Quote:
Originally Posted by FSUZeta
From the outside looking in, it might appear that sorority members are privileged. While I would fall into your privileged category, many of my sorority sisters paid their way. I knew of plenty of girls in other sororities that also did. I have been an advisor to several chapters where the majority of the members held down part time jobs. That dog simply doesn't hunt. It's best not to generalize.
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You are the expert at sorority membership, so I would have to assume what you are saying is true. And, I do admit I have a tendency to over-generalize.
However, in my own defense, I will have to say I know of only two women who paid their own sorority dues. Both my mother and sister-in-law. And they had similar circumstances; both of their mothers were widowed and had limited income for extras such as these. My mother said she ended up dropping out of sorority when she was a senior because money became too tight at the end. My sister-in-law said the same thing. My SIL is rather bitter about the whole thing because she was explaining how her sorority had meeting and philanthropy requirements and that her work schedule (she had to work 25 hrs/ week) interfered with fulfilling those requirements. When she took her work schedule to someone within the sorority organization to see if they could work something out, they refused to change anything for her so she was forced to quit.
Most of the other people I know whose daughters are in sororities are from the dance studio. Dance there is very expensive and most of the parents are very high earners. I would guess that the average household income is around $600 K/ year, with I think a large percentage of parents being doctors, CEOs, CFOs, Vice-Presidents/ Presidents of Corporations, etc. I know quite a few have income in excess of $1 million/ year. So, I guess my more recent thoughts are that sorority dues are a drop in the bucket for these people. Everyone I currently know pays for their daughter's sorority dues. Hence, Yes I admit to over-generalising from my recent and long-term experiences.
Regardless, thanks to all who repled in a genuine manner and took the time to go into a more in-depth explanation of the probable causes of this situation. My first instinct was that surely the girl(s) who promised her a bid did not intend to lie to her; that they sincerely believed she would get a bid. From what has been shared here, I think that is what happened. Its just that they did not really understand the process that well + some added immaturity. Their mistake resulted in a painful experience for my daughter.
However, I am one of those do-gooder types who likes to bring about change when there are problems. I am thinking about contacting the Panhellenic Council at her school (anonymously) and explaining what happened so they can talk to the girls, better educate them for future rush classes, and to at least better minimize the chances of this happening to other girls in the future.
