ANY ORGANIZATION can get a bad rap. The bigger the group's membership, the easier it becomes to uncover faults. Add to this decades of negative stereotyping and bad media publicity. Top it off with a policy that prevents members from having contact with certain people not affiliated with the organization. What are you left with? The University's sorority system.
Fortunately, the situation is not as bleak as it may appear at first glance. In an effort to change negative aspects of its image, over the past three years the Inter-Sorority Council has made modifications to its contact policy regarding interaction between first-year women and women in sororities. Most recently, the ISC lifted another restriction by allowing first-year women to attend sorority-sponsored philanthropic events. These changes are positive, but the work still is not complete. The ISC should continue to modify its recruitment policies and procedures until first-year women are allowed as much pre-rush contact with Greek life as their male counterparts.
The premise behind the ISC contact policy is that no first-year woman should be allowed an unfair advantage in the recruitment process. If a potential rushee were to become friends with one or more sorority members, that could sway her decision in the rush process or the sorority's decision to offer her a bid.
Granted, maintaining fairness is a desirable goal in the recruitment process. However, with formal rush at the beginning of the spring semester, it is virtually impossible for all first-year women to enter the second semester of college on completely equal ground. Within the community of roughly 13,000 undergraduate students, it should not be surprising that upperclass Greek women and first-year women will come into contact frequently. Some may work together in classes, others form bonds through extracurricular activities, part-time jobs and mutual friends. It is wrong for the women to be told whom they can be friends with, where they can hang out and how much interaction they can have. First-year women can form impressions of Greek women and subsequently individual sororities through their sanctioned on-Grounds contact, even if Greek life never is mentioned among them. A formal contact policy, no matter how strict or lenient it may be, serves as nothing more than a source of confusion and frustration.
The ISC increasingly has been coming to terms with the arbitrariness of its contact policy. Two years ago the no-contact policy was lifted, and last year the ISC clarified that contact must occur on Grounds. The newest changes now allow for off-Grounds contact at philanthropic events. Still, specific sororities cannot be promoted through individual contact.
The ISC further improved its reputation by making more active attempts to explain contact and rush policies to first-year women. When the current fourth-year class entered the University back in the fall of 1999, the women heard about the no-contact policy, but received little explanation for the philosophy behind the regulations. The old system, which virtually isolated first-year women from the large female Greek population, did not paint the ISC in the most positive light. Today's ISC represents the results of several important strides in the interaction between Greek and non-Greek women.
The changes should not end here. Women deserve to have the same knowledge of specific houses as men about to enter fraternity rush. This is not to say that sororities are the same as fraternities, nor should they be. Fraternities are more visible institutions, with different rules regarding social events and alcohol, and with generally smaller chapter memberships. Despite their differences, sororities and fraternities hold in common the fact that their potential members are signing on to a significant commitment, one that will have a noticeable impact on their activities, friends, finances and overall college experience. Greek women should know what they are getting into just as much as Greek men. The best way to get the most accurate picture of Greek life, and even specific Greek organizations, is through normal social interaction with members of the group.
This is not advocating a call for dirty rush, with elaborate gift giving and coddling of potential recruits. It is, however, asking that women be allowed to know not only what they're getting into, but who they're getting into it with. General discussions of the Greek system can help women decide if they're interested in Greek life. Those planning to rush, though, are going to find out about the reputations of individual sororities one way or another. In a system steeped in misconceptions, the best solution to achieving fairness is to let Greek women speak for themselves. Only then will stereotypes from second-hand sources have little impact on the recruitment process.
(Stephanie Batten's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at sbatten@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
IYER: Sports stadiums should sport more benefit to Virginia residents
By Arjun Iyer | 4 hours agoPast stadiums in other states show that Virginia has the potential to succeed at such a construction project, provided that proper measures are undertaken.
KURTZWEIL: True financial aid must be transparent
By Paul Kurtzweil | 4 days agoThe implications and revelations of the lawsuit should inspire greater transparency at the University in order to ensure that financial aid is properly and equitably distributed.
SULLIVAN: Ramp up physical accessibility on Grounds
By Scarlett Sullivan | 6 days agoThe University must take responsibility for the inaccessibility of Grounds and work to promote accessibility for all students despite misguided laws.
