duke pundit has harsh words for sorority rush

Columnist Danny Lewin begins his op-ed piece for the Duke Chronicle by denominating the closing of sorority recruitment as "Bidet," given its status as "the annual event when we cleanse our collective derrières of the smear upon our campus that is Panhellenic Recruitment." As he next notes, he's not a fan.

His column, better characterized as a screed, descends quickly from the scatalogical into the absurdist. He mordantly criticizes the cacophany of events ("The stampede was the clacking of hundreds of heels"), superficiality of selection ("The goal for prospective sisters is to create a lasting impression based on 30-second or so interactions"), and the anguish of the unchosen ("Bidet rivals national tragedies for the 'most tears shed in one day' record"), before arriving at what appears to be his preordained conclusion that "there are about 100,000 better ways to operate Panhellenic Recruitment" and referring the reader to two exemplars: those of the IFC and SLG.

Mr Lewin is unquestionably a funny author, but he is equally unquestionably overwrought about the supposed abuses of the sorority system. A thousand heels on marble and the perils of networking meet-and-greets are the regular affliction of hundreds of millions of professionals every day. If anything, the selection process for sororities reflects a more systematic real-world approach than freewheeling fraternity rush programs. His comparison of sorority recruitment with a typical career fair only underscores that this is the way the real world works; a degree of superficiality and a dose of selectivity are par for the course. Mr Lewin's uncertain acquaintance with this harsh reality does not recommend his viewpoint. Nor indeed does the fact that as a man, his criticisms of the sorority system are wholly exegetical, and come with an unmistakable whiff of paternalism, casting him as protector of weeping sorority rejectees. Perhaps he relishes that imagined position.

A fine array of (very) candid comments on Mr Lewin's thoughts is provided by the Chronicle, on both sides of the issue, for the reader who wants more.

Duke Chronicle