Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
 

If there is another thread about this book out there, delete this one. I just found this to be interesting....

Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities:

Book Description
A fast-paced, behind-the-scenes book that blows the lid off the intriguing world of mainstream sorority life, by a New York Times bestselling author.
Alexandra Robbins wanted to find out if the stereotypes about sorority girls were actually true, so she spent a year with a group of girls in a typical sorority. The sordid behavior of sorority girls exceeded her worst expectations -- drugs, psychological abuse, extreme promiscuity, racism, violence, and rampant eating disorders are just a few of the problems. But even more surprising was the fact that these abuses were inflicted and endured by intelligent, successful, and attractive women.

Why is the desire to belong to a sorority so powerful that women are willing to engage in this type of behavior -- especially when the women involved are supposed to be considered "sisters"? What definition of sisterhood do many women embrace? Pledged combines a sharp-eyed narrative with extensive reporting and the fly-on-the-wall voyeurism of reality shows to provide the answer.

This is that same silly biddy from the Skull & Bones report on 60 Minutes. Get a life chick!!

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...threadid=40443

:rolleyes: The only one of those I personally witnessed was a girl with an eating disorder--and her very concerned sisters who helped her out of it.

Can somebody point out a college dorm wing where there aren't a few girls engaging in each of these activities? It's like "Hey, college girls are easy! Let's extrapolate that to sorority girls, since they're in college too, and it's they're fault that all the other ones are easy!" :p

Ok, if she really experienced ALL of that in one year, wouldn't it have come to the attention of the authorities?? Or the nationals? On second thought maybe it's not about a national.

and "typical" would be what? seems like she already had her intentions of what she was going to expose. just my opinion.

i seriously thought about buying her book, just because. but if the moral of the story is, "hey sorority chicks sure are slutty and do a lot of drugs..." then im not goin for it.

in anything publicated about greek life, itll always be:
1. how great, and sucessful the greeks are, and how much they do for the comunity.

--or--

2. how horrid and corny the greks are, and how muych of their "wrongdoings" get swept under the rug.

WAs this the woman who lied her way into rush?

carnation, I was thinking the same thing. ANAD Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders is one of DPhiE's philanthropies. Many beautiful, intelligent, successful teenagers and women have eating disorders. Eating disorders are diseases and need to be taken seriously in order for a women to be treated. In our society there is so much pressure on women to be physically perfect. Unfortunately, this has led to an epidemic of eating disorders in all kinds of women and men, not just sorority women.

You may be thinking of Vendela Vida, who wrote Girls on the Verge: Debutante Dips, Drive-bys, and Other Initiations. She pretended to be a student at UCLA, and got a bid to a sorority.

No. That was a different obnoxious heffa. This is the one who did the big "expose" of Skull & Bones without mentioning that she was a member of a rival secret society. :rolleyes:

I'm waiting to see how she "spent a year with a group of girls."

Cosign!

When I saw that eating disorders was DPhiE's philanthropy, I was thrilled to death!!

The only way she could do this "expose" on a national sorority is if she did it undercover -- which is pretty sketchy. Otherwise I'm guessing it's a local.

And while I have no doubt that there are sororities that have problems with everything she mentioned, I find it pretty hard to believe that she managed to find ONE with every single problem. I mean, yeah, there are sororities across that have drug issues, eating disorder issues, racism issues -- but all at once? That's madness.

Ditto, I really think that stuff's being overhyped for publicity's sake now.

Maybe this sounds bad...I doubt it would be hard however to find a sorority with that many problems. If you go to big chapters (100+ moreso) I think it would be fairly easy. Take an average group of college women, you will see these issues, now put some letters on it and people will buy it. Colleges are filled with so many dramas that can consume people. Ask anyone who works with Residence Life. I just don't think you'd have to go very far. Sorority women aren't perfect we refelect the general society around us.

It is skeezy as hell to be writing about it as though sorority women are the only ones who go through it, but it does happen. My chapter has a lot of those problems that people are dealing with in that horrid book...

I think it all depends on how you interpret things. "Drugs" could be someone who smoked one joint and never touched it again. "Racism" could be someone saying "those A & F shirts really are sort of cute."

