I'm more curious about the part where all the NPC sororities HAD to go listen to her speech.

Yeah, I read the book (checked it out from the library, didn't pay for it.)
If you've read it, you've heard what she has to say. Unless there was an NPC representative there to give a balanced presentation, I wouldn't have wasted my time.

I've read it, but I never let it influence my opinions on Greek life. That would be very stupid and silly.

Ditto! And...who on campus books her to speak and how much do they pay for this garbage?

Also she attended Yale and was a member of a "sister organization" to Skull and Bones. Or so she claims in her book on that fraternity. I doubt she was also a collegiate member of any other sorority then or later.

She mentions in the introduction to her book that she interviewed older alumnae and was just shocked at how they wouldn't reveal the secrets of an organization that many admitted didn't really have much to do with them any more. But SHOCKINGLY they wouldn't tell. So she was clearly fishing and got a few bites. But I'm amused by the number of inaccuracies that have been pointed out in her revealed secrets.

I would like to think that "highly urged to attend" would have been more valid about members of NPC sororities going to see AR. After all, it's easier to critique when you know of what you speak.

And as much as I would refuse to BUY a copy of her trash, er, book, I do think we need to know what type of nonsense she's perpetuating.

adpiucf & 33 - love both of your posts!

Exactly. Someone can't just slip in, get some info and go leave to write about it. They'd have to have been there a while.

If I were an older alumna, I wouldn't reveal secrets of my organization to anyone, let alone her. A secret is a secret.

Exactly, even if they didn't mean anything to (general) you anymore, there are plenty of active members who those secrets are important to.

@33girl Ah, I see.

The university where I advised had required Educational attendance percentages for each chapter (each member had to attend I think two speakers/seminars/whatever that were designated as Educationals by Panhellenic). While I understood the intent, I thought it was silly. Some educationals were good and relevant to chapter members, but others women just went to in order to fulfill the requirement and gained nothing.

Authoress?????

I understand requirements for educational speakers, but what College Panhellenic in their right mind would pay to hear this author??

I guess they felt obligated to. It probably wasn't their top choice, or something or other.

She was in Scroll & Key which is actually a competing society to Skull & Bones - it couldn't be a "sister" society as the majority of the alums/members are men.

Maybe this is more just my own experience with HQ communication, but I have never felt that they were encouraging us to recruit a certain image. Sure, maybe they wanted us to recruit women who had potential leadership qualities and had good grades, but that was the end of it.

Any image-focused drive I think comes more from the PNMs trying to peg the groups into some stereotype in order to pick the right one. I think the advice to the PNMs to keep an open mind is good, but I think that AR's book does more to close minds about sorority life than it does to open minds. I really think that AR should have looked at greek life on a variety of campuses before writing her book, too.

If you ask me, any campus would be better off having someone at www.phiredup.com speak to a campus about changing greek life for the better. Their I Heart Recruitment book is fabulous.