10/28/2014: Fascinating story by Risa Doherty:
During fall or winter rush, sororities court starry-eyed freshmen. They showcase their joyful conviviality with skits and serenades. They stress the benefits of joining, and brag about attracting the prettiest, smartest or most athletic. At many traditional sororities, however, not much energy is spent explaining what is expected, leaving many pledges unaware of the considerable time commitment and costs.
Do the math: Official charges include Panhellenic dues, chapter fees, administrative fees, nonresident house/parlor fees, a onetime pledging and initiation fee and contribution toward a house bond. Members must also buy a pin (consider the diamond-encrusted one) and a letter jersey. Without housing, basic costs for the first semester (the most expensive) average $1,570 at University of Georgia sororities, $1,130 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and $1,580 at Syracuse University.
But such fees are only a portion of the real cost. Add in fines, philanthropy and the incidentals that are essential to participate in sorority life and the total spirals upward, especially when a closetful of designer party dresses is part of the mix.
10/20/2014: Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life in denial
Step one is to admit you have a problem. Despite that fact that five of his students ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning after last year’s “bid day”, Mr. Shukas thinks maybe the problem is that regular students may have mis-reported they were in chapters, inflating the greek life rape numbers in Jennifer Freyd’s survey report. The ODE has the story:
… Justin Shukas, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at UO, has made sure that there are a number of programs in place to make students feel safe in terms of sexual assault.
“We do a new member orientation program that happens within two to three weeks of when new members receive their bids,” he said. “We cover sexual assault prevention and alcohol abuse prevention.”…
Shukas said that many FSL members were surprised by the results of the study. “I think a lot of the students’ reaction is that they weren’t aware,” Shukas said. “The data was also self reported, and it’s unsure if those students were actually in chapters, so there are still a lot of questions about that.” …
UO FSL saw first hand how individuals’ poor decisions can lead to an unsafe environment after five sorority women were hospitalized due to alcohol poisoning following Bid Day 2013.
10/15/2014: Fraternity members 3x more likely to commit rape – UO Dean Shang says don’t forget about their community service