Blackball

AOX81 · #1 07-23-2002, 11:09 AM

I was just curious if any of you have personally been responsible for blackballing a PNM during recruitment.

I would like to fess up and say yes I have. Here is the story behind it.

About 15 years ago my mom was driving down the road and there was a girl riding a bike wearing headphones and she swerved out in the road right in front of my mom. My mom obviously hit her. The girl walked away with a few minor cuts and bruises and her parents tried to sue my mom. She shouldn't have been riding in the road at her age in the first place and she certainly shouldn't have been riding with headphones on.

Anyway, a couple years ago she showed up during formal sorority recruitment and kind of gave me dirty looks. I found out from a Rho Chi (not from my organization) that she had been talking trash about me saying how my mom was lucky that she didn't get sued.

So yep I blackballed her...

Would you have done the same thing?

maggieaxid · #2 07-23-2002, 11:53 AM

i have "blackballed" people...few example: a freshman who got really really trashed one night and decided that she was in love with my boyfriend and told me to "F-off" bc she thought she was hotter....gone. a girl that had no idea what org. i was in who told me that my org. sucked bc it wasn't southern enough for her (she never did recieve a bid from anyone), and the girl who came to a frat party one night that i had known from hs. and she decided that she felt the need to call me a slut....she was gone too.

AlphaChiS2K · #3 07-23-2002, 12:07 PM

I've never really "blackballed" anyone, but this past year a girl came through rush who was not the most popular rushee- she had a history with several sisters of approaching their boyfriends (all members of one fraternity) WHILE MY SISTERS were standing with them and a)grabbing their package and saying obscene things b) jumping on them and wrapping her legs around their waist and saying obscene things, and c) lifting her shirt and asking "Wanna play?" This girl was cut immediately. Peace out...

I did, however, talk to one girl during rush this year who did not get a favorable evaluation from me- we were chatting and I asked what she was interested in at school (classes, field of study, etc) and she looked at me and said, "Oh.... yeah, well, I don't really do school." Um okay... then I'm afraid we don't really do you.

carnation · #4 07-23-2002, 12:15 PM

We never used a blackball per se and I don't believe that one vote could keep a girl out. However, when one person (alum or active) does have majorly serious concerns about a PNM, the chapter needs to listen.

I have sent a no-rec twice. I had accompanied 3 high school Girl Scouts to Asia and one spent all her time trying to hook up with every sailor she saw. After spending 3 weeks dragging her butt out of trouble, I definitely could not see her wearing the arrow.

The other time was recently when I felt that a PNM our family knew was seriously disturbed. My AOII daughter likewise sent a letter of warning to her chapter at that school. The PNM did manage to pledge a sorority but was depledged by the group for bizarre behavior.

Peaches-n-Cream · #5 07-23-2002, 12:21 PM

We didn't ballball. I tried to prevent someone from getting a bid, but it didn't work. She received a bid and within a few weeks everyone told me that I was right. It didn't make me feel very good. It was a bad situation.

amycat412 · #6 07-23-2002, 01:19 PM

I had a friend my freshman year who did something pretty sh*tty to me.

I was willing to let it go and just never speak to her again, but my friends and boyfriend were so appalled they told everyone in the greek system they could get their hands on what she'd done to me. Consequently, when she went thru rush the following fall, she was cut from every single house after the first round.

I didn't agree with what my friends were doing and told them so at the time, but I also can't say she didn't deserve it. We were best friends and if she'd do something to me--who's to say she wouldn't have turned on her sisters too?

justamom · #7 07-23-2002, 01:28 PM

When Hubby was active, one pledge was blackballed before initiation. He was a DOG. He lied to and stole from his brothers, stole tests from the files and sold them, and forced himself on a girl.
Everyone on campus heard about this, it wasn't a secret.
I've never done it however.

josh8o · #8 07-23-2002, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AOX81
So yep I blackballed her...

Would you have done the same thing?

hell yes!!

for guys its kinda different. in phi psi we actually have blackballs...i cant tell you about it, but we can blackball pledges. you could be half way through your pledge semester, then POW you're gone. it only takes one.

i have seen it happen...it sucks sometimes.

dzandiloo · #9 07-23-2002, 02:06 PM

We didn't use blackballs in my chapter--in fact, we were not even allowed to verbalize negative remarks about PNM's in front of the chapter at all. We could no-comment, which was basically as good as a negative remark, but if we had serious concerns about a girl, we had to write it down and give it to the bid committee to consider. Usually, such a note was given great weight in the bid committees decisions, but occasionally, they were made by sisters without much respect, so they were sometimes disregarded, though rarely.

The most dramatic instance that I would call a blackballing--was when we cut a PNM who had been arrested the prior summer for boating while intoxicated--the case was still pending, but she was 17 at the time of the accident, and a guy was killed, and she was a known party girl. She didn't mention it on her registration form (of course), but one of our sisters was from the neighboring town and had heard all about it from the local papers. She ended up not getting a bid from anyone.

shadokat · #10 07-23-2002, 03:26 PM

We don't have any "blackballing" per se. And I would say the reason for that it is because one person doesn't acquire enough power to do that. During "pros and cons", you can "con" a PNM. That way your opinion is out there. Mind you, it's always said that if you didn't meet a girl personally, and other sisters did, you should trust their judgement!

GiantsChic · #11 07-23-2002, 05:33 PM

ok, I'm a little confused about this blackballing thing... 1.) does this mean that person is prevented from getting a bid during that rush, or from that house ever? 2.) this may be diff. for each org., but is it only 1 person that has to "blackball" some one, or more than 1? lol, sorry- this is just a little confusing

Kevin · #12 07-23-2002, 06:10 PM

Blackballing in my fraternity is as simple as one "no" vote on a silent ballot. There are some exceptions but that's generally how it goes.

Other houses I know vary some require 3/4 or 4/5 for initiation.

prophet · #13 07-23-2002, 07:04 PM

From what I read all of the blackballed girls had reason to be subject to that, blackballed. For my chapter we do 3/4 but if the big brother or some brother that gets mad respect says he has a problem with a pledge more then likely they are gone. Man I have a story about this one clown who had nothing but lie after lie after lie, and cared nothing for his pledge brothers, however I can't go into detail. Trust me you'd laugh....I'm laughing thinking about it

-PROPHET

[COLOR=darkred]FKT

FuzzieAlum · #14 07-23-2002, 07:38 PM

Well, I can't really talk about our voting, but generally it takes more than one no vote.

However, let's say I know something really awful about Suzi Rushee. She went to my high school and, oh, stalked all these guys, and ten men have restraining orders against her. Rather than ruining her reputation by spreading this around and getting people to vote no, I could mention this to the committee running voting, and they would have the power to remove her from our lists. But it better be a pretty serious complaint - "she has ugly hair" is not good enough.

GPhiSweetiePie · #15 07-23-2002, 11:56 PM

My roommate from the dorm this past year once told me that someone she and her sister knew had been blackballed from all sororities on campus. When I asked her why, she was just like, "Because she depledged." Coming from the girl who always thought she knew everything, this deserved a big eye roll from me. I informed her that that's not really a good enough reason to be blackballed, people depledge all the time. In fact, a girl in my pledge class had accepted a bid from a sorority the year before last and after a little while, decided it wasn't for her. So last year, she went through informal rush and pledged at my house. Lol, no blackballing there. That shut my roommate up!