Ohio State sororities and fraternities are angered and disappointed after being the focal point of a national magazine’s negative investigation. In the Sept. 27 issue of Rolling Stone, a five-page article entitled "Sister Act Sorority Girl Secrets" featured the OSU sorority system. The article, written by Evan Wright, focused exclusively on the negative aspects of greek life. Wright provided examples of alcohol and drug abuse. In addition, the article discussed the materialism that Wright believes exists in the greek system. Lisa Yonka, president of the Women’s Panhellenic Association, represents 17 of the sorority chapters at OSU. She said that each sorority at OSU has been asked individually by their national headquarters not to comment on the article or their reaction to it. Yonka met with representatives from each sorority to develop a united response to the article. She said they are very disappointed in the way the greek community was portrayed. “Our community provides community service, scholarship, leadership and diversity,” Yonka said. “We work very hard to uphold our ideals and standards of fraternal life.” The article also lashed out at fraternities on the OSU campus. Describing the aftermath of the Kappa Sigma fraternity’s Reggaefest, Rolling Stone wrote that members of the fraternity were drunken perverts, taking pills of ecstasy before hooking up with local sorority girls. Chris Papadakis, president of the InterFraternity Council, was displeased with the article’s portrayal of greek life on this campus. “The only headlines that come out of the greek system are negative and fit the typical stereotype that society has,” Papadakis said. “They don’t care about positives like brotherhood, sisterhood and community service.” Papadakis said that last Spring Quarter, the greek community raised more than $1,000 for the American Heart Association. “That was never printed anywhere,” he said. Tricia Hackelman, assistant director of student activities, said that the greek system is an asset to the community. “Greeks do service activities on campus all the time; they just aren’t noticed unless they are wearing their letters,” she said. Hackelman said that fraternities and sororities send many of their members to leadership conferences around the nation, and that each sorority and fraternity has a chosen organization for which they plan to raise money. In addition, each sorority has service hour time sheets that they are required to turn in to the association. “The greek system does a lot of good things, they just aren’t as interesting for the media to write about,” Hackelman said.
Magazine article angers OSU greeks
Published: Thursday, October 7, 1999
Updated: Sunday, June 21, 2009
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