Duke University Sorority Article

[FSUZeta]

sororities offer no professional assistance? how many of us alumnae have referred a collegiate member of our own sorority who is job hunting, to a business associate, a friend or acquaintance who might be in a position to help her? or assisted a collegian in writing her resume or written a letter of reference for the young woman applying to graduate school?

how sad that this young woman has no plans to remain active in her sorority after she graduates. she will definately miss out on professional assistance and mentoring that she accuses the sororities of failing to provide.

does she want her sorority to hold journalism seminars? that is fine for her, but i don't think that the pre-med or education majors would get much out of it. if this young woman is looking for more professional guidance, she should join the journalism club or the greek letter equalivent. that is the purpose of a professional organization. social organizations are just that-organizations that enhance the social aspects of college, and hopefully help make the member a more well rounded individual.

in zeta we have standards programs-they can run the gamut from changing a tire, to resume' writing, to buying insurance, making a will, investing or napkin folding and everything in between. i am sure all sororities have the same type of program, just under a different title. so we're not all fluff and no substance.

[AlwaysSAI]

You know, the more I thought I about this thread the more I realized what my GLOs have done for ME.

Think about it for a second. The author of the article is asking what her Nationals have done for her. It's all about ME ME ME ME ME. Think about what the National staff deals with every day. Think of what they do every day to keep the organization up and running. They meet with regional directors, handle expansions, communicate with other orgs, organize resources, network and manage how many every chapters exists. Most orgs, both of mine included have more than 100 chapters and that is a lot to manage. Asking nationals to do something for ME is selfish and ungrateful. Nationals has done something for you. They provided a chapter of that organization on your campus at which you found your home. Not everyone is even lucky enough to find a GLO they call home. Sorry if your nationals hasn't done anything for YOU lately.

She is posing the wrong question. In my mind--the sorority/fraternity is what you make it. The more you put in, the more you get out. Its all on the author if she has no job connections, professional opportunies, whatever through her org. I don't know how many times I've emailed or called someone and said "Hi-My name is AlwaysSAI and I'm a Sigma Alpha Iota/Phi Sigma Pi " and had doors open for me just that way. Because someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who is an SAI or Phi Sig.

[FSUZeta]

brava alwayssai. to go a bit further, not just your sai or phi sig connections, but your general greek connections can open many doors for you.

most of our national officers(and those on the local level too) are not paid for their service- it is volunteer work.

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

most of our national officers(and those on the local level too) are not paid for their service- it is volunteer work.

I guess the author doesn't realize that. I aspire to one day be a National Officer, but I would have to figure out how to do that and still work to support myself-it's a lot of work.

and ETA on my last post post-My nationals do a lot for me. Phi Sig has a website where brothers can go and find job postings through other brothers and be recommended for that job by a brother. In SAI-our Province Officer comes every year and spends ample time with the chapter to help us build and make it stronger. She is also our voice in NH. The NVP-Ritual is looking at revising the ritual and our PO asked us what we would like to see added, changed, or removed. My NH listens to me when I speak as a member and my voice is heard. SAI also has a website where sisters can post jobs and reccomend sisters for jobs and the like.

No, not everything my Nationals does directly affects me or is for me specifically, but they are working for the betterment of the organization which has become apart of me, who I am and my life.

Maybe I'm the minority, but when I take adavantage of a networking connection because of my greek affiliation I don't want to just use it as a professional tool. When I say "I am a member of Sigma Alpha Iota/Phi Sigma Pi" I intend to mean it in every sense of the word. I will remain active and my affiliation will always be apart of my life. But, maybe that's just me.

(My kids are gonna be like AF's-point to the letter and say "Sigma-Alpha-Iota/Phi-Sigma-Pi")

[Janerz222]

-I'm willing to wager that this author's organization has/participates in a lot of what she thinks is missing. She can wait for someone to come knock her over the head with "opportunities", or she could spend a few minutes of inquiry and find a lot of them are there for her and her fellow Dukies. (She is not by any means alone in this regard.)

-as my biological sister (a longtime Duke GLO alumna) said upon reading this article: "You ARE the sorority, girlfriend. So get to it."

-I am speculating here, and may be off base in this particular case, but I'm going there anyway:

For a long time, I have sensed that many of our NPC chapters at prestigious universities consider themselves above our inter/national organizations, and therefore they ignore/do not fully participate in what the larger organization offers. There's a bit of embarrassment at being a sorority member. So to assuage that and to make themselves feel more justified that they haven't sold out, they convince themselves that "it's different at Duke/Princeton/Stanford". (Note, I'm not throwing stones at glass houses--this most certainly applies to my alma mater/college chapter and to myself to some extent during my own college days.)

