DePauw: Housing Found for Students Displaced by Sorority Membership Review

[UGAalum94]

CZAXOTerp,

She may have left during the membership review, so I'm not sure it's fair to conclude that it didn't affect her.

That said, I'm not sure what else she could want to have happen. I think as far as most people are concerned the chapter members have been completely vindicated in this controversy.

I agree with you in the sense that I think the faster these girls go on with their lives, the happier they will be in the long run.

[33girl]

I'm sorry, but if that's really the way Pres Bottoms feels, he should sever ties with EVERY NPC group there.

EVERY NPC group has closed or reorganized a chapter for reasons other than risk management (i.e., related to numbers or image). EVERY NPC has reorganized a chapter while the old alums were still on campus, resulting in hurt feelings (and probably some women having to withdraw). EVERY NPC group has tried to "spin" things by using phrases like "uncommitted" and "positive insert sorority name here experience." It just so happens that DZ brought a lot of negative attention to DePauw and the people in charge were excrutiatingly bad spinmeisters. DePauw had another chapter close not so long ago and another involved in a hazing incident that brought almost as much negative attention to the school. However, the people in charge of those sororities obviously knew what they were doing as far as interaction with the school and the press/public.

What would have been better for DPU to say was if the people in charge resigned, they would reconsider their affiliation with the sorority. We've all had national officers that made us scratch our heads and say "WTF?" (Stop laughing, Sandy.) For them to outright say "DZ is bad" will probably lose them some alum support, too, and it just demonizes completely innocent women across the country - DZ undergrads who've never even heard of DePauw until this whole mess occurred.

The one reason I can see them justifying severing ties w/ DZ is the issue of women being evicted from their housing on a largely residential campus. Again, this is the fault of someone at DZ HQ not doing their homework and not understanding how much of an effect this would have at a campus like this.

Basically - everyone needs to quit playing the blame game and actually grow a pair and step up.

[UGAalum94]

Don't you think DZ HQ tried to blame some of their bad decisions on the university a bit more than usual here, though, 33Girl?

This may be a crazy dream, but I'm hoping that other groups will revise their own procedures at the next opportunity to address the things you've mentioned.

I think a great number of members didn't know that groups did this. (I know I tended to think that groups closed and then sometimes came back, but I only realized in the last year that they came back before previous members had graduated.) If you haven't been on a campus where it happened when it happened, you might think "well, we would never do that" and this situation might cause members to careful review if in fact they do.

Maybe chapters will push for new policies that don't allow for this sort of thing.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Don't you think DZ HQ tried to blame some of their bad decisions on the university a bit more than usual here, though, 33Girl?

Yes. That's what I meant when I said they were excrutiatingly bad spinmeisters. You don't stay on a campus for almost 100 years and then turn around and say (paraphrase) "the campus culture is what led to the decline of this chapter." If they were so morally offended by the campus culture, they should have pulled their chapter out a long time ago. It makes them look really hypocritical.

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Yes. That's what I meant when I said they were excrutiatingly bad spinmeisters. You don't stay on a campus for almost 100 years and then turn around and say (paraphrase) "the campus culture is what led to the decline of this chapter." If they were so morally offended by the campus culture, they should have pulled their chapter out a long time ago. It makes them look really hypocritical.

The chapter has closed once before. Twenty-something years ago, I believe.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

The chapter has closed once before. Twenty-something years ago, I believe.

YES AND THEY REOPENED IT WHICH IS MY POINT.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I'm sorry, but if that's really the way Pres Bottoms feels, he should sever ties with EVERY NPC group there.

EVERY NPC group has closed or reorganized a chapter for reasons other than risk management (i.e., related to numbers or image). EVERY NPC has reorganized a chapter while the old alums were still on campus, resulting in hurt feelings (and probably some women having to withdraw). EVERY NPC group has tried to "spin" things by using phrases like "uncommitted" and "positive insert sorority name here experience." It just so happens that DZ brought a lot of negative attention to DePauw and the people in charge were excrutiatingly bad spinmeisters. DePauw had another chapter close not so long ago and another involved in a hazing incident that brought almost as much negative attention to the school. However, the people in charge of those sororities obviously knew what they were doing as far as interaction with the school and the press/public.

