DePauw Rush Results

Originally Posted by DeltaDZ

Physical image was one of the main reasons most of the women of Delta Chapter were forced into alumnae status by DZ nationals. They weren't pretty enough to fit into their steriotypical image of what a "sorority girl" should be. They kept the pretty girls and the girls who partied and drank a lot. Suddenly, girls that were right for DZ last year were kicked to the curb.
Unfortunately, DZ at DePauw had the rep of being the "fat house" with the girls that did nothing but study and nobody wanted to join a house with a rep like that. So nationals took it upon themselves to kick out all of the girls who weren't perfect in hopes of reviving the chapter. Well, Nats, you got 3 girls. Seems like that was a stellar decision to make - make DZ the laughingstock of campus where no girl in their right mind would join a house that might kick them out for not being perfect some day instead of gracefuly sliding into the history books. So much for sisterhood being forever.

My sympathy to you and your sisters. I, too, know how it feels to be dicked over by your HQ.

The fact that officials have kept mum about the situation is sketchy, and I really don't blame you for being so upset.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

You know what happens when the bottom chapter folds? Someone else becomes the bottom chapter. However, it seems a little strange that on a campus with only 7, there would be two weaklings.

Tri-Delta closed in 1991 and AOII closed in 2000. Nobody replaced those groups, so I think there has always been a clear separation of the stronger chapters and the weaker ones at DePauw (like anywhere). It is just that DZ and the other smaller chapter stuck it out longer. My best friend was an AOII there when DDD closed, and like you said, immediately AOII suffered as the new low group. Now it is DZ and there is an heir apparent already, unfortunately.

33Girl - going into recruitment, most chapters have around 100 members, but one usually is more like 70 or 80 and then DZ was more like 40 or 50. (Unofficial source though. The OP would probably have more exact numbers.)

[33girl]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

33Girl - going into recruitment, most chapters have around 100 members, but one usually is more like 70 or 80 and then DZ was more like 40 or 50. (Unofficial source though. The OP would probably have more exact numbers.)

I was wondering how many people it takes to fill the actual physical plant/house. (Remember, calling a chapter a house is my pet peeve, LOL.)

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by DeltaDZ

Physical image was one of the main reasons most of the women of Delta Chapter were forced into alumnae status by DZ nationals. They weren't pretty enough to fit into their steriotypical image of what a "sorority girl" should be. They kept the pretty girls and the girls who partied and drank a lot. Suddenly, girls that were right for DZ last year were kicked to the curb.
Unfortunately, DZ at DePauw had the rep of being the "fat house" with the girls that did nothing but study and nobody wanted to join a house with a rep like that. So nationals took it upon themselves to kick out all of the girls who weren't perfect in hopes of reviving the chapter. Well, Nats, you got 3 girls. Seems like that was a stellar decision to make - make DZ the laughingstock of campus where no girl in their right mind would join a house that might kick them out for not being perfect some day instead of gracefuly sliding into the history books. So much for sisterhood being forever.

That really is sad, and I hope some DZs who are upset by the situation let HQ know about it. It sounds like HQ drastically underestimated the women at DePauw, who observed what was going on and decided they wanted no part of it.

[DeltaDZ]

Unfortunately, Nationals really doesn't care what anyone thinks. They've done everything in their power to keep this totaly under the table and it wasn't until the recent articles in The DePauw newspaper came out that people really knew the truth.
I know almost all of the Delta alumnae have been kept completely in the dark about this. When questions were posed to the alum group president - who is very active in the chapter - about the status of the house, she told everyone that the house was perfectly fine and nothing was going to happen or change. Only those alums who have connections to actives (well, former actives now) knew what was really going on. Letters have been written, phone calls have been made, but everything has been ignored. Nats was going to get their perfect house or nothing. Looks like it's nothing.

[OleMissGlitter]

Does anyone think that perhaps DZ Headquarters just wanted to keep that chapter alive because it's an older chapter for them? Also, Delta Chapter is not listed on the national website which I thought was interesting.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Look, I'm of the mind that if you want to scrap a chapter and start all over again, you REALLY start all over again. You don't pick-and-choose sisters to keep. If DZ had simply "reorganized" or closed the chapter, sadly, for numbers, and made everyone an alumna, they would not be in this situation. But because they decided to pass judgement on EACH member of the chapter individually, acting as if those women had done something wrong to deserve the treatment they got, they are in this bad PR mess.

Interestingly, the chapter Web site is still up, and it certainly doesn't look like a "fat girl" house at all. And there are numerous academic/professional accomplishments listed in one of the sections. You'd think HQ would be impressed with having smart girls as members.

