Sorority Rituals - Reflections On Rites of ... - Mari Ann Callais

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officers and leaders of the group. For several of the participants, serving as an officer or having responsibility in their chapter created a deeper understanding of the ritual ceremonies and greater sense of understanding the role of ritual in the lives and in their sorority experience. What was particularly interesting was that most of the participants who indicated that they were officers referenced the ritual ceremonies and what role the ceremonies had on their awareness of their behavior, values, and the decisions that they made as the leaders of their chapters. The participants emphasized the importance of their officer position and the expectations of the other members of their chapters as it related to their behavior. Conversely, several of the participants expressed that the importance of the ritual ceremony had actually decreased as they developed and matured. Some of the participants attributed these feelings of less connectedness because they were not close to the “younger members” of their chapter. A few of the participants felt that the younger members did not understand or feel the same way as they had when they were younger in their chapters. The ritual ceremonies, therefore, were not central to their relationships with the other members of their chapters. In evaluating these comments in light of Gilligan’s (1982) theory, it would indicate that these participants have not progressed past Level 1. They are still preoccupied with self-interest and still making decisions on what is best for themselves, without consideration for others. They blame their lack of interest on others and do not accept responsibility for what they ought to do. The focus of sorority life must be on the quality of the experience that the sorority is providing to its members. In order to operate some chapters, especially those maintaining large living facilities, the size of the organization sometimes becomes the most important factor. More important is that the chapter provides a positive experience for its members and that the members understand the ritual aspect as well as they understand the social aspect. Some would argue that 118
when an 18-year old woman joins a sorority she is not looking for ritual, but the entire premise from which members are recruited is fundamental to the potential development of that member. I have been asked if sororities help women be better women or do they help sorority women be better sorority women. Based upon some of the responses that I received from the participants in this study, it appears that sororities have the potential to help make women better women and not just better sorority women; however, some the students’ responses indicate that, in many cases, they separate themselves as to when they are on sorority time and when they are not. Responses such as “when I am wearing my letters, I know that I am representing my sorority” and “when I am at a sorority function I know that I supposed to behave a certain way” indicate that, for some women, they see themselves as sorority women sometimes and at other times, they are on their own time. Sororities can help women be better but they must educate their members in the context of being better women and not just being better sorority women. Ritual Ceremony and Behavior While many of the comments made by the participants reflected the themes detailed in the above sections, some of the participants indicated a clear connection to their behavior as it relates to the ritual ceremonies, stating, “Ritual is like making a decision in everyday life. If you are going to do it in ritual, you should believe it and do it and practice it in everyday life.” The participants expressed that their experience concerning the ritual ceremonies varied based upon several components. The participants shared that the members of their chapter’s attitude toward ritual often times varied from their personal perspective. At the same time, they provided insights about how their own beliefs affected what role the ritual ceremonies had in their lives. 119
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SORORITY RITUALS: RITES OF PASSAGE
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful
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for teaching me that a group of peo
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TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ......
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CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, REC
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Each year th
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The member groups of the National P
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hopes of the founders rather than t
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ceremony is complete, that person i
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80,000 women join sororities. On mo
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issues, and topics …that formerly
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when do we use it? How do we use it
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the sorority experience has on the
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The lack of information concerning
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of the NPC member groups, and to co
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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE Thi
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Ritual Ceremonies and Symbolism in
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Robson writes further: In a world c
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strengthened by encountering differ
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student initiated and created to au
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Gradually, however, they took over
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Following the founding of Kappa Alp
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efer to themselves as "service" org
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Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity Lombard C
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What Is Ritual? In order to explain
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theorist/researcher in the area of
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Ritual as a Rite of Passage Underst
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we are and giving meaning to us wit
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am I? Well, as I see it, I am a per
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Value Congruence Research conducted
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the majority of authors . . . have
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To better understand Gilligan’s F
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only women, all with varying opinio
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member transitions to a leader/role
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development. The isolation period a
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Gilligan’s point that sex differe
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undergraduate members. Understandin
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not an option. Actual observance of
Page 77 and 78: Role of the NPC Research Committee
Page 79 and 80: the chapters were part of large nat
Page 81 and 82: where I was able to travel based up
Page 83 and 84: a whole. I piloted the interview qu
Page 85 and 86: These categories were reflective of
Page 87 and 88: participated in my sorority ritual,
Page 89 and 90: sorority women was a cognitive asse
Page 91 and 92: In addition, only one participant w
Page 93 and 94: school. Sixteen (31%) sophomore par
Page 95 and 96: itual among themselves outside of t
Page 97 and 98: was founded in 1978. Their average
Page 99 and 100: chapters ranging in size from 150 t
Page 101 and 102: participants’ feelings about the
Page 103 and 104: A few of the participants expressed
Page 105 and 106: Several of the participants related
Page 107 and 108: One of the participants explained w
Page 109 and 110: During new member education, you le
Page 111 and 112: Women’s Development within the So
Page 113 and 114: Comments from several of the partic
Page 115 and 116: When I first joined my sorority, I
Page 117 and 118: the participants referred to other
Page 119 and 120: I think that ritual has made me a b
Page 121 and 122: The reasons that the participants g
Page 123 and 124: This study included both private an
Page 125 and 126: internal value system or they know
Page 127: sorority women’s length of member
Page 131 and 132: ehavior of sorority women, it must
Page 133 and 134: * The level of responsibility and /
Page 135 and 136: to evaluate sorority women and the
Page 137 and 138: they are and what role ritual has i
Page 139 and 140: numbers vary from chapter to chapte
Page 141 and 142: that those ceremonies can bring to
Page 143 and 144: Butler, E. R. (1990). Initiations r
Page 145 and 146: Kuh, G. D., & Arnold, J. C. (1992).
Page 147 and 148: Pennington, D., Zvonkovic, A. C., W
Page 149 and 150: Taylor, S.E., Peplau, L.A., C Sears
Page 151 and 152: APPENDIX A CONSENT FORM 141
Page 153 and 154: APPENDIX B PROFILE QUESTIONS 143
Page 155 and 156: APPENDIX C INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 145
Page 157 and 158: general? What would you say that th
Page 159 and 160: APPENDIX D (LETTER TO THE GREEK ADV
Page 161 and 162: APPENDIX E NATIONAL PANHELLENIC CON
Page 163 and 164: six months doing literature researc
Page 165 and 166: common knowledge similarities--the
Page 167 and 168: Correspondence II To: Shelia Barnes
Page 169 and 170: I truly appreciate your guidance an
Page 171 and 172: Application for Exemption from IRB
Page 173 and 174: VITA Mari Ann Callais was born in 1
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