Quote:
Originally Posted by angels&angles
I think everyone knows which girls are in majors that require them to study all time, which girls have a huge project due that week, and which girls wasted all their time on facebook/at the house/drinking. not to mention which girls think the fraternity they're mixing with is below them (or not their boyfriend's frat, where they want to hang out) and think that claiming they're studying is a way to get off scot free. And then they "study" (facebook) for an hour and then go out.
Plus, the girls that do study all the time often use the mixer as a welcome break. Show up in minimal costume and maybe only for an hour. Have one drink max. But everyone knows that they've worked hard to get this hour off, and appreciate it.
There's a difference between not making it because you need to study, and making time in your studying to get to do the fun things you pay money for. sometimes you have to miss a mixer because you just have to (sometimes, if you're me, you know if you plan to go out only for an hour, you'll be there until 3am. But everyone knew if I missed a mixer, it was serious  )
What I really hated were the girls who deliberately planned things to coincide with the events they didn't like. We always had to come back from winter break a few days early so for work week and recruitment. But every year, some of the girls would by plane tickets for the day before classes started "because they didn't know the dates and needed to buy tickets early." I always tried to call BS (I lived way farther than them, I had to buy tickets too, and somehow I always managed to get there for work week). It drove me crazy, but my chapter refused to fine them because they had nonrefundable plane tickets.  (These girls eventually became Rho Gams, which took care of the problem to some extent, and the chapter fines more harshly now, I believe). |
Someone else said it, but perhaps there DOES need to be more education that being a member IS a commitment, but if you organize your time, you can fit in most of the stuff you want to. Would it help to offer a "Study Skills" class to new members? Yes, it's something ELSE to do, but a few hours' worth of tricks and tips can make a real difference. Or petition the college to start such a class for freshman. Maybe during orientation. I don't know the right answer, but having taken such a class during freshman year of HIGH SCHOOL, I knew way ahead of time how to effectively study, how to organize fun time and work time, and to make sure I had "free time" to just relax.
ETA: Do members now have "study buddies"? When I pledged, every group had a program like this. They paired a younger and older member (grade year, not initiation year) and studied together at the library a certain # of hours a week. I think 2 "buddy" hours were mandatory (pledges also had other "whenever study hours at the library) and for grade risks, there was more time. It was a built-in time to get busy work or research done (I know you can't do mandatory PLEDGE activities but if EVERYONE participated...). A lot of girls were thankful for the "mandatory" time, though a few chose to chit chat. They finally passed a no-talking rule (outside of talking about school work) for those two hours. For those who felt that they "don't need it", they could be a "buddy" who helped another girl, or find something to work on productively. I am betting that just about any college student could find school work to do for two hours in a library (even if most of their stuff was lab work or done elsewhere). After all, you ARE there for an education, and this is a way to help everyone find time to get work done. These days, you'd have to implement no cells or FB, but that might be hard to monitor. Oh wait, your buddy could do that!