Many years ago, my mom told me that one of the girls on her dorm floor immediately left school when she got cut from the sorority where she was a multiple legacy. At Michigan State. In 1951. For some women, the sorority trumped/s the educational experience. Out of 22 women on her freshman floor, my mom was one of two to graduate. I'll leave it there, but my mom has plenty of stories about similar situations. Back in the days of the Mrs degree, this was how women connected with the "right" future husbands.
And, I'm sure some of this still occurs. My brother-in-law and his twin and his dad are all members of the same fraternity. He grew up in Alabama and his father was president of the "I'll leave the name blank but you'd all recognize the city" country club. My sister told me that he was HIGHLY impressed when he found out that my sister is a member of the sorority that is held in highest regard at his SEC alma mater and the state where he went to school.
So, I think this goes way back and it hasn't just occurred in the south. Social circles and sorority membership, along with other things, play important roles in other places, too.
I've always known the sorority affiliations of all my mom's friends, and it all works much the same way where I live, just not as overtly. I've said before that Jane Austen was writing about this 200 years ago.
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