Read "Pledged" Yet?
 

Hello to my ADPi sisters! I'm new to your board and am feeling a bit bold so I started my own thread.

While browsing through Barnes & Noble recently, I came across a book called "Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities" by Alexandra Robbins. So, I took the bait and bought it. Ms. Robbins went behind the scenes at a Southern university and managed to get four girls to spill their guts. I was a bit disappointed with this aspect of her book. She claims to be a journalist, yet is not always fair or objective.

The most disturbing part of this book is the chapter on Rituals. She reveals the secret handshake, sign and ceremonies for several major sororities. Luckily, ADPi was only mentioned a few times in her book and no ritual was revealed.

Just curious if anyone else has picked up this latest attack on sororities and has any thoughts. Looking forward to chatting with other sisters!

Violets!
Meazie

PS - I attended the University of Northern Colorado, Delta Chi Chapter, which has since closed.

Welcome to GreekChat, Meazie! When you get a minute, let us know a little about yourself on the threads above, and read the Forum Guidelines.

In the meantime, no, I haven't read the book. I had heard that it was a hatchet job, so I'll wait until it's at a library or at least at Half Price Books! There's a thread on the book, I think in the Greek Life Forum.

Anyone else read it yet?

I am on the waiting list for the book at my local library. I am number 9 on the list and they have only 1 book. It seems odd that the library doesn't even have the book yet and there are already 8 other people waiting to read it. But just hypothesizing, I'm sure the other 8 are most likely Greek and wanting to find out exactly what this woman is saying.

I personally think it will most likely be trash, but I'm curious to what she has to say.

i think it would be very beneficial for all active members of all npc groups to read it. i plan to read it and encourage my chapter to read it as well.

why? because i think there will be girls going through recruitment this coming fall that will have read it, and i think we should be able to field questions and concerns they have that are related to the book.

that's a really good point about recruitment. Maybe that is something alot of chapters should do is read it, because I'm sure there will be girls out there who do read the book and pretty much expect 'that' when they are going through FR.

I went to Barnes and Noble today and read part of it, and was kind of shocked. I am going to go back tomorrow and buy it since I got my paycheck yesterday! It seemed kind of interesting, but I think it's going to make me mad. :mad:

I agree with lyrica9. As they say, "Forewarned is forearmed," and you'll have a better idea what incoming PNMs are discussing if you've read the book.

On the other hand, I hate-hate-hate the idea of this author making one more cent out of anti-Greek sentiment than possible! I plan to take it out of the library, get it at Half Price Books, or, if all else fails, go to Borders a few times to read it. (I read fast! :) )

Another idea might be if the chapter buys one copy, and everyone reads that.

i forgot to mention in this thread, but i mentioned it in the thread i started about this in rush, but honeychile, that's what i plan to do.

i'm going to buy the book and loan it to as many of my sisters as i can before FR, and maybe even to the sisters of a-phi, pi phi, kappa and zeta that will have houses with us in the very close quarters of sorority row come august.

You just warmed the cockles of the Panhellenic part of my heart!! Y

As wonderful as Alpha Delta Pi is, it's wonderful to also think panhellenically!

we have a very strong panhellenic sisterhood here, i think. and we're really going to have to strengthen that when we do move into sorority row, because we are constantly going to be around each other.
glad i could warm your panhellenic cockles!:D

This is a link one of my sisters from my chapter sent me. It tells a little about the book. It is distigushing that someone would actually participate in ritual, pretend to care and love it, and then not only reveal the ritual, but everything else that may or may not be true. Anyway here is the link:



Have you seen this article yet???? You can respond to the author via her e-mail address, robbins322@hotmail.com


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4751618/



TT love,
Brandi

PLEASE remember that any correspondance should come from our EO!!!! You must realize that any response that this author gets will just be fodder for her next book!

Agreed! Please do not write to the author. You are going to be just one more voice in a long line of letters that she could publish!

Why not do something positive? Reward your chapters for the things you are doing right and then make a list of all the things your chapter does that could be considered a chapter risk. Then, talk to your PD. If you come to her, she will support you and help you eliminate those unhealthy traditions.

I just got this book today and plan on reading it and loaning it out as soon as I'm done!

Okay, I couldn't the whole article because after her second answer I was sickened. Who knows how I'm going to read the damn book?

But what I don't get is she is claiming she went undercover to find out if the myths are true but then she completely disses all sororities. No offense to her, but hello dumb butt it's college. Some of the 'myths' of sororities are unfortunately facts of life. People have sex. That is a fact of life. People have eating disorders. Again, another fact of life. So somehow because these women are sorority girls we are to blame for this.

I swear to god, it makes me want to go undercover to show all GOOD THINGS that we do. Our philanthropic activities. Our GPA requirements.

I bet NOT ONE GOOD THING is mentioned about sororities in this book.

We have such a bad stigma anyways, it would be nice if someone actually STOOD UP FOR THE GREEKS!!!!!

GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

Sorry needed to vent.

Agree with me, disagree with me, just respect my opinion.

What I don't get is why are people so hell bent on destryoing greeks? What does she or anyone else care what we do? You are right about the sex, drinking and eating disorders. Go to any other organization in college or high school, for that matter, and you will find the same things going on? It's life, as sad as it may be the people are not perfect and things like that are going to exist. She needs to get over it!!

