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Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna
Neither.
From what I've been told, it was about university administrations pushing to shorten the pledge period as a way to deter hazing.
Never mind that sororities rarely have hazing issues, and that all sororities forbid hazing. College administrators lump all Greeks - men and women - together.
That is, so I'm told, we now have the three-syllable "recruitment" for the single syllable "rush," "new member" instead of "pledge" and short new member periods that barely expose members to history, policies, and procedures instead of thoroughly grounding them.
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This is what saddens me. I know one poster thought "earning" membership sounded like younger members aren't "as good" as those from decades ago, but as many have posted, it's not. It's about earning membership through learning the responsibilities of membership, bonding with your pledge and active sisters over time, making your grades, going through the "day-to-day" of your pledge-ship, not just the "thrill of six weeks and boom! you're initiated." It was also about finding out if membership really was for you so you could de-pledge versus de-activate.
I wonder what retention rates are these days because everything is so fast and many young women might not be as fully aware of what membership entails -- through no fault of their own, but through the changes of how things are done now. I think that's when members and parents stress about membership costs and time invested in events that houses participate in to a degree I never saw during my chapter days. No wonder some moms post here about their concern of their daughters achieving good grades.
I'm sorry that today's members aren't getting the full immersion via a longer pledge-ship and for many/most, just a lot of fanfare before initiation. I liken that to dating a guy for six weeks versus six months. How well can you know and appreciate him in such a short time? Some might think that's a silly comparison but I like it. It speaks to our "instantaneous" society where things can be gotten fast and often without the investment that would be best for the long run.
There are, no doubt, many outstanding younger members these days, so to any younger members reading this, I am not saying that there aren't. But some things do make for a richer experience and there's no substitute for time, in my experience and opinion.
Hybrid Mode
