Sororities Not What They Used to Be
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Sororities not what they used to be By Cade Chorness replacement is $75, the price of changing all the locks If the word "sorority" conjures up images of all- ()lithe house. night talkathons and midnight panty-raids from I wander down to my spare, but comfortable, neighboring fraternities, your mind is back in the '50s room. I discover that I share an adjoining bathroom and so was this reporter's when I agreed to live in a with two other women. sorority for a few days. Greek life Are you members of the sorority? I ask. A taste of sorority life convinced me that whatever They respond with a resounding "Fortunately, sororities are now, they sure ain't what they used to The house is quiet; all the women I see are an informal meal. Monday nights the house has its no." studying. formal weekly meeting. SJSU students Brenda Jones and Sheila Smith are Day one of sorority life: Bags in hand, I knock on When we go upstairs I find out why. It's "study She leads me to the "serenade deck," a small two of six boarders at Delta Gamma. Both blacks, they the door of Delta Gamma at the corner of Eighth and hours," which the house has from 6:30 to 9:30 every balcony at the front of the house where the sorority were interested in joining the all-white sorority and Reed streets, the only sorority of the four at SJSU that evening. The women take turns being "proctor" to members gather when fraternities come by to sing went through rush but that changed their minds. consented to such a visit. maintain quiet. songs to them, usually during rush or on holidays such "During rush the sorority girls were friendly and The door is opened by Melissa, a fresh-faced Upstairs the women share rooms with two to five as Valentine's Day. concerned," said Smith, a business freshman, "but cheerleading type. She runs upstairs to find the roommates. The rooms are brightly decorated with Of the 55 women at Delta Gamma, 33 are "actives" they kept asking us 'Are you sure you want to join an president of the sorority. plants, posters (Robert Redford is a favorite) and a ( members) and 22 pledges. all-white sorority?'" Maureen "Mo" O'Donnell, president and two-year truckload of stereo equipment. The traditional hazing ritual for pledges is pretty But that wasn't what changed their minds. Both member of Delta Gamma, comes downstairs and gives O'Donnell shows me the rooms for the harmless. O'Donnell tells me the only harassment the girls said the "phoniness and superficiality" of the me a tour of the house. "townhouse" women, members of the sorority who initiates suffer is "tubbing" being immersed fully sorority girls turned them off. The house is much larger than it looks from the don't live at the house. clothed in a tub of water if they are caught using the "There is no sisterhood in this club," Smith said. outside. Downstairs is the kitchen, dining room, living These rooms are for them if they decide to spend forbidden front staircase. "Nobody helps each other out. The girls talk about room with fireplace and piano, a room with TV, and the the night. My tour complete, O'Donnell gives me a key to the each other that isn't my idea of sisterhood." boarders' rooms, where I will be staying. O'Donnell tells me I have missed dinner, which is house and tells me not to lose it the cost of I Continued on back page) SPARTANVolume 69, Number 60 Serving the San Jose State Community Since 1934 Wednesday, November 30, DAILY 1977 0 Review of president- a. -4 0 -4 -4 -4 need 'at early date' E. SAN FERNANDO ST. By Linda Zavoral Faculty Associations, the American reviews throughout CSUC 64.3 Almost 80 percent of 544 SJSU SPEECH AND DRAMA Association of University percent agreed strongly, 20.6 per- faculty members polled think there Professors, the California College cent agreed, 1.3 percent had no should be a presidential reviw at and University Faculty Association, opinion, 7.5 percent disagreed and SJSU "at an early date," according the California State Employees 6.3 percent disagreed STAFF to strongly. Political Science Professor Association, the United Professors LIBRARY CENTRAL CAFETERIA Those agreeing numbered 462, Theodore Norton, one of the coor- of California and the Association of while those disagreeing numbered dinators of the poll. California State University Professors. 