[OleMissGlitter]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Look, I'm of the mind that if you want to scrap a chapter and start all over again, you REALLY start all over again. You don't pick-and-choose sisters to keep. If DZ had simply "reorganized" or closed the chapter, sadly, for numbers, and made everyone an alumna, they would not be in this situation. But because they decided to pass judgement on EACH member of the chapter individually, acting as if those women had done something wrong to deserve the treatment they got, they are in this bad PR mess.

Interestingly, the chapter Web site is still up, and it certainly doesn't look like a "fat girl" house at all. And there are numerous academic/professional accomplishments listed in one of the sections. You'd think HQ would be impressed with having smart girls as members.

agreed....and it's just strange that they are about to celebrate the chapter's 100th anniversary...

[PGD-GRAD]

I have read several recent articles on this, but I believe the DZ headquarters was surprised to learn that closing the house for awhile and going back with an empty slate was not an option. From what I understood, the Greek advisors at DePauw informed them that there were other groups ahead of them to come back onto campus, and they would not be able to just "come back on" whenever they chose.
That would change the approach of the hdqtrs., so maybe that explains part of what they did--not the method they chose, but certainly not closing altogether.
Can anyone from DePauw clarify this?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Look, I'm of the mind that if you want to scrap a chapter and start all over again, you REALLY start all over again. You don't pick-and-choose sisters to keep. If DZ had simply "reorganized" or closed the chapter, sadly, for numbers, and made everyone an alumna, they would not be in this situation.

And as is evidenced from threads that have popped up in GC, even doing that can be a giant cluster$%@k. The only time an immediate recolonization seems to work is when 1) the school is super large and there are enough women to choose from who weren't in the "orbit" of what was happening previously 2) the women who are being made alumnae truly are OK with the decision and are treated with the respect due alumnae by the national organization. And even when that happens, sometimes the more the new alums think about it, the more upset they get. It festers.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the last two recolonizations my sorority did were at chapters that hadn't been open since (respectively) Nixon and Wilson were in office.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by PGD-GRAD

I have read several recent articles on this, but I believe the DZ headquarters was surprised to learn that closing the house for awhile and going back with an empty slate was not an option. From what I understood, the Greek advisors at DePauw informed them that there were other groups ahead of them to come back onto campus, and they would not be able to just "come back on" whenever they chose.
That would change the approach of the hdqtrs., so maybe that explains part of what they did--not the method they chose, but certainly not closing altogether.
Can anyone from DePauw clarify this?

But I don't think closing down was the only option. They could have just reorganized...made all the current actives alumnae and brought in their own exec. team to interview a whole new chapter of women.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by PGD-GRAD

I have read several recent articles on this, but I believe the DZ headquarters was surprised to learn that closing the house for awhile and going back with an empty slate was not an option. From what I understood, the Greek advisors at DePauw informed them that there were other groups ahead of them to come back onto campus, and they would not be able to just "come back on" whenever they chose.

if that really is the case, I can't think of a better time for this quote...

When we assume, we make an ass out of u and me.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by 33girl

if that really is the case, I can't think of a better time for this quote...

When we assume, we make an ass out of u and me.

LOL I had never heard that before!

[UGAalum94]

People are usually just doing the best they can, and they sometimes make mistakes. I suspect everyone would do this differently in hindsight.

It's a sad situation for the individual women and for Delta Zeta. I think it's going to be even harder to recruit, and they may have essentually just destroyed this chapter.

It also got me thinking: when a chapter just kind of "dies" off on it's own, as in a gradual decline in membership until a decision is made to close the chapter, it seems that the international or national organization has done all they can to help it, and it doesn't usually seem disrespectful to the women or men who were last active in the chapter.

But when a chapter has sustained itself at a certain size level, and the organization "reorganizes" by having people go alum early, it seems disrespectful to those last active members. How would you feel as a member of the most recent pledge class to be told that your active experience was over? It seems unjust somehow.

Is there anyway to get the kind of "recolonization" energy going without shutting the last actives out?

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by depauwgreek

Men (Quota = 30, some houses had lower quotas due to violations)
Alpha Tau Omega 16
Beta Theta Pi 21
Delta Chi 5
Delta Tau Delta 25
Delta Upsilon 4
Phi Delta Theta 25
Phi Gamma Delta 27
Phi Kappa Psi 23
Sigma Alpha Epsilon 22
Sigma Chi 23
Sigma Nu 1

This was the first year that guys rush had a quota at DePauw.

How was quota set? And how was IFC rush structured?