Why are recs absolutely necessary at some schools, while not expected at others?

[IndianaSigKap]

Recs can often cause more problems than they remedy. For girls like me who came from very small towns, it can be trying and frustrating to locate recs in the first place. If I had had to obtain recs in my town of fewer than 5,000 people I would have been able to locate AXO, ADPi and SK for sure. I only knew about the AXO because she was the mother of dear childhood friends and she is the one who mentioned even joining a sorority. If I had asked around I would have found out that there was a group of women from my hometown who were all SKs together at IU in the early 1970s. I found this out later after I was initiated and was wearing my lavaliere at a local restaurant when a friend of the family told me her daughter was a SK and so were her friends. I grew up near a smaller commuter college and many of my teachers went to school there where the was no Greek life until the later 1970s. The ADPi I also found out much later after recruitment. The closest alumnae panhellenic was an hour away, so none of them would have personally known me.

To get to the point, girls from small towns or who are in remote areas are less likely to find recs and will have a more difficult time. This puts them behind the 8 ball to begin with but it's in no way indicative of their ability to be good members. I find the practice somewhat discriminatory.