What would have been better for DPU to say was if the people in charge resigned, they would reconsider their affiliation with the sorority. We've all had national officers that made us scratch our heads and say "WTF?" (Stop laughing, Sandy.) For them to outright say "DZ is bad" will probably lose them some alum support, too, and it just demonizes completely innocent women across the country - DZ undergrads who've never even heard of DePauw until this whole mess occurred.

The one reason I can see them justifying severing ties w/ DZ is the issue of women being evicted from their housing on a largely residential campus. Again, this is the fault of someone at DZ HQ not doing their homework and not understanding how much of an effect this would have at a campus like this.

Basically - everyone needs to quit playing the blame game and actually grow a pair and step up.

Agreed. I am not totally sure that the university is blameless here.

One thing I am not clear on: I heard at one point that DZ was told that if they left, they would have to compete with other organizations on their way back in. I also heard they would have to complete with other PHC organizations. The two do not mean the same thing, as the former is under the university's control, while the latter is really the realm of the CPH. Anyone know the facts?

[indygphib]

Check out today's headline. Wow.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...AL18/703130383

[Ch2tf]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Personally, I'm not crazy about the idea of actually picking up the "talking points" from the national website that the president of the organization recommended although of course I don't know what they are. I'd much rather DZs just spoke from the heart about that their organization is really supposed to be about.

I agree. It seemed odd to me that she would publicly tell members to pick up the party line off the website, seek out media outlets, and regurgitate the info to the press. I can't even imagine a credible media outlet contacting a DZ for an interview now, knowing that the information garnered is fabricated, so to speak.

[PsychTau2]

I just went to their website to read the latest statement and you can't navigate their site. If you hover your mouse over the menu links at the top of the page ("DZ Life" "DZ Rewards" etc.) you can't get anywhere. It doesn't give an error page or anything, just stays on the front page with all of the statements about DePauw.

(I'm guessing this is intentionally done on their website....it quite possibly could be my computer, though!)

PsychTau

[puddintane]

From an administrator's standpoint, President Bottoms didn't have much choice in the matter.

When something reaches the national arena of public scrutiny, I have rarely seen a case where a University continued ties with a Sorority or Fraternity when something this negative gets global media attention. Mostly it's regarding cases of hazing, and this is a little different, but it reached the media on a national level all the same and by allowing the sorority to continue on campus, to the public, it looked like Depauw was condoning the sorority's actions. He had Alumni funding and other Alumni to answer to, and make no mistake, that is the driving force behind any administrators actions. Unless Delta Zeta was pulling the bulk of their donations, which obviously, they weren't, actions like this put a Greek organization on life support.

The biggest problem that administration had with this move, is that this decision was made the week before exams. That is clearly, putting the needs of the sorority ahead of the welfare of it's members, and if that is the card Delta Zeta has chosen to play, then they shouldn't be suprised when someone has one-hand better...which in this case, is that a college or university doesn't have to keep them on campus.

Delta Zeta should have waited until after exams, and then paid their moving expenses...period.

This should serve as an example to other Sororities and Fraternities, if you go for a reorgnization, you have that right, just make sure that you are being totally fair to ALL students that you have excepted into the organization, and not pick and choosing which students you will apply the rules to, and never think a college or university won't ask you to leave--because if the Alumni of the school speaks loudly enough, it doesn't matter what kind of numbers recruitment pulls, you will.

Having Greek Organizations on a campus is a privilege and not a right. Some folks tend to forget that.

However, I don't think Delta Zeta has seen the last of the damage this has caused. The numbers will show up this Fall and in the Spring for those that participate in deferred recruitment.

I know it will on our campus.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by puddintane

However, I don't think Delta Zeta has seen the last of the damage this has caused. The numbers will show up this Fall and in the Spring for those that participate in deferred recruitment.

I know it will on our campus.

