Duke University Sorority Article

[exlurker]

Another Article about Duke Sororities (October 31, 2007)

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/m...-3068457.shtml

Interesting column touches on Panhellenic cooperation / unity and issues like objectification of women, sorority women "serving" in connection with fraternity recruitment, sororities wanting housing, etc.

Brief excerpt from column:

They [the presidents of the NPC sororities at Duke] demonstrated that sorority women can change the way fraternities treat them if they demand better treatment.

But, with this in mind, several issues remain unresolved. Some argue for further reform, citing that lip sync remains inequitable so long as the women are dancing and the men are judging (note: Sigma Chi participated this year with its own dance). Also, next semester's fraternity rush brings a slew of more objectifying events-events where sorority women staff rooms, serve shots and give lap dances. It is my hope that sorority presidents and Panhel will exercise the same leadership when they encounter these events in the Spring.

Even so, right now I am excited to be writing a column that labels sorority women not as "sorostitutes" but rather as leaders who finally stood up and changed a Duke tradition for the better.

Edited to add: As a side note to the columnist's mention of Duke sorority women serving shots and giving lap dances, it's worth noting that U.S. News and World Report ranks Duke as #8 on the list of best national universities. The same source lists Duke's tuition and fees as approximately $35,700 plus of course room and board at about $9,500. Seems kind of a pricey way to get to be a cocktail waitress or lap dancer for an evening or so. And don't even get me started on the time spent on SATs, essays, interviews, and application fees just to get admitted. But hey.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...2920_brief.php

Edited to add article on sororities' lack of campus space

Problems at Duke with renting / reserving space for meetings, events, recruitment, etc.:

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/m...-3081376.shtml

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by exlurker

...that labels sorority women not as "sorostitutes" ...

LOL!

[denimeans]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

in zeta we have standards programs-they can run the gamut from changing a tire, to resume' writing, to buying insurance, making a will, investing or napkin folding and everything in between. i am sure all sororities have the same type of program, just under a different title. so we're not all fluff and no substance.

I'm in an NPC and we definitely don't have that. We have sisterhoods and philanthropies. Our risk management chair gives info on alcohol risk and we've had a self-defense workshop, but nothing even vaguely job related.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

Here's the citation for the article I was talking about. In the academics section of Chit Chat here on GC, there's a thread I started when I was Betarulz! titled "The GC Academic Conference" in which I briefly (very briefly - the final paper was 17 pages and early versions were closer to 25) cover my paper and findings.

The GC Academic Conference

[33girl]

She does have a point about alum involvement, we're actually talking about this on the ASA private site. We lose hundreds of women every year to Red Hat Society, Junior League, what have you because they think membership is a "college only" thing. However, the girl (she's not acting much like a grown woman, IMO) writing the article, by stating she has NO intention of staying involved after graduation, is part of the problem. Nothing changes if all you do is complain and don't get involved.

Are the alcohol and visitation restrictions ridiculous and antiquated? Yes. It's all part of a culture that's infantilizing college students more every day.

But I did NOT join a sorority for "political mobilization" - I grew up with that. If I want to be involved politically, I know where to go. I didn't join for "networking" either. I joined for friends and fun that I'm still having 20 years later.

And the last thing I want to hear about is all the sororities uniting toward a "common goal." What would the common goal be? Who decides what it is? For someone to think that 26 different organizations including thousands of diverse women could agree on a "common goal" is so ludicrous, it makes me question how she even had the brains to get into Duke.

Oh and janerz I totally agree with your prestigious schools assessment.

As far as the article:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/sto...candal_at_duke

Umm, college students get drunk. College students hook up. There are stereotypes about sororities and fraternities. Every 10 years, people are stupid enough to talk to Rolling Stone and think it'll not be a giant clusterfuck. This is something new how?

ETA: To all my Farmville Four sisters, and DG, and whoever else was founded at a female college, I guess our founders don't count as "pioneers" since we weren't founded in a hostile environment with males trying to keep us out of their groups.

[libelle]

The student seems to think that her sorority is neither relevant for helping collegiate members with their career goals nor alumnae with their careers, family, etc. Relevance is a function of both the national and local organizations. I would guess that most Executive Offices work similarly to my GLO.

Collegians probably receive programming ideas and materials from the EO. Then it is really up to them (with guidance from local advisors and alumnae) to create programming that is relevant to the needs of their membership. If the chapter members want advice on interviewing techniques or writing essays for graduate school then they can do it. For eg at Duke there must have 100s of successful alumnae who might even be willing to travel back to campus for a workshop. My very successful cousin is a Duke alumna and MBA student at HBS. I am sure she would be flattered if students asked her advice.

At the alumnae level, relevance is a function of the local environment and EO too. In general I do not think EO has developed many programs for alumnae geared towards the challenges we face today: career, work family balance, etc. On the other hand, when I lived and worked in the south, my sorority membership was instrumental in business networking with both men and women. It opened many doors. Sometimes I felt is was more helpful than my MBA! Now that I live in the NE, where my sorority is much smaller, and I work in academia, where most profs look down on GLOs, my membership has not had career impact except for the fellowship for graduate school. But it has provided me with a group of friends and lots of support from other moms (and grandmothers) with young children. We have a lot of teachers and retired teachers in our alumnae group so I think they find the sorority career link helpful.

So, I do think that GLOs could do much more in the way of creating value for alumnae even with technology - job postings on the website, discussion groups, etc - than they do now. But we all have the opportunity to enact our environment. So if collegians want more career oriented programming - do it. If alumnae want more activities then do it.

ciao.