Little Sisters

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

Where there's plenty of numbers to go around, no one cares or pays attention. When rush numbers are tight, then anything that takes customers away gets noticed.

But the thing is, the dissolution of little sister programs started in the mid-late 80s - when rush numbers were UP. They were completely gone at my school by 1988.

If they had gotten rid of them in say 1995-6, your theory would make more sense.

Or are you just saying this relative to struggling chapters? I know something that did happen (again, small school) is that sometimes women used little sisters as a stepping stone to a sorority...almost all our Sigma Chi little sisters were ASTs...the ones who weren't ASTs when they became little sisters got AST bids shortly after.

[Firehouse]

Ha!
Well, you're right. Guess I tried to slide that one by and got caught.
Memberships overall were down in the 1970s, way up in the 1980s, down again in the '90s and up big again now.

I just don't like a system that prevents upper division women from joining. It's none of my business what PanHel does, and they don't care what I think. But...I know that if I came to campus and started a sorority from scratch, I could plow right into the top tier in just a couple of rushes.
You and I have talked about this before. Women value stability and "fairness" and the security of the system more than they value aggression and competition and the drive to be #1.
I do believe that sororities saw a threat, real or percieved, in the large, well-organized little sister groups. In the overall scheme of things it probably never amounted to a big issue. I'm very supportive of sororities, and even helped one re-colonize here. I just wish they'd expand the number of houses and allow more women to join.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

Ha!
I just don't like a system that prevents upper division women from joining. It's none of my business what PanHel does, and they don't care what I think. But...I know that if I came to campus and started a sorority from scratch, I could plow right into the top tier in just a couple of rushes.

There are no written NPC or individual sorority rules that prevent upperclassmen from joining...if KKG at LSU wants to take a pledge class full of seniors, there's nothing that says they can't. I don't think seeing freshmen as more desirable is something that was created to keep juniors out...I honestly think it came about in the 1950's because so many women went off to college, got married and dropped out before they graduated. I heard a statistic that in those years, 50% of women dropped out before graduation!! The sororities had to pledge the women as quickly as they could if they wanted to stay alive. Like many traditions, its origins are completely lost and it really has no relevance to anything going on today...I mean how many women going through rush now will drop out before they graduate to get married??

[Firehouse]

You have a point, but in a big, competitive southern sorority system, the junior has no chance unless she's a special case.

Interesting theory about the 1950s. I heard an additional explanation just yesterday. He said, "Once a girl becomes a senior she's lost to the sorority, deep into her major and possibly interning. They make their contributions from freshman through junior year. Plus," he said, "there's some PanHel rule that will not allow women in post-graduate studies to be active in the sorority. So it's hard for a sorority tio get much out of juniors, and vice versa."

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

You have a point, but in a big, competitive southern sorority system, the junior has no chance unless she's a special case.

Interesting theory about the 1950s. I heard an additional explanation just yesterday. He said, "Once a girl becomes a senior she's lost to the sorority, deep into her major and possibly interning. They make their contributions from freshman through junior year. Plus," he said, "there's some PanHel rule that will not allow women in post-graduate studies to be active in the sorority. So it's hard for a sorority tio get much out of juniors, and vice versa."

Oh I agree, what's written and what actually happens aren't the same thing.

Some sororities have policies that seniors don't have to show up at all events...I think a lot of times that's not the problem, that the seniors are just burned out because they've been doing this since before they were even official freshmen.

There is no Panhel rule that says grad students can't be active. This varies by sorority. Many groups do allow grad students to be involved if THEY want to, but it isn't required because of the rigors of grad school.

[LionTamer]

I was a little sister at TKE when I was at college "Order of Diana". Was really thrilled when they asked me, because there was no "rush" -- they just invited the girls (sorority and independent) that they liked.

I was also an ASA, but spending 100% of my time with women was a bit much, and I really enjoyed hanging with the guys. Especially as an upper classman, when I was far less interested in attending mobbed fraternity parties, I would go have dinner at TKE on a Saturday afternoon, then go up to someone's room for drinks and a movie (with about 10 other people - the rooms were huge and amazing). Around 10-11, after the movie, the guys would all get ready to go downstairs to troll for freshman and sophomore girls, and I'd go home, or meet up with the ASAs at a bar somewhere.

I never dated any of the guys, and they actually DID treat me like a little sister. The only downside was you couldn't meet anyone at any of their parties - too much abuse. One night, a TKE from Nebraska walked me home to my dorm after a party at the Penn State TKE house one night, and the next day the guys hooted as soon as I came into the house for a philanthropy project.

"Hey Pattie! Did you hop that Husker you left with last night?"

"No - he just kissed me goodnight outside the dorm"

"What???!!! Was he gay?"

"No, he was a gentleman - a concept none of you guys would understand."

"Ah, he was gay!!!! Why did you pick a gay one....."

So that's why I never attempted to meet anyone at a TKE party except that Husker, who looked exactly like Tom Selleck (OMG I am so dating myself).