A totally honest thread...from long long ago

[FSUZeta]

bejazd, how precious of you to so graciously point out honeychiles faux pas.

i think all the chapters at fsu in the mid to late 70's had jewish members. we had several members who were jewish and it was never an issue with them or us.

[AnchorAlumna]

Hey, ellebud, you and I seem to be about the same vintage. It's truly surprising to me that the U of Alabama at that point was a tiny bit more "progressive" than USC. I remember my sophomore year (1971-72), the rush chair explained that all the Jewish girls were dropped "as a courtesy" to the Jewish chapters, SDT and DPhiE. By then most of the other groups were OK
to pledge non-Christian girls, although there weren't that many. By my senior year, DPhiE had folded, and SDT pledged a (Christian) great-great-niece of one of our Founders. The gloves were off, so to speak, and by then the Jewish girls were considering ALL the groups, not just the Jewish ones. It probably hurt SDT in the long run, although they are still hanging in there.

[ellebud]

It is truly interesting to see that Alabama was more liberal than SC! Yes, SC is climbing in the national rankings. When I was there and on the row it was very heavily Pasadena/San Marino based. That area was old line money and very WASPy. I was from the west Los Angeles area...very show business-y, liberal and Jewish. UCLA and Berkeley (now called Cal) were very liberal and public schools. I have friends who have daughters in some of the top houses. And one girl in particular is a trailblazer. She is Jewish of Persian background. She has broken all traditions: she is living on campus, studying in college..and not keeping kosher. I think the last part she hasn't mentioned to her mother...and that might be a good thing. They are very traditional.

[FSUZeta]

you last statement made a question pop into my head--do the traditionally jewish sororities that own houses and serve meals keep kosher?

[catiebug]

How would you know a PNM was Jewish? Was it part of the rush application? Was the drop based on the PNM's last name (some last names are associated with Jewish families)? Was it based on that the PNM looked Semitic? I have to wonder.

I am half-Middle Eastern. My father, who was Iraqi, was Roman Catholic; I look like I could be Jewish. My mother, who is Episcopalian (as am I), divorced my father and married a man who later adopted me, giving me his last name of Miller (considered by some to be a Jewish last name). So if I did not list that I was Jewish on my rush application, based on my looks and maiden name, some sororities might think I was Jewish and cut me as a "courtesy" to the traditionally Jewish sororities - is this the case?

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

I remember my sophomore year (1971-72), the rush chair explained that all the Jewish girls were dropped "as a courtesy" to the Jewish chapters, SDT and DPhiE.

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by catiebug

How would you know a PNM was Jewish? Was it part of the rush application?

I'm sorry, I have not looked back at this thread in almost 6 months and just noticed this question....actually yes, in 1970 it was indeed on the application - a line next to "Religion?"
Yes, this was back when dinosaurs were stomping around and we reporters used typewriters...manual...not computers!
I went to a job interview in 1974 where they actually asked (ONLY) young women applicants when they intended to have children. Although that was pretty extreme, even back then!

[FSUZeta]

there was also a space on my 1975 rush application for religion. perhaps it mattered to some chapters on campus (i don't know for sure), but it did not matter in my chapter.

[honeychile]

I think I posted this in another thread, but while the religious "walls" were removed from NPC sororities on my campus, many sororities weren't going for it. When I was assistant to our Rush Chair, she sat down with the PNM list, and started scratching out the names of everyone whose name sounded even the littest bit Jewish. I called her on doing so, it became a huge issue, and I made my first call to Executive Headquarters. She received a call AND a letter, stating that every girl (we were girls then ) was to be considered on her own merits.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

I went to a job interview in 1974 where they actually asked (ONLY) young women applicants when they intended to have children. Although that was pretty extreme, even back then!

Heck, I went to a job interview in 1992 where I was asked if I was married and if I had children, and when I said no to both was asked why not. The dinos may be dying, but they sure ain't all dead.

[Denise_DPhiE]

Originally Posted by catiebug

How would you know a PNM was Jewish? Was it part of the rush application? Was the drop based on the PNM's last name (some last names are associated with Jewish families)? Was it based on that the PNM looked Semitic? I have to wonder.

From what I am told by our former council members, the women would ask pnm's "So what are you doing for the holidays?" if formal recruitment was in the fall. A Jewish girl would answer about the Jewish holidays coming up in September, just a few weeks away. Christians and others would have a why-the-heck-is-she-asking-me-about-Christmas-break-in-August look on her face!

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by Denise_DPhiE

From what I am told by our former council members, the women would ask pnm's "So what are you doing for the holidays?" if formal recruitment was in the fall. A Jewish girl would answer about the Jewish holidays coming up in September, just a few weeks away. Christians and others would have a why-the-heck-is-she-asking-me-about-Christmas-break-in-August look on her face!

In my own Recruitment thread, I mentioned how one woman talked about the Sedar Plate that her boyfriend gave her - little hints like that. The Roman Catholic sorority asked about the nuns at grade school. But that's when those things mattered.