\disclaimer: The following post are personal thoughts and opinions on what is touched on in this thread. /disclaimer No flames please!
I'd like to clarify what I mean more, on my earlier post.
I think there are precious few books about mainstream greek life. Actually, I know there are.
Let's see there's Baird's which we can ignore as its a (albeit useful) directory and it isn't as if it tells someone who's interested in going greek what to expect (or say someone who's just interested in fraternity life but it isn't so easy for them to experience directly). That just isn't the sort of book it is.
So we have Inspiration for Greeks which is good, there's Secret Sisters & Out on Fraternity Row which deal with the experience of gay/bisexual members of sororities and fraternities respectively (I understand for secret sisters a memo went out by at least one NPC group not to co-operate).
There's the Divine Nine book by Lawrence Ross which was an excellent move or In Search of Sisterhood or Black Greek 101. In fact, there seem to be many books about the
NPHC groups or surrounding aspects such as step shows (e.g. Soulstepping) etc. Unlike NPC/NIC?
There's out of print stuff like From here to Fraternity so we can ignore that. And teen fiction for girls on sororities maybe.
As far as comments go which say it (GLOs) can't be explained, I agree any book can only give broad brushstrokes within a finite number of pages but that goes almost without saying.
My point is there are precious few books where people can find out about greek life if they're interested - whether that be because they're off to a college with fraternities or sororities once they graduate their high school or whether they're simply interested in 'the whole fraternity thing' (!!!) without some dark motive to search out negativity! My point of there being precious few books is that THIS IS NOT HELPED BY POLICIES AND MEMOS THAT FORBID ANY CO-OPERATION!
This means - apart from the very few examples above - (and now Pledged) that those interested have to seek out what information **IS** available. That leaves information which can be reported on whether the orgs like it or not: i.e. news. Since, there's a legitimate reason for reporting news ("in the public interest") the media can do so; and what's more newsworthy? Scandal/Hazing etc sells.
I'm just suggesting here that NPC groups are cutting their nose off to spite their face. People WANT to hear personal experiences and by outlawing talking about your sorority to, say someone writing a book you leave those people only able to look to other resources such as news stories etc. Thrilling exposés are probably more saleable than philanthropies! And people want to hear a balanced honest personal view sometimes. This means the good with the bad. That doesn't indicate some dark lets make an exposé 'cause hey we want to destroy greek life element. It just means that for a balanced and honest appraisal of all the positives you have to admit sometimes there are petty arguments etc like life in general, and other things.
Having a policy that forbids such co-operation only leaves available either
nothing (excuse the hell outta me but PR is important!!!) or leaves some sanitised 'acceptable' monitored release that's been through a legal dept, been through everyone in marketing and their dog, and is probably all 'la la la and then we had a group hug and the sun set' dull as ditchwater. It just must look as if "hey what's so bad that you mustn't talk about it?" (and I know rituals etc must remain secret, I'm not talking about that)
Then, there's not only doing everything to warn against assisting and trying to block dissemination of any info/experiences but if by chance something does get published against all odds subsequently trying to find something to sue the hell out of them over it!!!
p.s. I don't have some dislike for KD or any other org or think that said org doesn't have a right to protect themself as a whole. I just think greekdom could do more to market itself which would leave less people thinking "fraternities=secret societies=hazing=The Skulls=more hazing" type
trash because they don't get to hear anything different.