TT love,
Brandi

Honestly and I hate to sound all bitchy and high and mighty, but I think it boils down to jealousy.

People tend to diss things that they don't understand because they are not a member of.

Sororities are selective. That's just the way it has been and will always be.

I mean let's take FR for example: At ASU about 700 girls go through FR. Only about (and I'm guessing here) 1/3 (about 233 girls) will make a house. So that means over 450 girls either were cut or dropped out of FR. If your a PNM and you are cut and you desperately wanted to be in a house, it could lead to some serious jealousy of the members in a house. I'm not saying that this is always the case but I think that this has some bearing to why Greeks are given such a bad name.

Another example, there was this girl at U of A who I guess was constantly rushing ADPi. She would go through FR, put us down (I guess we then dropped her, before my time). She then went through spring rush with me. Didn't get a bid. Then went through two more COB (COR) events, again didn't get a bid. I then heard through sisters that she signed up for FR again. I can't say that I remember anything about this girl or why we didn't give her a bid, but something like this, a person so desperate to join and not become a member could really 'hurt' their view of Greek life in general. So in her mind, we might be the bad people because we didn't offer her a bid.


I'm just trying to make the point that there are a culmination of things that leads society to not understand us. Movies give us a bad name. Books are now giving us a bad name. People 'talking' give us all a bad name.



I just really, really wish that people would stop looking at Greeks in the negative light and start seeing the positive that comes out of being affiliated with a Greek chapter. All the work we do in a community, our philanthropic work, our GPA's, awards we have won, all of that great stuff.

I'm reading it now and honestly, I've seen some of the stuff that she mentions, but certainly not all of it. Anyway, I think this would be a great topic for discussion for our Yahoo group or for Pride Online, but not on here. Too many people can read these posts ...

You know what is already so amazing is the fact that this book is being read by so many sisters.

Just today at Founders Day I was talking to about 10 sisters, all alum, and we were actually talking about the book.

One of the sisters, who had just finished reading the book, said that she had to go to like four different bookstores because the book was 'flying off the shelves'. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I see it as a good thing if sorority members are buying it up so that they know how to be prepared for pnm questions. Otherwise, bad, bad, bad.

What also got me was how this sister was actually 'supporting the book'. I'm like 'hello the shit she is talking about is about college life in general and she is using it to make sororities look bad'.

I guess I'll just have to wait to read the book.

I'm still on the waiting list for it from the library.

Just finished it and...
 

The most amusing thing I found about it was the fact that she was so hung up on who was wearing which desinger label, who cares?
I think we all have see at least one or two of the things in the book happen in our chapters but not all of it. If my chapter had been that drama filled my college days would have been alot more exciting.
And I know this book is bad publicity and all but, I was just a little upset that she mentioned Theta as the first group modeled after mens fraterntiys but nothing about the Adelpheans being the first group peroid, we all know the diffrence but if a PNM reads the book all shes going to read is Theta was the first sorority.
I did agree with her on one point though, flame me if you want... I really do think that Panhell needs to come up with a more specific definition of hazing. Its no fun to walk around on egg shells all the time. Anyways thats just my .02

I have red most of the book. I wouldn't mind discussing it with other people that have both read it and are rational.

ITs really not hostile to sororities at all.

Even if you look at the article where they interview her.

This is the only inflammatory thing she says:

a lot of people are seething when they have only read the sensational highlights. As a male I wish the book was chock full of sorority orgies like a girls gone wild video. :p

I want to read this book, but I REFUSE to buy this book. I cannot give this woman any of my hard earned cash. I will try to get it from one of the many libraries in this town.

As far as the issues that she address in this book: I've known more non-greeks with eating disorders than nongreeks. I lived in the dorms for 2 years and knew nongreeks who partied alot more than greeks. As far as drugs, I can't really give an answer because I didn't ever do drugs and if people know what you stand for, they don't usually try to change your opinion. And many kids start trying drugs in high school and come to college using. It's not just a greek thing. Look chapter total at my university was 100. If you went out and picked out that many random women from the non-greek population, you would probably have the same sort of problems. This group of 100 women just has a greek name. It is college!!!!

Many times I do wish that all the active members of our chapters would be more responsible, make better choices, be better at keeping in contact with AAs, etc. Then I remember that they are young. Many college students are guilty of the same sort of irresponsibilities. Lots of them are just leaving the house for the first time and are not sure what to do withour mommy and daddy telling them what to do. I wish that society would realize that they are not all adults yet (I apologize to actives that are one these boards but I do know that this does not apply to everyone)!!!

As I write this, I am thinking of our founders. What would they say/do about all of this? What about the actions of all actives (not just adpis)? What would they say about this book?

Oh yeah, one last thing. I was just skimming the interview with the author. Did she actually get initiated into a soroity while "undercover"? If so, did she lie about things to get into the sorority? What about a letter of recommendation from some other member of that organization? If someone indeed did write a rec for her, that person would feel like an as*.

Oh, I agree with Adelphean1851, from what I have heard, Panhellenics on universities are jokes and pretty much don't do what they could. NPC could come up with some more help and guidance too.