff, and Chris Coats. “The First Lady Next Door.”
People
. January 29, 2001.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am profoundly grateful to Missy and Dave, without whom I could not have accomplished the reporting for this book. Both of them went extraordinarily far out of their way to assist me, sometimes on extremely short notice, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I also deeply appreciate the input and patience from the rest of my family and from my grandfather, all of whose support and encouragement carried me through the arduous days and nights that typified my work life throughout the year. Their comments and critiques, as well as those from Ellie, Vicki, and Andrea, proved invaluable.

The four girls who allowed me to observe and report on their college lives over the course of a year were gracious in manner, generous with time, and candid in interviews, even when their year became much bumpier than they had expected. I am overwhelmed by the way these girls risked their sorority membership to help a stranger, never once complaining about the hassle of dragging around an undercover reporter. I could not have found better sports, and I will always consider myself fortunate to have gotten to know them.

I am indebted to the other sources who allowed me to visit them and interview them at length on multiple occasions, especially “Brooke,” my Texas representative, whose charm and courage are magnetic. Melody Twilley, the women of Subrosa at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Zetes at Brown University made me feel welcome and kindly took time from their busy schedules to meet with me. Thanks also to Walter Kimbrough, Lisa Handler, Mindy Stombler, Kathleen Cramer, Pat Hermann, and Mary L. Bankhead for sharing their expertise.

Ruth Davis and Sebastian Rupley constantly help me to refine my writing and were patient and compassionate when I disappeared to write this book. I also appreciate Beth Dickey’s enthusiasm and Elisa Lee’s, Hannah Slagle’s, and Catherine Mayhew’s attention to detail. I cannot thank author Pamela Paul enough for suggesting that I tackle the topic of sororities. It is humbling to have such a talented and magnanimous friend in the field. Bill Parkhurst and Jane Mayer continue to drive me with their enthusiasm for my work, and Andrew, Amy, Andrea, Melanie, Nick, Beth, and the men and women on my soccer teams continue to distract me happily with their contagious spirit and post-game victory gatherings.

At Hyperion, I thank Will Schwalbe and Jennifer Lang for championing this project. I am inordinately lucky to have been paired with Mary Ellen O’Neill, a gem of an editor, whose sharp, thoughtful insights and thorough critiques turned this into a much better book than it was. Her good cheer and great sense of humor made every step of the process a true delight. And Paula Balzer, agent and friend, continues to be, in my newly acquired sorority speak, “clearly fabulous” and “just the most shining star.” She definitely “has that sparkle.”

Most of all, I thank my father, more than I’ve told him and more than he knows. Since the days of third grade fractions, I’ve turned to him to look over my work, a practice that I’ve continued in my professional life. With this book he outdid himself, offering crucial reporting ideas and spending weeks meticulously poring over the manuscript to provide stellar edits, critiques, and polish. This acknowledgment can’t come close to conveying the admiration and the deep gratitude I feel with all my heart. He is my hero.

Finally, I would like to thank the readers, many of whom have contacted me with questions, comments, and suggestions. I will continue to respond to your e-mails regularly at www.alexandrarobbins.com.