By belittling your ties to and the value of the inter/national organization, you can have your cake (3-4 years of fun) and eat it too (ignore the ritual/restrictions/hard work/alumnae involvement).

Imagine how much more we could accomplish if that energy was spent on strengthening the areas our of GLOs that they see as lacking! As an exception to the norm (an actively participating alumna from my chapter), that's the tack I've taken, and I wish I had more company.

You can complain about it, or you can do something about it. I agree that the former is much easier (and makes for more juicy journalism and more hits on your webpage). However, two of the lessons I've learned from being an NPC woman are that you can only change an organization from within, and that women make fabulous agents of purposeful change.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I think she makes some very good points. My group gives me very little reason to stay involved after college, and I haven't paid alumnae dues in years. The alumnae groups plan social events and do some philanthropy work, both of which I can get elsewhere.

I would guess that the three Chicago-area chapters (Chicago, NW burbs, and W burbs) have under 100 active members in total. I suspect many other organizations have similar problems, and I have a hard time believing that every single group doesn't have at least 5,000 members in the Chicago area.

Groups need to refocus on what they are providing women after graduation, and if they can do it as a Panhellenic community, all the better, because there is strength in numbers.

I have never used Greek connections to help me in my career. In fact, I have consistently left it OFF of my resume because so many people have negative Greek stereotypes, and I do not wear my badge to work on NPC badge day.

[als463]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I think she makes some very good points. My group gives me very little reason to stay involved after college, and I haven't paid alumnae dues in years. The alumnae groups plan social events and do some philanthropy work, both of which I can get elsewhere.

I would guess that the three Chicago-area chapters (Chicago, NW burbs, and W burbs) have under 100 active members in total. I suspect many other organizations have similar problems, and I have a hard time believing that every single group doesn't have at least 5,000 members in the Chicago area.

Groups need to refocus on what they are providing women after graduation, and if they can do it as a Panhellenic community, all the better, because there is strength in numbers.

I have never used Greek connections to help me in my career. In fact, I have consistently left it OFF of my resume because so many people have negative Greek stereotypes, and I do not wear my badge to work on NPC badge day.

I'm a member of the same national GLO as DeltaBetaBaby and I find this to be very sad...As a recent graduate and an active alumna, I'm able to stay connected to my organization and still do things that help me grow as a person. I'm still in the military, go to Graduate School at a Big Ten University, work for the County as a caseworker for Children & Youth, volunteer for Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, volunteer to help tutor people going back for the G.E.D.s and I'm still active as a Secretary in my Alumnae Chapter...Yes, I do other volunteer work on the side not connected to my GLO but, I still love the fact I can contribute to CMN through working with the other Alumnae to raise money during certain events. I'm proud to put my GLO on my resume and I've had good comments from putting it on there by Military professionals, Graduate School Advisors, Supervisors (looking to hire, or who have already hired me) and even Law School at some of the best Law Schools in the nation....I wear my badge on NPC day and I'm proud of my GLO...I feel sorry for those that are embarrassed by a concious decision they made back in college....GLOs are not just for "fun" in college-maybe if alot of us NPCers felt the same way as the NPHCers we'd have much more of a lifetime commitment. I went to a very good Big Ten University Undergraduate school and I'm not ashamed to say I'm Greek! Hopefully other people will eventually feel the same way I feel....It's like AlwaysSAI said, I've had doors open for me just because I'm Greek...I've had people say, "Oh-my sister, mother, cousin, etc. is a *** **...." or I'm a (insert other NPC or NPHC name here)....I've found that NPHC members are much more proud to sport their gear even at the ages of 40+...it's nice......Let's all do that and show our pride instead of write about our disdain in a newspaper (and at the same time giving our organizations more BAD publicity).....

[ThetaDancer]

Originally Posted by Janerz222

-I'm willing to wager that this author's organization has/participates in a lot of what she thinks is missing. She can wait for someone to come knock her over the head with "opportunities", or she could spend a few minutes of inquiry and find a lot of them are there for her and her fellow Dukies. (She is not by any means alone in this regard.)

-as my biological sister (a longtime Duke GLO alumna) said upon reading this article: "You ARE the sorority, girlfriend. So get to it."

-I am speculating here, and may be off base in this particular case, but I'm going there anyway:

For a long time, I have sensed that many of our NPC chapters at prestigious universities consider themselves above our inter/national organizations, and therefore they ignore/do not fully participate in what the larger organization offers. There's a bit of embarrassment at being a sorority member. So to assuage that and to make themselves feel more justified that they haven't sold out, they convince themselves that "it's different at Duke/Princeton/Stanford". (Note, I'm not throwing stones at glass houses--this most certainly applies to my alma mater/college chapter and to myself to some extent during my own college days.)

