I loathe sororities. I used to loathe fraternities, too, but after my first clutch of Northwestern friends went through rush, my newly pledged guy friends escaped unscathed.
The nouveau sorority girls changed overnight, stalking campus in matching T-shirts and switching seats in class. Soon enough, all my worst perceptions of Greek life were borne out.
So I was thrilled by the release of “Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities.” The new book by investigative journalist Alexandra Robbins is probably the most unethical and notorious look at the Greek system since the classic film “Sorority House Massacre II.” To get around a blacklist on national reporters, Robbins went undercover at an unnamed university and spent a year living as a sorority member among undergrads.
Robbins found houses where plumbers visit at least once a month to unclog the vomit from the pipes and watched a “pig’s run” where new pledges race through a gauntlet of garbage and fire hoses to get to their houses. Robbins found plenty of stuff that summed up my notions about Greek houses at NU — superficiality, alcoholism, self-obsession and cliques that close women off from their non-lettered friends.
More than many other schools, NU easily can be cleaved between the Greek and the non-Greek — nearly half of us have pledged. Greeks dominate our more credible attempts at school spirit, like homecoming. I began to think my anti-Greek biases were justified.
But NU isn’t like “Pledged.” By comparison, our Greek system looks flawless. Even girls who disliked the sorority experience enough to deactivate and hand back their letters said our sororities are scandal-free.
“(Rush is) just really, really structured,” said Lauren Ramm, a Weinberg senior and former Delta Zeta member. “You get 30 minutes per house and you talk to lots of people about meaningless things.”
While Southern Methodist University sends pledges on the “pig’s run,” NU has them gather in Parkes Hall and collect bags of free stuff.
In Robbins’ books fraternities and sororities link up for events — homecoming, date parties — through a system of political intrigue and social climbing. She found most sorority members can name the top three or five coolest houses and try to score them to boost their images. Not at NU. These link-ups are a lot more random and less exclusive, often including non-Greek students.
Were NU sororities at least turning their pledges into zombies? Not really, said Weinberg sophomore and ex-Chi Omega pledge Amy Millar.
“I think that as with any group, if you spend a great deal of time together, you are likely to adapt some of the same habits,” she said.
My desire to stereotype vast segments of NU was stifled again. It turns out that NU is actually a model for the Greek system — diverse and open, not exclusive to Wilmette chicks with BMWs. We non-Greeks may be loathing vast swathes of our peers for the wrong reason.
From now on, I’ll only loathe the annoying ones.
David Weigel is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].
