University of Iowa Alpha Phi Recorded Bashing Other Sororities

[YesNoMaybe]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

This is a strong very stable chapter that clearly went off the rails. Apparently they are visiting every sorority and fraternity with flowers to apologize. They will come through it and I highly doubt they will lose their charter. But punishment will be fierce.

And now might be the time to have a little discussion about if you feel uncomfortable with something in your chapter to speak up! This clearly was rehearsed. There has to be girls who were not happy with this song.

I feel like it's a nice gesture to go with flowers, like we admit we messed up, but I'm sure this is a "we got caught and have to take an action" type of thing.

A lot of chapters have the long-running chants/rhymes about other organizations that they say, but this one was very specific to this recruitment cycle. The Chi O comment was based on the outfits those women wore during one of their rounds.

I just feel bad for the new members. I think Iowa's Greek Life is really strong because it's not necessary to join a chapter to have a social life on campus and the sororities/fraternities are supportive, or were when I was there (although that has been quite a while). Also, apparently these are sophomores, but the junior/senior class either instilled that this was okay or needs to step up and make sure they realize it's not.

[thetalady]

Wonder if they will be sending flowers to other campuses?

APhi is about to colonize at Ole Miss in a few weeks. You think the girls at Ole Miss don't have a new opinion of APhi after seeing Hotty Toddy mocked like this? Yes, we take Hotty Toddy pretty seriously!

I really feel for the APhi women running the interviews.

[jolene]

What did the chant actually say (I guess the vid I saw had bad audio)? I can understand sororities having chants and proclaiming themselves wonderful/best, but that can be done without dogging other chapters or joking about taking it in the back door. O.o

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by jolene

What did the chant actually say (I guess the vid I saw had bad audio)? I can understand sororities having chants and proclaiming themselves wonderful/best, but that can be done without dogging other chapters or joking about taking it in the back door. O.o

You don't really need to hear it - do you? Really? From the remarks here, it's apparent that it was insulting, crude, crass, and in no way reflected the values of Alpha Phi, an organization I respect and admire.

As for why no one spoke up - anyone else here know about "bystander behavior"? Search for Mike Dilbeck and see what work he and others are doing on this subject.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by thetalady

APhi is about to colonize at Ole Miss in a few weeks. You think the girls at Ole Miss don't have a new opinion of APhi after seeing Hotty Toddy mocked like this? Yes, we take Hotty Toddy pretty seriously!

I really don't think PNMs at Ole Miss will care about this.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

You don't really need to hear it - do you? Really? From the remarks here, it's apparent that it was insulting, crude, crass, and in no way reflected the values of Alpha Phi, an organization I respect and admire.

As for why no one spoke up - anyone else here know about "bystander behavior"? Search for Mike Dilbeck and see what work he and others are doing on this subject.

I'm not particularly curious about the specific lyrics, but they were bashing other schools as well? I just don't know how Hotty Toddy got dragged into it.

[Griffins&Quills]

Well, I've heard different versions of the Hotty Toddy "Ole Miss" cheer for sororities from all over. It most likely has nothing to do with Ole Miss.

[AZTheta]

Ole Miss is NOT the naval of the universe. As HOS will attest, it's Bama.

*ducks and runs* (been slacking on obligatory use of smilies)

FWIW I didn't hear Hotty Toddy, I stopped listening after the parts about the flowery skirts and the money. Guess these lovelies were off the radar when SAE's chant went viral, eh?

For the last time, there but for the Grace of God go any of our chapters. Oh yeah, I mean it. And when will these kids stop photographing and videoing every.single.last.thing and posting it on the Internet?

[KillarneyRose]

Originally Posted by 33girl

These girls aren't the first chapter to have raunchy songs and crack on other groups. That is probably as old as the Greek system - if it's more vulgar, it's because we live in more vulgar times.

All I have to say is thank goodness there was no YouTube (or even Internet for that matter) in the late eighties!

[ladybug12]

This just makes me so sad...young women degrading themselves and other women.

And I agree with AZTheta, there but for the Grace of God go any of our chapters.

[ggforever]

I agree with ladybug12. This is a very sad situation. Let the member who has never done negative chant or song against another group throw the first stone. The language is vile, but if you are around that age group, they are not offended by the same words I find repugnant.

I truly hope that cooler heads prevail and that the school and Alpha Phi national use this as a valuable learning moment rather than sanctioning the chapter or expelling the women. They said they were sophomore, so we are talking 19 year olds. The possibility for positive programming within the chapter AND the Panhellenic community is almost limitless.

[DubaiSis]

My chapter house sat squarely between a baptist church and an elderly alumna of my chapter, with the University president only 1 block away. Anything untoward we would have been doing (and I won't pretend we didn't) would have been done behind closed doors. Still not right, but at least we wouldn't have been flaunting our jabs at the other sororities on campus for the world to see.

[NinjaPoodle]

According to one source, the chapter has been suspended.
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/n...ideo/72081370/

[DubaiSis]

It is interesting that what the University latched onto was the drinking part. They have continually over the last, oh, I don't know, 3 decades, tried to curb binge drinking and drugs in the fraternity houses and the fraternities at Iowa are constantly being shut down. It's a revolving door of charters granted and lost for the fraternities. The sororities at Iowa have been quite stable except for some ill-advised expansion in the 80's. But because of their low tolerance for this kind of crap, it doesn't surprise me that the U went over the heads of Panhel or A Phi. But it doesn't sound like they're going away. They just can't do anything without headquarters being present. That seems like a gift to me. It could have been much worse.

[Pinecone]

I am embarrassed to say in my day we would have thought that whole thing was really cool and funny (if you adjust the expectations of raunchiness to match the music now- which is way worse then back then). We made up all sorts of inappropriate songs to match the sweet sorority songs and thought we were pretty hilarious. We were a party group, which I think this group is too.

I am not making excuses because if nothing else their song was stupid and degrading to women when there are enough men around to degrade us- we shouldn't do it to ourselves. But I see that they were trying to be hip hop and act like Nicki Manaj or whatever and it really was more stupid than anything else. I hope they don't close the chapter over it- maybe just make them not socialize for a semester, study a bit more and get better taste in music. Maybe a sensitivity course about sexual assault and how it isn't funny.

But I am a very upstanding citizen now and I have to admit that I could have been right there with them, being stupid at the age of 19.