Sorority Saga: Let's See Who's Getting the Boot Now.

Last month I wrote about the Delta Zeta sorority kicking out women in its DePauw chapter who are not conventionally pretty.

As a former DZ told CNN, she and her sorority sisters were told by Delta Zeta's national leaders, "You need to be more sexually appealing; you need to make the guys want you." (Full story.)

How anachronistic is that? More to the point, how icky is that?

Ewwww. These are supposed to be well-educated women!

But I'll bite my tongue and move on.

Officials at DePauw were ticked off at the sackings, but it was Delta Zeta's response that drove them to evict the sorority from its campus. Sam Dillon followed up his February report in the New York Times today.

After the initial fuss, which received widespread national attention, Delta Zeta posted a weak apology on its website.

“Delta Zeta National apologizes to any of our women at DePauw who felt personally hurt by our actions. It was never our intention to disparage or hurt any of our members during this chapter reorganization process.”

But, not able to leave well enough alone, "the sorority posted statements critical of the women forced out of the DePauw chapter and of faculty members who supported them.," writes Dillon.

For DePauw officials, that was the last straw.

University President Robert G. Bottoms said beginning this fall Delta Zeta would no longer be permitted to house students in its Greek-columned residence on the DePauw campus in Greencastle, Indiana.

Let the punishment fit the crime.

It's high time for Delta Zeta's leadership to refine their understanding of an apology. There really is an art to saying "sorry." For starters, they can listen to Amy Dickinson, who explained it in Talk of the Nation on NPR last week.

You can listen to that discussion here.

Sorority Fights Stereotypes, Boots Out Non-Conformists

The New York Times reports in Sunday's edition that the Delta Zeta sorority was so concerned about what DePauw students perceived about that house on the Indiana campus, it was moved to action.

Sam Dillon writes:

"Worried that a negative stereotype of the sorority was contributing to a decline in membership that had left its Greek-columned house here half empty, Delta Zeta’s national officers interviewed 35 DePauw members in November, quizzing them about their dedication to recruitment. They judged 23 of the women insufficiently committed and later told them to vacate the sorority house.

"The 23 members included every woman who was overweight. They also included the only black, Korean and Vietnamese members. The dozen students allowed to stay were slender and popular with fraternity men — conventionally pretty women the sorority hoped could attract new recruits. Six of the 12 were so infuriated they quit.

“Virtually everyone who didn’t fit a certain sorority member archetype was told to leave,” said Kate Holloway, a senior who withdrew from the chapter during its reorganization."

What on earth were they thinking, that being overweight or a racial minority amounts to a negative image?

Dillon writes:

"Asked for clarification, the sorority’s public relations representative e-mailed a statement saying its actions were aimed at the “enrichment of student life at DePauw.”

Well, can't wait to see how they explain that one.

Now that Delta Zeta's actions have caught national attention, that ought to take care of any "negative stereotype", then, eh?

Here's a link to the whole article.