What do you think about ranking Sororities?
 

I wrote this article as a response to the angry sorority members who did not like the top ten list posted on parents&colleges. Please feel free to give me your feedback and check out the article:

http://www.parentsandcolleges.com/bl...ties-a-Mistake

The original article was already discussed here and we came to a consensus that it was ridiculous. Your rebuttal isn't any less ridiculous. If you feel the need to point out that a top ten list does "prohibit" people from joining other groups, you need a reality check. Your words don't have that much meaning.

Oh, and it's probably best not to use the term "frat", especially when supposedly defending the Greek system. It just brings the Animal House image to people's minds. And if someone makes the country comment, I will scream.

Is there a point somewhere in the article? If there is, I cannot find it. In one place, you say that it's "not fair" to put together a list of the "best" sororities and/or fraternities, yet elsewhere you seem to defend just such lists. A response like this needs to present a cogent argument for the position you're taking. This article does not do that.

As for this sentence --

Quote:

It is not fair to compile a national list of the best sororities and fraternities because each chapter is very unique.

-- there is no such thing as "very unique." A chapter is either unique -- meaning it is one of a kind and there is no other chapter like it anywhere -- or it is not. There are no levels of uniqueness. /petpeeve

The original list was pointless and completely lacking in information -- particularly the criteria used for determining the very-subjective "best." Sorry, but your response seems equally pointless.

I believe it is unfair to rank sororities or fraternities, but I think that people read too deep into the top ten list. It merely lists the origins of those sororities and their philanthropic efforts. The article does not say, "these are the best sororities to join." It is introducing high school students to greek life. If you would like your sorority to be featured. I can write a blog post highlighting your chapters efforts. Sorry for any misunderstandings

As an intern for parents&colleges I sought an opportunity to reach out to greek members who were offended. I did not oppose the article, nor support it-hints as to why i did not take a stance. In the word count which I was allocated I wanted to explain the coordinator's thought process in publishing the list while pointing out how doing so could easily upset people. I do not want to argue with anyone, but regardless of what I say someone will not be happy.

If I'm the you to whom you are referring, then you are incorrect about what I read and didn't read. Please don't confuse my opinion of what you wrote (which you asked for) with not having read what you wrote.

Should I question whether you read the article, which is titled "Top 10 Best Sororities"? I'm not quite sure what that (rather redundant) title is supposed to mean if it's not "best sororities." Couple that with the lead-in on the value of joining a sorority," then yeah, it pretty much claims to be a list of the best sororities to join.

Chapters and sororities are not the same thing.

But you didn't explain it. If you're going to explain, then give more than "hints" how the list was complied -- actually explain how was it decided which groups made the list and how it was decided what their place in the list would be. And if the only criterion was size, then at least acknowledge that it would have been better to label the list "Largest Sororities" rather than "Best Sororities." (Of course, then there would be another problem -- only NPC sororities are included in the list. If size is the criteria, inclusion of some of the Divine 9 sororities would knock some of the NPC ones of the list.)

It was by size, as GC'ers pointed out almost immediately.

A picture of men and women in a "beer cup hot tub". Really? I don't think that will get any positive feedback.

I know (except, as I said, selectively, because otherwise Delta Sigma Theta would have been 1 or 2 on the list). But just because we can easily see that doesn't mean that the audience she's writing for will catch on to that. If the point of the response was to explain how the list was generated, then the response failed to make that point beyond saying this: "All of the sororities and fraternities that were chosen are larger, more popular (or widely known) and have for the most part been around longer-hints to why they were categorized as the top ten."

If you read a US News list, for example, they generally have a long and boring explanation of how they determined their rankings. It's the part most people don't read, but if you want to write an article about how or why a list was made, the actuarial details are critical. And there are a few small phrases that would respond to the original complaints very succinctly; NPC being one (and maybe you un-abbreviate it by saying National Panhellenic Conference), and largest nationally would be another.

A list of the 10 largest NPC sororities, where they have the strongest regional concentration, when they were founded, and a bit about their history and mission, would be an interesting article to many parents. Follow that up with an explanation of what you mean by largest (most active collegiate chapters, most collegiate members, total number of members throughout their history...) and you've got an article that people might be disappointed they aren't represented on, but they wouldn't be able to call you out as dumb or perpetuating ranks that are outdated and unnecessary.

If I were writing this article, I would probably add a note to it that were we to include all sororities, not just NPC ones, that Delta Sigma Theta (or any others - I don't have a clue) would make the list, a little about their history, mission, etc. And I might also include a bit about sororities that are very strong but highly regionalized. This would also go a long way toward clarifying that there is no BEST, just differences in ways you crunch numbers.

And to add my two cents, I also have a huge peeve with the use of unique. As my 10th grade English teacher said, if you're going to use the word unique you better really be describing the absolutely one and only of a thing in the whole world through all of time. I don't believe any sorority or fraternity could make the cut using that definition.

So introduce them to all of greek life. It makes little to no sense to only show the biggest ones and say they are the best. Just because some of the organizations focus on expansion does not mean they are the best. Also if you are going to say that you are introducing high schoolers to greek life then show them all parts. Your list does nothing other than superficially put a ranking into the reader's heads that these are, for some subjective and superficial reason, better than other organizations. You completely ignore 16 other organizations in the NPC as well as all the other councils. You are simply not introducing greek life and not only that, way to perpetuate stereotypes with the image on your rebuttal. Yes, it's from a popular tv show, but come on. There wasn't a better picture? Also your idea that people are reading too far into a top ten list is ridiculous. If the list is to introduce high schoolers to greek life then they will absolutely read that far deep into the list. They have no reason not to read that way. People who are familiar with greek life, who wouldn't need the introduction, would read the list as subjective and in the way you mean.

Lot of bad writing all around.