sorry, didn't mean to shout.
I agree that what you referenced is a Panhellenic issue. But sometimes I think it's easier to change the direction the earth spins than change NPC.
So it's just easier to make the school the bad guy.
I thought men first, women deferred worked fine. (Keep in mind that we did not have huge houses - you could conceivably never have to live in.) Another component of this was that little sisters still existed then, and they could pledge first semester. I saw a LOT of little sisters who got into it without knowing which end was up and ended up quitting. That's part of my rationale. Freshmen women can now pledge first semester there. IMO it hasn't solved the "don't look at rep" problems, it has added to them, but that's just my opinion.
ETA (partially in response to RW's post) that when I say we had deferred rush, freshmen were not forbade from talking to sorority members and there wasn't a semester long rush counselor disaffiliation or any of that silliness. the only silence period was while actual rush was happening. When you have deferred and don't let rushees get to know the sorority members in a non-rush environment it defeats the whole purpose.