[FuzzieAlum]

I have to say that what Sigma did was ... well, naive is probably the best word for it. But heck, they're a young chapter, without a lot of very experienced alum advisors, so I find it hard to come down too hard on them.

Nevertheless, I don't see this as producing any good publicity for sororities.

Example: I was in SD for the last few days, and one morning I was listening to a morning show on the radio. The guys were talking about the allegations that a producer was dating one of the sisters, and that they had "ringers" in to make the chapter look better. What really surprised me was that THEY REFERRED TO THE CHAPTER AS A E PHI. Yeah, I know lots of non-Greeks aren't up on their Greek letters - do we really think that when these adolescents watching this show go to college, they'll remember which chapter it was that was portrayed?

The DJs then went on to discuss which chapters at the schools they had gone to were the ugly ones. Really nice.

The thing is, I don't think Sigma is that different from any other chapter. In any sisterhood you could find a girl who would say that she was attracted to Greek life for the social aspect, or one girl who gets drunk one night, or someone who thinks philanthropy is boring. Any of us could be made to look bad if we were edited in the same way.

The one advantage nationals had over this local in this case is that nationals have a lot of old alums who are absolutely terrified of being mentioned in the press. They've learned the hard way that practically any publicity re. Greek life is BAD publicity. There are many locals that have learned this as well, especially those chapters that have been around a while. Sigma didn't have that advantage, and I suspect they'll learn the hard way. (I don't mean to imply that nationals are superior to locals in any way other than they have more woman-hours of accumulated experience to draw from.)

I mean, honestly - if MTV focused on how much philanthropy these girls do and their good grades, the morning DJs of the world would still manage to say, yeah, they do it 'cause they're the ugly ones! Or, "I remember how hard the Mu Mus partied when I was in college." Not that it excuses MTV for sensationalizing everything it touches, but a lot of folks will only latch onto the things that fit their preconceived notions of Greek life. It's a lose-lose situation for all Greeks, I think.