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

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affiliation through the first year of college. This study found that the negative effect of sorority impact was not as pronounced as with fraternity men, but found the following: Compared to their counterparts, who remained independent, women who joined sororities had significantly lower levels of end-of-first-year reading comprehension and composite achievement. Differences between Greek-affiliated and independent women on end-offirst-year mathematic and critical thinking were small and nonsignificant (Pascarella, Edison, Whitt, Nora, 1996). Pascarella, Flowers, and Whitt (2001) conducted a follow-up study to evaluate the influence of Greek affiliation on the cognitive growth as students’ progress beyond the first year of college. The most recent study found: During both the second and third years of college, Greek-affiliated women reported greater gains in understanding science…and compared to women who remained independent, Greek-affiliated women reported significantly higher gains in writing and thinking skills after 2 years of college. An interesting point was found when comparing these two studies: Taken together, the findings of this investigation, along with Pascarella et al (1996), tend to support the hypothesis that any major negative learning consequences of Greek affiliation occur primarily when students pledge a fraternity or sorority in the first year of college. It may simply be that the pledging process itself interferes with a students’ ability to adjust to the rather rigorous intellectual demands of the first year of college. After the initial first year of college, however, any negative consequences of fraternity or sorority membership may tend to diminish if not totally disappear…some evidence was found to suggest that sorority membership may have modest beneficial consequences for women during the second and third years of college (Pascarella et al., 2001, p. 297). Although these studies address the affects of cognitive development and not necessarily women’s development per se, it is essential to understand what effects, if any, sorority affiliation has on the academic development of sorority women. Sorority Culture Sorority culture, like any student culture, can affect the development of identity and purpose in women by encouraging wide-ranging exploration or curtailing it. The sense of self is 26
strengthened by encountering different kinds of people and situations, observing their reactions, trying out different roles with varying degrees of investment, and receiving useful feedback. Sororities exist to create an environment that enhances a young woman’s process of transition from adolescence to adulthood. Eisenhart’s research describes how women take meaning from culture and make it part of who they are. Eisenhart (1990) describes this as cultural acquisition: Cultural acquisition is described as stages of increasing individual expertise and identification with a given cultural system-stages in which access to the more advanced levels is limited by an individual’s social relationships, a process with both positive and negative implications for individuals and with developmental trajectory that can be discontinuous (p. 19). Eisenhart found that acquiring a peer group culture meant drawing to their own situation, and condensing its meaning for their own use. She also found that the women that she interviewed in her study indicated that they acquired a new peer group and cultural system similar to the peer groups acquired in high school. The culture of a particular chapter may impact the individual's experience as well as the entire group. Either way, that culture has an effect on the overall experience. Sorority Structure The structure of sororities varies depending on the national/international organization, chapter and campus community. Sorority chapters are different from campus to campus. Some are large with more than 200 members, and some are small with as few as 10 members. Some chapters are housed in traditional houses, others are on commuter campuses or campuses that have chosen not to provide housing. Others have suites or lodges that are strictly for meeting purposes. Some sorority chapters are guided by advisors who are very involved in the daily operation of the group, while others have little or no supervision. Some chapters focus primarily 27
Page 1 and 2: SORORITY RITUALS: RITES OF PASSAGE
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful
Page 5 and 6: for teaching me that a group of peo
Page 7 and 8: TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ......
Page 9 and 10: CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, REC
Page 11 and 12: CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Each year th
Page 13 and 14: The member groups of the National P
Page 15 and 16: hopes of the founders rather than t
Page 17 and 18: ceremony is complete, that person i
Page 19 and 20: 80,000 women join sororities. On mo
Page 21 and 22: issues, and topics …that formerly
Page 23 and 24: when do we use it? How do we use it
Page 25 and 26: the sorority experience has on the
Page 27 and 28: The lack of information concerning
Page 29 and 30: of the NPC member groups, and to co
Page 31 and 32: CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE Thi
Page 33 and 34: Ritual Ceremonies and Symbolism in
Page 35: Robson writes further: In a world c
Page 39 and 40: student initiated and created to au
Page 41 and 42: Gradually, however, they took over
Page 43 and 44: Following the founding of Kappa Alp
Page 45 and 46: efer to themselves as "service" org
Page 47 and 48: Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity Lombard C
Page 49 and 50: What Is Ritual? In order to explain
Page 51 and 52: theorist/researcher in the area of
Page 53 and 54: Ritual as a Rite of Passage Underst
Page 55 and 56: we are and giving meaning to us wit
Page 57 and 58: am I? Well, as I see it, I am a per
Page 59 and 60: Value Congruence Research conducted
Page 61 and 62: the majority of authors . . . have
Page 63 and 64: To better understand Gilligan’s F
Page 65 and 66: only women, all with varying opinio
Page 67 and 68: member transitions to a leader/role
Page 69 and 70: development. The isolation period a
Page 71 and 72: Gilligan’s point that sex differe
Page 73 and 74: undergraduate members. Understandin
Page 75 and 76: 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
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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 and 128:
sorority women’s length of member
Page 129 and 130:
when an 18-year old woman joins a s
Page 131 and 132:
ehavior of sorority women, it must
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* The level of responsibility and /
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to evaluate sorority women and the
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they are and what role ritual has i
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numbers vary from chapter to chapte
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that those ceremonies can bring to
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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
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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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