[GammaPhi-L-L]

I was a grad student in the student activities office and saw IU recruitment first-hand. It is brutal. As my user name suggests, my undergraduate experience was much different. Sorority recruitment and the entire system is part of what makes IU. The entire system is exclusive, and I think the administration likes it that way.

I have advised many PNMs during their IU recruitment. The ones that have happy endings were usually the ones who kept their options open - cut and kept a variety of houses (yes, they can cut a "coveted" house, after the first party even). One who had a particularly difficult time was a little disappointed with her options but pledged anyway. Many were too selective and dropped out when they weren't invited back to certain houses. This young woman competed on the Little 5 team her freshman year and then became captain. She had the time of her life. All of the IU sororities and fraternities to do the same things. There are best friends and buttheads in all of them.

While I feel bad for the women who feel hurt on bid day, I get over it. I don't know very many first-hand accounts of women who maximize their options and don't receive a bid. Just keep and open mind from the beginning of the process, not just the end. As long as women drop out because they don't get into certain sororities, exclusivity wins.