75. Seven had no opinion. JOURNAL ISM More than 85 percent agreed S.U. with the concept of presidential On the question of presidential On the concept of presidential review and 84.9 percent think the review at SJSU, 58.1 percent agreed review, 63.2 percent agreed statewide Academic Senate and the strongly, 21.5 percent agreed, 2.8 strongly, 21.9 percent agreed, 0.6 FACULTY California State University and percent had no opinion, 8.7 percent percent had no opinion, 7.5 percent Colleges Board of Trustees should disagreed and 6.8 percent disagreed OFFICES HEALTHO disagreed and 8.9 percent disagreed implement faculty reviews at all strongly. strongly. CSUC campuses. E. SAN CARLOS ST A total of 430 faculty members Those in favor of the review Questionnaires were sent to agreed with review on this campus, concept numbered 462, while those 1,200 faculty members Thanksgiving while ') disagreed. Fifteen had no opposed numbered 78. Three had no in a joint effort by six faculty opin.,- opinion. organizationsthe Congress of Questioned about presidential (Continued on back page) 7TH ST. GARAGE Harris and Gallup, move over E. SAN SALVADOR ST. 1 I EMERGENCY PHONES Grad creates poll system By Linda Zavoral Gross pr dieted this "much statistics and computer program- The big names in opinion polls needed information flow system" ridng will analyze the results, while are George Gallup and Lou Harris. will fill that gap and provide journalism students could gather l ABC/77 SJSU's Jeff Gross, a graduate decision-makers with the data background information and Mop by Bruce Cofflond student in social work, may soon be necessary for grappling with distribute analyzed opinions. Social added to that list. university problems. science students would prepare Gross has developed an opinion- "We aren't going to be the ones impact statements on the results. hotline phones gathering system called the to say 'these are the important Students in the class itself will 22 campus which is issues,' "he said. University Polling System supervise the polling and work in being offered as a social work class Members of the university their areas of interest. next semester, taught by assistant community will be polled on what Two types of polling will be done they think the important problems to be operating next week Professor Michael Hibbard. random sample polling and the are. Gross will outline his University University Polling System poll. By H. Kim Lew bear the entire cost of installation their idea, but it was the University Polling System at the A.S. Council According to Gross, valid areas Random sample polling is Twenty-two campus hotline and maintenance, according to Police that made the suggestion." meeting at 3 p.m. today in the A.S. to study might include educational Barbara Krause, administrative chambers. An informational concerns such as class size and polling a small percentage of the phones tied directly to the On Nov. 16, the San Jose City assistant to San Jose Mayor Janet meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. grading. The system could also be population and predicting the University Police should be installed Council passed a four-point anti. Gray Hayes. tomorrow in the S.U. Guadalupe applied to issues like the parking opinions of the rest of the population and operating next week, according rape program, which included to SJSU Purchasing Officer Room. problem. on the basis of the sample, Gross Jim However, the city has no plans "looking into" the installation of on- Hill. Two are already The polling system idea evolved Students will write the surveys, explained. in operation. to put emergency phones in the campus call boxes an attempt to Installation of the from a project Gross was working on distribute them, collect them and The University Polling System security neighboring community, though speed positive action by the phone system follows a dramatic while an undergraduate at Arizona analyze them, he said. would be a poll of the entire most of the rapes and attempted university. increase in campus State University,hbut which was "The idea is to have students university community, he said. sex crimes. Two rapes have occurred off-campus, rapes Installation of the phones began never put into operation. doing work for credit through Random sample polls would be and six rape attempts have Krause said. Almost 30 sexual occurred on on Nov. 21. According to Hill, two Gross said he has "never come existing classes," Gross explained. done frequently, he said, since campus this calendar assaults have occurred in the year. were put into operation by the staff across anything like it. For example, he said, sociology, they're "done all the time in existing campus neighborhood this year. Although the city applied cafeteria and the Speech and Drama "At the moment, there is no social work and psychology students classes anyway." The University pressure on the university to add "As far as I know the city is not building on Monday and the rest will direct channel with the student would gather questions and write Polling System , which "might be these phones, which have an initial paying any part of the costs," Hill likely be operative by next week.