I'm not sure if I can even ask this...

[Entchen]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I just thought of something else.

Make sure they aren't pulling an Enron and putting some of the "food" money towards alcohol for date parties and mixers.

I would guess this is almost certainly what is happening. Food is extremely cheap compared to alcohol. Unless the OP's dues are incredibly low, I can think of no way 1/3 of that would go to just food. And, if they're a national, "food" seems like the most logical way to account for that spent money, since they obviously can't admit to their national headquarters what it's really being spent on.

At my campus, at least, I've discovered that national sororities don't drink any less than locals, they just disguise it better.

[doodle83]

wow, that does seem like a lot of money for food. Like some previous posters have mentioned, I would talk to your chapter again (exec board or committee that handles those things), and then if you don't get a satisfactory response from them, I would go talk to an advisor - they might be able to help you out or talk to the chapter on your behalf.

I'm the resident house director for a sorority and we have several girls with celiac and food allergies, and the chef and the chapter are really good about making reasonable allowances for them so they don't feel left out at dinner, sisterhood, etc... Those girls still pay the same dues and meal plan fees, but we do our best to work around their issues so that they get their money's worth. Good luck!

[BlondieCat]

Originally Posted by Entchen

I would guess this is almost certainly what is happening. Food is extremely cheap compared to alcohol. Unless the OP's dues are incredibly low, I can think of no way 1/3 of that would go to just food. And, if they're a national, "food" seems like the most logical way to account for that spent money, since they obviously can't admit to their national headquarters what it's really being spent on.

At my campus, at least, I've discovered that national sororities don't drink any less than locals, they just disguise it better.

Our dues are about $400, to everyone who was wondering. Also, there is no way that this money is going to alcohol because my chapter has advisers visiting ALL the time, and they would figure it out. When we DO have mixer type things, they are unofficial and we usually have to pay at the door. I trust that they money really is being spent on catering, food, and supplies, etc. but I just get really frustrated with some of the girls who flat out just say, "deal with it". We just elected a new council, so hopefully I can talk with some of them. I'd like to get this problem dealt with so the next 3.5 years for me, and hopefully anyone else who comes along with allergies, is safe!

Thanks for your help everyone!

[FlaGirl07]

Our chapter allows that portion of the dues to be waived for sisters who have food allergies. That's a savings of about $850 per semester. Although, our dues are over $2,000 a semester so even without a meal plan, the chapter still takes in about $1,500 from those sisters