By belittling your ties to and the value of the inter/national organization, you can have your cake (3-4 years of fun) and eat it too (ignore the ritual/restrictions/hard work/alumnae involvement).

Imagine how much more we could accomplish if that energy was spent on strengthening the areas our of GLOs that they see as lacking! As an exception to the norm (an actively participating alumna from my chapter), that's the tack I've taken, and I wish I had more company.

You can complain about it, or you can do something about it. I agree that the former is much easier (and makes for more juicy journalism and more hits on your webpage). However, two of the lessons I've learned from being an NPC woman are that you can only change an organization from within, and that women make fabulous agents of purposeful change.

Exactly! I think you hit the nail on the head with this one.

[KDAngel]

The article doesn't bother me whatsoever. I think it's safe to say some nationals do a lot more for their chapters than others. Additionally, some national officers see some of them their chapters are more or less self-sufficient and kind of let them do their own thing. I think a lot of time, women feel lost in the mix of it all. And while I think the problem should be remedied, I don't think there's anything wrong with saying how you feel.

[Speechpath]

[QUOTE=Janerz222;1539242]
For a long time, I have sensed that many of our NPC chapters at prestigious universities consider themselves above our inter/national organizations, and therefore they ignore/do not fully participate in what the larger organization offers. There's a bit of embarrassment at being a sorority member. So to assuage that and to make themselves feel more justified that they haven't sold out, they convince themselves that "it's different at Duke/Princeton/Stanford". (Note, I'm not throwing stones at glass houses--this most certainly applies to my alma mater/college chapter and to myself to some extent during my own college days.)

Knowing a bit about this situation at the local level, I can say you are very right.

[bejazd]

Ms. McLaughlin's editorial just brings up so many interesting issues...thanks for sharing it, DukeDG! Two things that really stand out to me are expectations and a lack of understanding, on both sides.
But she did get an audience with her National President...how many collegians get a chance to sit and chat issues? not many. Still, neither seemed able to clearly articulate their ideas to the other and these ideas are important.

Now, what I'd like to see is Ms. McLaughlin gettting an invite to go spend a week at her National Headquarters shadowing the volunteers there, and then hitting the road for a few weeks with a traveling consultant, hopefully visiting chapters that are very different from Duke...and writing a story on that experience! It's so diificult to gain perspective beyond your own campus, and even your own region of the country, and see what an organization that has 125-150 or more "independent but affiliated" entities really is! That would make for some interesting reading!

[exlurker]

Another Article about Duke Sororities (October 31, 2007)

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/m...-3068457.shtml

Interesting column touches on Panhellenic cooperation / unity and issues like objectification of women, sorority women "serving" in connection with fraternity recruitment, sororities wanting housing, etc.

Brief excerpt from column:

They [the presidents of the NPC sororities at Duke] demonstrated that sorority women can change the way fraternities treat them if they demand better treatment.

But, with this in mind, several issues remain unresolved. Some argue for further reform, citing that lip sync remains inequitable so long as the women are dancing and the men are judging (note: Sigma Chi participated this year with its own dance). Also, next semester's fraternity rush brings a slew of more objectifying events-events where sorority women staff rooms, serve shots and give lap dances. It is my hope that sorority presidents and Panhel will exercise the same leadership when they encounter these events in the Spring.

Even so, right now I am excited to be writing a column that labels sorority women not as "sorostitutes" but rather as leaders who finally stood up and changed a Duke tradition for the better.

Edited to add: As a side note to the columnist's mention of Duke sorority women serving shots and giving lap dances, it's worth noting that U.S. News and World Report ranks Duke as #8 on the list of best national universities. The same source lists Duke's tuition and fees as approximately $35,700 plus of course room and board at about $9,500. Seems kind of a pricey way to get to be a cocktail waitress or lap dancer for an evening or so. And don't even get me started on the time spent on SATs, essays, interviews, and application fees just to get admitted. But hey.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...2920_brief.php

Edited to add article on sororities' lack of campus space

Problems at Duke with renting / reserving space for meetings, events, recruitment, etc.:

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/m...-3081376.shtml

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by exlurker

...that labels sorority women not as "sorostitutes" ...

LOL!

[denimeans]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

in zeta we have standards programs-they can run the gamut from changing a tire, to resume' writing, to buying insurance, making a will, investing or napkin folding and everything in between. i am sure all sororities have the same type of program, just under a different title. so we're not all fluff and no substance.

I'm in an NPC and we definitely don't have that. We have sisterhoods and philanthropies. Our risk management chair gives info on alcohol risk and we've had a self-defense workshop, but nothing even vaguely job related.