What Does DePauw Think Sororities Are?

From the AP: Troubled sorority cut from DePauw

A sorority accused of kicking out nearly two dozen members who weren't pretty or popular enough was evicted from DePauw University, which said the values of Delta Zeta did not fit with the small private college.

The sorority has said the 23 evictions were based on the members' lack of commitment to recruiting new members. But those asked to leave have charged that they were removed because of their appearance, contending they were active and supportive members of their sorority.

University President Robert G. Bottoms said Monday the school was unhappy with Delta Zeta's policies and actions, and with some of the postings on its Web site in response to the controversy that followed the evictions.

"I came to the conclusion that our approaches to these issues are just incompatible," he said in a news conference.

He did not elaborate on the policies with which the school disagreed. The sorority had previously defended its actions on its Web site and criticized DePauw's reaction to the issues. The Web site was not operating Monday.

My initial reaction is to support the rights of private organizations to decide themselves who should be on their membership roles. Sororities and fraternities by their very nature are discriminatory organizations. It seems highly dubious for DePauw to single out any one of them and say "We don't like the capricious or elitist way you do things," because that is exactly what a sorority is, a capricious and elitist organization.

It seems the national HQ for Delta Zeta did not like the DePauw chapter because it was more than a little like "Revenge of the Nerds for Girls."

The sorority's members have long had a reputation as being known more for academics than partying, and their chapter was widely known among students as the "dog house."

The chapter started the school year with just 35 women, two-thirds empty on a campus where 70 percent of students join the Greek system.

Efforts to improve those numbers — and, some contend, the sorority's image — prompted Delta Zeta's national leadership to conduct a review to determine members' commitment to recruiting. As a result, it moved 23 members to alumnae status in December, evicting them from the sorority house. Six others left on their own.

So, it is unacceptable for Delta Zeta to not want to be the destination for the bookish and unattractive at DePauw, even though the sorority was functioning at only 33% of capacity and could be characterized as a "dying" chapter.

And I love the fact that DePauw is shocked, just shocked, to find out that a sorority would base membership on looks and social standing.

What maroons.