This is what worries me. Most posters have admitted that each GLO has done basically the same thing, only closing the entire chapter and recolonizing. In fact, I was once told by an executive officer of another sorority that it's the trend of the future. We can all agree that it would have served DZ better to wait until the end of the year to do this, but that's from the advantage of 20/20 hindsight.

We need to remember that non-greeks tend to paint all GLOs with the same paint brush, and quit kicking Delta Zeta around, for the next misstep could be that of your GLO.

[puddintane]

Originally Posted by honeychile

This is what worries me. Most posters have admitted that each GLO has done basically the same thing, only closing the entire chapter and recolonizing. In fact, I was once told by an executive officer of another sorority that it's the trend of the future. We can all agree that it would have served DZ better to wait until the end of the year to do this, but that's from the advantage of 20/20 hindsight.

We need to remember that non-greeks tend to paint all GLOs with the same paint brush, and quit kicking Delta Zeta around, for the next misstep could be that of your GLO.

...and I agree with you. However, as the Greek Advisor on my campus (and my campus is certainly not the standard for how all students on every campus see this situation), the only negativity swarming is around Delta Zeta, not all NPC Sororities. I'm already getting phone calls from parents wondering if DZ was staying on our campus as well. We aren't going to punish the girls here for what HQ did on another campus. However, we still have to answer for it.

I never experienced a reorganization with my GLO, and I think that DZ would have been able to successfully reorganize at DePauw, if they had a better plan.

You can't kick out every minority (and leave a single 'token'), kick out every girl that is overweight, and every girl that isn't a certain standard of pretty, and not have higher ups ask some serious questions of whether or not discrimination has taken place.

It might be, it might not, but when that is how the public sees it, then perception, becomes reality.

I also read Delta Zeta's website. I have no idea what PR firm is handling their damage control efforts, but they need to find another source. Blaming the media and blaming DePauw at this point, isn't going to work. Depauw isn't the one that asked the girls to leave.

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

Originally Posted by puddintane

...and I agree with you. However, as the Greek Advisor on my campus (and my campus is certainly not the standard for how all students on every campus see this situation), the only negativity swarming is around Delta Zeta, not all NPC Sororities. I'm already getting phone calls from parents wondering if DZ was staying on our campus as well. We aren't going to punish the girls here for what HQ did on another campus. However, we still have to answer for it.

I never experienced a reorganization with my GLO, and I think that DZ would have been able to successfully reorganize at DePauw, if they had a better plan.

You can't kick out every minority (and leave a single 'token'), kick out every girl that is overweight, and every girl that isn't a certain standard of pretty, and not have higher ups ask some serious questions of whether or not discrimination has taken place.

It might be, it might not, but when that is how the public sees it, then perception, becomes reality.

I also read Delta Zeta's website. I have no idea what PR firm is handling their damage control efforts, but they need to find another source. Blaming the media and blaming DePauw at this point, isn't going to work. Depauw isn't the one that asked the girls to leave.

Very good points. It appears that the motivation for this reorganization was image. It was image on campus...revamping the chapter in hopes of being more homogeneous with the rest of the houses on campus, therefore raising recruitment numbers. But what they didn't realize is that if they were going to use image as their main recruiting tool...they needed to take into account that not everyone is going to be dumb enough to accept that, conveniently, only the conventially pretty girls were "comitted to recruitment". It also presented the ugly side of "sisterhood"...the side that isn't about sisterhood at all, but business. Yeah, we've all had chapters be reorganized after struggling for years. Money doesn't grow on trees, and houses have to be filled to pay rent. And it's possible that some chapters were reorganized seemingly by appearance, or in the middle of the year. But it's not common. It was mean and callous.

"Perception becomes reality" is a great quote...something to definitely remember.

And yeah as far as I'm concerened, I don't plan on really listening to anything DZ has to say officially at this point...their officials have blamed everyone but the people who sent out eviction notices, and are now telling their members to toe to a party line...pretty ridiculous. It has completely dissolved their credibility. I'm ONLY interested in hearing what individual DZ members think (and not what they read in their cookie cutter speeches).

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally Posted by indygphib

Check out today's headline. Wow.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...AL18/703130383

How much say does he think he has in "modern recruitment processes"?