Let's send her a bunch of emails and ask her. :)

Haha! She probably came to my chapter and saw me and my roomie sitting around eating ice cream out of the carton and talking about boys.

Re: Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
 

This is when I want to welcome everyone to what goes on in live *everywhere* and not just in sororities!

critic's review
 

Here's a review from bn.com:

From The Critics
Publisher's Weekly
Robbins, who previously researched Yale's Skull and Bones Society for Secrets of the Tomb and also coauthored Quarterlife Crisis, went undercover for the 2002-2003 academic year to investigate the inner workings of "Greek" (National Panhellenic Conference) sororities. Sororities are far from anachronisms; there are presently some 3.5 million women in almost 3,000 Greek chapters on campuses across America. After the national office forbade locals from cooperating with Robbins, she disguised herself as an undergrad and found four sorority women willing to risk expulsion to help her. While Robbins structures her narrative around the year's ritual cycle-the rush, the bid, pledging, initiation, Greek Week, etc.-the timeless soap opera of sorority life occupies center stage. And although battles between girls can be wrenching, there's nothing like a date gone wrong to bring out the tears-and the thermos of vodka. Beyond romance, Robbins's informants have their own issues, among them, being black and poor in a rich white sorority and recovering from date rape by a frat brother. These problems are worsened by an environment that encourages binge drinking, drug abuse, eating disorders and blind obedience to what their pledge masters or sorority elders tell them to do. Historically black sororities, which are not the focus of this book, do have a reputation for promoting community service and sisterhood; "historically white" sororities, Robbins concludes, are really just social groups for making friends and meeting guys, despite their claims to academic and service values. Robbins makes suggestions for reforming sororities-more adult supervision, ending pledging, etc.-although the demystification that comes from reading her front-line account may be the best prescription. Agent, Paula Balzer. (Apr. 14) Forecast: Robbins is mediagenic and has lots of connections (she's written for the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, Self and other publications). A Today appearance will boost sales, although it's hard to pin down this book's audience. Those interested in joining a sorority probably won't pick it up, and it's not particularly addressed toward feminists. Do university policy makers watch the Today show? Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

I'm interested in how she pretended to be an undergrad...that seems like a lot of work. I don't know about everyone else's school, but before we even extend a bid, we have to file paperwork to the Greek advisor, who with the signed paper from the PNM, releases to us her birthday, the number of credits the girl earned, her last semester GPA, and her overall GPA.
If other schools are like this, and I think they are, that means this woman had to at least enroll full time in a school, therby forging documents that would make her 'normal' college age (18-22), a la Joise Grossie from Never Been Kissed.
I smell a rat.

I am interested in who interviews her on the Today show, because Katie Couric is a Tri Delta.

I think I will be ordering this book and watching her publicity apperance on the Today Show.

Apparently it can't be too hard to impersonate yourself as an undergrad since Vendela Vida did it too at USC for her book. However, she did what I felt was a very well balanced portrait of the rush experience in a book which was about various community's coming of age ritual for girls rather than a expose on "sorority life."
What I find most disturbing about this new book is the conclusion the author comes to, that historically black sororities are paragons of community building and philanthropy while NPC sororities are just an excuse to socialize and meet frat guys. She completely ignores the many important positive things that NPC sororities do for their communities and their philanthropies. She does not acknowledge the role that NPC sororities play in helping their members develop as women and leaders in a supportive environment. I find her conclusion especially disturbing considering the fact that there have been a number of severe hazing incidents involving traditionally black sororities that I have read about since I've been on GC. Clearly no group of organizations is without their "bad apples." To declare one set of organizations as completely worthless and another as completely benevolent is irresponsible journalism and completely ridiculous.

However, Vida was taking part in a before-school rush and dropped out before she even started pledging. She didn't take a spot that some other girl who really wanted it could have had.

It's one thing to be a 60 Minutes person and pretend you are buying a car. But to pretend to be something you're not for A WHOLE YEAR?? Did she go to class? If not, how did she explain that away? I smell a rat too - it says 4 sorority members were willing to risk expulsion to help her. If she was undercover, how did they know they would be expelled for talking to her?

