I completely agree with you. Unfortunately, it just takes one irate parent with an attorney to lay down the law (no pun intended!).

I'd rather see a guy in a sorority house when the chips are down, than see dozens of sisters making "the walk of shame."


ETA: In my own chapter, dues has skyrocketed by 400% a month, due mostly to what insurance carriers demand. They can demand the big bucks because of the parents who would rather sue than even consider that their little Suzy may have been running amok.

I Love You! Get Here quick for Dinner!:D

You are right On Tho!!!

Lay Down The Law, oops We know who ahve been around a while Others dont!:(

What does Natalie Holloway have to do with this?

-Rudey

That was my thought too......

I think they were using Natalee Holloway as an example of someone who had too much to drink, didn't stay with her friends, and is now missing - much like some sorority women who have too much to drink, don't stay with their sisters/friends, and end up in some sort of troubles.

At least, that's what I assumed.

Yes--that is what I meant in response to the comment on the gov't issuing warnings.

I believe the reason we have visitation hours has more to do with making ALL the people living in the houses comfortable. Some people like to go to bed early etc. Unfortunately, some people need rules in order to respect other people's space/privacy etc.

What I find weird is that some Sororities take orders from a headquarters in the US that gives a single set of rules for all chapters despite where they are. Being in Canada it makes things more difficult for these groups. The legal age is 18 or 19 here depending on the province not 21 like in the US, meaning almost all of the girls if not all of them are of legal age in Canada. Meaning they are adults and thier parents have nothing to do with them and their college lives. They are all responsible for themselves but still must listen to horrible rules set by thier headquarters like, no boys past 10:00 etc.

What part of "legalities" and "insurance" was so hard for you to understand?

I'm an alumna, and frankly, we had much more freedom than there is now. But then we go back to the reasons why - legalities and insurance. Check with your Treasurer, and I'll bet that he'll shock you with how much your house has to pay out in insurance. It might be under liability, or housing, but the vast majority of your dues go out to insurance of some sort.

There's a very simple solution for this. If you don't like the house rules, don't live in the house. For some chapters, this may mean not being able to hold office or not being able to be a member at all, as some sorority chapters enforce a live-in requirement. The choice is up to the individual.

As for our Canadian chapters, the risk management problems are less. I am able to see that the legal drinking in age in Canada has a lot to do with this.

That said, a sorority is governed by a set of rules. The rules aren't going anywhere. If someone doesn't like them, don't join a sorority. And if you are not a member of a sorority and you're complaining about this, pick another topic. Nothing is changing. These rules are in place to protect the organization and its members from the potential acts of an unfortunate few.

One thing I have learned from being a member of a sorority: all of our actions have consquences-- some are good and some are not good. When one person succeeds, the sorority succeeds. When someone fails, we all feel the loss. This is just as true with any organization-- academic, non-profit, corporate environment --you name it.

Having lived in both a "female only" dorm (University of Florida) and a "co-ed dorm" (San Jose State) where guys and girls live right next to each other in separate rooms-- I have to say I much prefered the female only dorms.

I found that in the all female dorms, the girls "bonded" together much better. It was a much more relaxed atmousphere, and it was kind of a dorm sorority. You knew there were no males allowed after a certain time, so you could walk the halls, go to the kitchen or showers wearing your bunny slippers and your night shirt.

In the co-ed dorms, the girls were putting on their makeup just to go to the bathroom! It was also a drag when your roomie had an overnight guest in the co-ed dorms.

By no means am I a prude... I crew on tall ships for a hobby, and on most ships, the men and women crew all sleep in one room. Infact, you may be on the middle bunk and have a man in the bunk above you and below you. In that case though, you're so darned tired from working hard all day (or night) that all you care about is hitting the rack and getting some sleep!

I don't know how you do it. I'm not sure about tall ships but I know the typical size of crew quarters on most yachts are about the size of my closet.

My single in college was 7'x10' - the chest of drawers had to be on an angle because of the radiator, and a sink took up any room for a chair. My darling daddy built some shelves in it for me :) and I put my bed up on bricks so I could store things under the bed! The closet was outside of the room.

It had been a maid's room in the 1930's.

Just because a young person is old enough to drink doesn't mean that Mom and Dad will consider them an adult. For example, my parents didn't really like the idea of me living on my own after first year (not even with roommates. They wanted me to live in a building where someone was considered "responsible," so they would have LOVED NPC GLO rules) I guess my parents were ahead of their time, because I was one of the first non-business people to own a cell phone (1998). In any case, these days, parents have more control over their kids' lives if they live close enough to make day trips.

ETA: Now that my friends and I have finished school, many of those who've moved back home agree with me that they still have to live under some rules...Some still have a "curfew" (and must call home if I stay out past a certain time), others might have to spend x number of hours with the family, etc, etc...we're all in our mid 20s.

Amen sista! IF I had lived in a sorority house in college, I would have enjoyed taking off my makeup, putting my hair up in a clip and putting on a face mask and know no boys would be around at that hour.

My freshman year I lived in a triple. Three beds built bunkbed style above the desk and dresser. One morning I wok up to my roommate having sex with her boyfriend 10 feet away. Yuck!

Denise

Of course, it all depends on what your "house" is like.

If you live in a huge sorority house that is more like a dorm, with 50+ people in it, I can understand having visitation rules and things like that. Cause it basically is a dorm, only nicer and with just sisters in it - and the sorority is probably big enough that the sisters don't all know each other that well.

But we have/had, for the most part, houses that only hold around 15 people...and that are OFF campus...to expect people in that situation to behave like they're still living in a dorm, have "curfews" and such, is asinine.