The Observer, March 2, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 19
Outside the circle
Sorority scandal at DePauw University
Delta Zeta sorority at DePauw University recently lost 29 members after a reorganization by national officers. The officers recommended 23 members for alumna status – including every overweight woman and the only non-white members. Following that, six of the 12 remaining women quit the sorority.
The chapter was known on campus for being "socially inept," and their numbers were suffering in recruitment. National officers came in and interviewed the 35 members to test their commitment to recruitment. The only women who were left after the interviews were those who were traditionally pretty and popular with men.
The national officers held a recruitment event in the house, where they asked only a few women to meet potential new members while 23 women had to hide upstairs in their rooms. They supplemented the members with beautiful Delta Zetas sent in from Indiana University.
During the recruitment event a sister who had been told to stay upstairs came bursting through the front door wearing a wig and pink sunglasses, chanting and cheering. She said that the expression she got from the national representative "was like I'd run over her puppy with my car."
The school is now under scrutiny from parents and community and it is not certain if any further action will be taken.
Public breakup at UNC
Ryan Burke, a student at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill decided to break up with his girlfriend on Valentine's Day. He asked his girlfriend, who is a student at North Carolina State University, to come meet him at the Pit, a busy campus spot, for a surprise.
At the location, she was met with a campus a cappella group and almost 1000 friends that he had invited via Facebook. The singing group sang "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice." After the song, Burke told his girlfriend that she had cheated and that he was breaking up with her.
The crowd cheered him on, shouting "slap her" and chanting "slut, slut, slut." There were many cameras there filming the event, as well as a number of cell phone cameras. The video is posted on YouTube.
Some think the event was fake, a call for publicity. Some students defend that the only reason they came was because they knew the event would be posted online and generate a lot of talk.
Campus administrators are concerned about the event, real or not, viewing it as the public humiliation of a woman. "I wonder how anyone is supposed to feel safe on a campus where this is seen as an acceptable activity," said Donna M. Bickford, director of the Carolina Women's Center.
College students more self-centered than ever
In a recent survey of college students, researchers found that students are more narcissistic than ever before. Two-thirds had scores above the 1982 average and 30 percent more show elevated narcissism.
The students were asked to rate how much they agreed to statements like "I am special" and "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place." Researchers fear that the results could translate into social problems for this generation.
The root is traced back to the self-esteem programs that schools developed two decades ago. The study mentions nursery schools that have children sing: "I am special, I am special. Look at me." The problem is perpetuated in adolescence because of websites like MySpace, which allow a person to self-promote more than ever before.
Professors say that the problem is evident in the classrooms and on campus. They find students who hold loud conversations where other students are studying or students who expect good grades for very little work.
Cell phone use on campus
A recent survey at Virginia Tech revealed cell phone patterns among college students. The survey received 568 responses to its 53 item survey. The survey asked who students call, when they call, and for how long they talk.
The students and their parents value the phones and the security and usefulness they offer. Parents, who often pay for the phones, want their students to use them often.
The average student places 11 calls per day. Most calls fall between 6 p.m. and midnight, presumably to take advantage of lowered rates. Males and females both make most of their calls from home, with the car in second place for females and school for males.
The students made most of their calls to immediate family, significant others, and friends. The calls were spread evenly across the categories. Females called their parents more frequently and spoke to them for longer times. Researchers wonder how the more frequent contact college students have with parents will affect their transition to adulthood.