I'm betting this is something that she and the other women conspired on and is totally false. I hope Katie Couric rips her a new one.

Edited to add this link, don't know if it is real, but LMAO if this is part of her "research."
http://www.stophazing.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000258.html

Actually Vendela Vida went through rush at UCLA, not USC. She went through my senior year I believe. She's not the only writer or journalist to have tried this over the years.

semi related, yet very interesting. one of my sisters sent it out on our listserve

http://www.bluejeanonline.com/featur...rity070903.htm

Wow, I just don't understand how someone managed to fool an entire greek life system for a year.

I remember reading an article in Jane magazine probably about four years back. A undercover journalist decided that she wanted to know what the big deal with sororities were. She went to a small college with no greek life. She went through all of UCLA's rush. She even recieved a bid to Tri-Delt (if I remember correctly). She eventually up and left because Tri-Delt and UCLA would want to see her class schedule and grades (since she was claiming to be a transfer student, that was her cover story).

The article was actually very positive she spoke about the first sorority being a literary society (which we were). She didn't say anything bad about the houses or the fellow PNM's (which were still called rushee's at the time). She even stated how much she enjoyed the process and how she loved her 'sisters'.

With that said, how could this woman pull off not showing her grades or transcripts for a whole year? That is what gets me. The four sorority girls who supposedly helped her can only do so much.

does anyone know when her appearance on the today show will be?

Does anyone know if the sorority profiled in the book is NPC?

Re: critic's review
 

Wow. I would not even BEGIN to claim that the NPHC's "reputation for promoting community service and sisterhood" is false. But WTH? This is an untrue statement regarding "white" sorority members. There are many differences between NPHC and NPC, but I don't really feel this is one of them.

Edited to clarify that this was part of the critic's review, not kricket's actual statement.

Does it say which University she went to? I imagine her life in a sorority is particuaraly high drama if some girls are risking expulsion for her.

I think she either went to Princeton or Yale. Not sure which one.

The reviews I've read seem to imply that it IS an NPC sorority. One of the reviews said that the book exposes ritual secrets, although I have no idea if that is true or not.

I also think that the blind assertion that NPHC sororities promote true sisterhood and community service and are therefore worthwhile whereas NPC sororities don't and therefore are not is, well, ridiculous. One of the "suggestions" she supposedly makes at the end of the book is eliminating "pledging" which is clearly an issue that both conferences struggle with.

The reviews also say that it's pretty clear she has an agenda and that it's definitely not a work of serious journalism.

Is it worth pre-ordering an advance copy off Amazon do y'all think? I.e. for someone with an interest in Greek Life.
I know it's still a pending release but just on what you've heard?

links pretty please?

I personally am going to wait till it comes out and then buy it second hand thru ebay or half.com. That way this woman doesn't get any of my money, at least directly, for the sensationalized drivel she writes.

When is she going to be on the Today Show? I'd really like to watch that and see what is said.

Teen Vogue
 

There is an excerpt from the book in the new Teen Vogue. I didn't read it throughly, just scanned (I was hungry and on my way to lunch).

The sororities where members (fake names, no mention of chapter or when it happened) comment include Phi Mu, Phi Sigma Sigma, Alpha Epsilon Phi, and Alpha Sigma Alpha. She brings up for the kabillionth time KKG at DePauw, the girl in the local at Concordia college, and an AGD incident from 1970!!

I plan on emailing her and asking where the ASA was from, as she made a comment about a 9 week program and I have never heard of any of our chapters having anything longer than 8 weeks.

You know, if she really was an investigative journalist she would at least inform the public which school she did this at, which organization she "pledged", etc, etc. She wouldn't have to reveal individual names, but come on, how can anyone believe anything she says if she writes, about going to the 123 University and pledging XYZ sorority. There is no way to varify her facts. I mean I could write a book like that and make it all up and no one would know.
What crap. Is this same woman who was on 60 Minutes talking about Skull and Bones?

Yes.

Oh well in that case, we know she's a crackpot!