What do you do if you suspect there has been some “dirty” behind the scenes maneuvers with sorority rush?
Say it isn’t so.
Isn’t there a Pan-Hellenic Council or something?
Yes, I think that is my next step. Has anyone had experience with this?
Like what kind of deceit?
Like what?
Greek chat would probably be a better place to post this question.
^^^^ As suggested post this on Greek Chat. Those ladies are well informed. But don’t label what happened. Explain in detail what occurred and ask if there’s anything that can be done about it.
Panhellenic Council at the campus level or National Office of the sorority depending on what it was.
If you think one girl didn’t get in or you think one got special treatment, there really isn’t a lot to be done. If you think a house did something they weren’t supposed to, like contacting PNM outside of rush or spent more money than allowed, you can do as others suggested and contact the school’s panhellenic office.
There generally is quite a bit of oversight.
chat with my friends
my advice is stay away from frats/sororities! be yourself and do not seek validation from the greek system. you will be happier for it!
@zobroward, that would be my thinking, too, but for many kids, especially those attending large schools, fraternities and sororities are the easiest way to connect to a peer group. Not my cup of tea, nor my kids’, but this is a tradition in many families.
@caligrits, I hope you find a resolution to your problem very soon.
There’s always a bit if “dirty” rushing. I wish the OP had told us a little more.
A mom admitted that she can pull some strings to kept a certain girl out. Just makes me sick.
Is the “mom” an alum. Alums have a tremendous amount of influence, and if they think a girl ought not be admitted, she likely won’t be. Nothing wrong with that.
At some schools, the alums do have a lot of influence on how the selection process works. For example, some houses require recommendations, and if they are not received the PNM can be hurt by that. Honestly, I don’t think most of the actives care about recommendations. If this is ‘just a mom’ of a member, she may have some influence with her daughter and close friends of her daughter, and it may only take a few votes to make a PNM move down enough on the list.
It seems ridiculous that this mother is going around telling people she’ll keep the PNM out. To what purpose? Why would anyone care that much if one girl was pledged?
OP - Did you hear the mom make this claim? Or is this second (third, fourth…) hand information? I agree that if the mom is an alumnae member she might be able to do so if she had a valid reason the girl should not be pledged.
Just wondering why this mom is involved anyway.
Isn’t the whole point of a sorority that existing and previous members get to decide who can and can’t join for completely arbitrary and superficial reasons? Maybe one girl is brunette and the sorority doesn’t like brunettes. Or the PNM is too short or too fat or too ugly. Aren’t those all perfectly valid reasons in the eyes of the sorority system and part of the reason some of them exist and have a much-coveted reputation? Is there even such a thing as an invalid reason for keeping someone out? Southern sororities have been keeping minorities out for over a hundred years and nobody batted an eye until recently.
By valid reasons I mean that something was found out about the girl that did not align with the values of the sorority. Not something silly such as hair color or something bigoted such as a girl’s race, religion, etc. I was referring to possibly finding out something like a girl had been caught doing drugs or violating an honor code.
An active or alum can have influence over who gets invited back. It is poor form to brag about it but it is not against the rules.