I was the VP of membership at Delta Zeta’s IU chapter during the 1995-1996 school year. While I was at IU, our chapter was asked to assist the DePauw chapter with their recruitment activities, an echo of what happened recently between the two campuses. When a chapter is struggling to meet quota and simply does not have enough women to speak with prospective new members, gaps need to be filled, and, out of respect for our fellow sisters well over a decade ago, we agreed to assist (as did the current collegians at the IU chapter). The fact that the DePauw women referred to the IU women who volunteered to help them this year as “plastic”, while simultaneously claiming that they were being judged by nationals based on their own appearances, smacks of irony. “Real women” come in all shapes, sizes, colors and physical packages. To suggest that one is being judged on her appearance in one breath while passing judgment on others based on their appearance in another is a little unfair. \nAlthough the timing of the decision from Delta Zeta nationals to move women from the DePauw chapter to alumnae status was extremely poor, I don’t see it as being malicious. Sororities have objectives they must meet, one of which is a membership quota. The fact the DePauw chapter actually voted to disband after the 2006-2007 school year is being overlooked. The fine print of that decision included repercussions such as being moved to alumnae status and losing their housing at the sorority. \nIt is very unfortunate the women at DePauw were unable to connect with prospective new members on their campus and meet their quota. However, that is really what this is about at the end of the day; it’s not about being asked to leave because they weren’t “attractive.” Had they met their quota, this would be a nonissue and nationals would have had no reason to step in and conduct a membership assessment.
Holly Hudecek\nAtlanta, Ga.
