How do we know that they didn't try? What if they did, but for some reason was not extended a bid?

We tell bidless PNMs that there are still many ways to get involved on campus. I was in leadership positions before I joined my sorority as a junior. You don't have to be Greek to possess leadership qualities.

Being Greek isn't a requirement to get my vote.

I dunno, oldu.... I don't think it's that discouraging. I think it's representative of the eras in which they were collegians.

I think once people who went to college in the 90s and 00s start running for office, we will find that the majority of them will be Greeks.

Yeah, that too.

I think the other 3 have all made clear that they worked hard to get themselves into college and worked hard to get themselves through college, paying for it on their own. I don't think it's that unusual that for students in their situation, joining and paying for a GLO wasn't their top priority and I don't take it as a positive or a negative that they weren't in a greek org. I'm not sure why that's such a "must have" in your book, there are plenty of other LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT opportunities in college, greek life doesn't own the corner on that one.

Yeah because we all know the way to judge whether someone is worthy of running our country is whether they joined a fraternity or sorority :rolleyes:

I wouldn't vote for someone just because they went Greek. Not everyone who "goes Greek" is a leader.

Wow! Personally, I'd rank GLO affiliation at around 12,098 on my list of concerns for our Presidential and VP candidates.

SO WHAT?

Just because 3/4 Pres/VP candidates aren't greek does not mean GLO's are doing a crappy job of churning out leaders. People have other avenues of LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. It's not like GLO's are the end-all, be-all of leaders. There are plenty of leaders in the world in different areas that chose not to go Greek. There's nothing wrong with that.

On the same note, being a ABC fraternity/sorority member doesn't automatically mean you will be a leader. There are many members who go on to living normal, Average Joe lives and others who become extraordinary people in their respective fields. Maybe it was because of something they learned while being a ABC member or maybe it was just something they already had in them.

Even if this Sarah lady was my own sorority sister, that doesn't mean jack. It just means she happened to join the same sorority as me. I don't care whether or not someone is Greek when I am consdering how I am going to vote, so why again does this matter?

Somehow I think that for oldu, it's less about the tragedy of these individuals not going Greek and thus missing out on leadership development (which, besides, was that even a major emphasis in GLOs in the 60s/70s when these people were in college), and more about the fact that these people aren't in the WASP "chummy" club of Greek Life.

And let's face it, some of these people went to schools where, even at a time of relative overall decline in Greek life (60s/70s), Greek life at those schools was not particularly popular then or now - only a small minority of students were Greek.

I'm specifically thinking of Barack Obama + Columbia, but he actually started out at Occidental for two years, and I'm not sure if there was Greek Life there then - according to irishpipes' thread, their only NPC is Theta and that was only founded in 2004. If the pattern holds....

Wait, if I am reading this post correctly then you are assuming that Sarah Palin went to college in the 60's/70's? She graduated college in '87. Perhaps I have misinterpreted this post...

Yes, I believe you have.

Some clues:

Perhaps OldU meant that he/she finds it disappointing for GLOs as a whole, not disappointing in that the candidates are less qualified for Pres/VP because they aren't Greek.

We've all heard/quoted the old stand-by claim that xx% of Congress-people/Presidents/VP's were/are Greek. "See, GLOs create some great leaders, and many great leaders choose to be in GLOs!"

My read of OldU's comment was that perhaps this is the beginning of the end of that claim...

i can't imagine that the average Columbia student has Greek Life on their mind. honor society (PBK?) surely, but social GLO? esp if he transferred in as a junior from another college.

but im not gonna write the man's life story or anything.

ETA: then again, i doubt Obama was the "average" Columbia student. ;)

I agree with your second suggestion, Janerz222. Oldu's comment seems to suggest that an end of an era has come.

I don't think that's entirely accurate though. Part of what I believe breathesgelatin was pointing out is that we're coming into a time when many Americans who are seeking elective office happen to have gone to college during the 60s and 70s. It's been debated but I'm one of those who believe that those two decades were a low point in Greek affiliation. The 1980s, however, were a high point. I think we might just be going into a bit of a dip.

There are reasons why there will probably never be a full recovery though. Again, as breathesgelatin suggested, we're entering an era that is more accepting of non-WASPs being in power. Although I tend to think this is a good think, I'd agree that this is what has oldu so discouraged.

Not after being publicly exposed as a liar. She's a 44 year old grandmother!