Trimming the fat

Kate Power
Amanda Gallagher
executive editors
magazine@smcvt.edu

What if the next time your pants got a little tight, you had to worry about losing a lot more then a few pounds? What if moving your belt the next notch over also meant moving out of your house and away from all of your friends?

It's not as far-fetched as you might think. DePauw University's Delta Zeta sorority chapter removed 23 women from the sorority house after evaluating them “not committed enough,” according to a Feb. 25 New York Times article. However, the alienated women (which included the sorority president) shared one common trait- extra pounds. Every overweight woman in the group, as well as the only black, Vietnamese, and Korean members, received a form letter officially declaring them “alumna” and ordering them to find new residence (read: you are not a member anymore, get out of the house.) According to the Times article women that remained in the sorority were "slender and popular with fraternity men — conventionally pretty women."

And we thought Simon from American Idol was harsh.

The Delta Zeta sorority issued a statement for the press regarding the situation and defending the chapter’s actions. "With a steady decline in membership in DePauw over several years, the viability of the chapter was in question. In the process of addressing that situation, we misjudged how some of our communications would be received by our members, and we regret that. Delta Zeta has been working with the University and chapter members for six months to create a solution that benefits its women members, the University and the national Delta Zeta organization."

Delta Zeta needs to take responsibility for its actions. The sorority’s Web site it lists one of its goals as promoting "the moral and social culture of its members." In a very hypocritical and inarguably detrimental move, the sorority eliminated its own social culture. Has its moral capacity been abandoned as well?

Not, at least, for the six of the 12 remaining members who independently renounced their memberships in disagreement of the decision after their sisters were removed.

Our society reveres beauty. However, appreciating an attractive human is different than using aesthetics as a scale for social graces. Actively employing visual prejudice as a tool for deeming people unworthy is archaic and ignorant. It is never acceptable to judge people solely by their appearance, and the sorority should be ashamed of how it acted and treated its so-called "sisters."

The motivation to change the image dynamic of the Deta Zeta followed a “sorority opinion” survey a psychology professor at DePauw administered to the students. Delta Zeta was described as being "socially awkward." With membership down, the chapter risked being closed. That's when the sorority’s national leaders stepped in and decided to interview each member about her "dedication." The girls were encouraged to look their best for the interviews, according to The Times article.

So, the pressure to exile the “Ugly Betty’s” came from the peers. Or it came from the media. Perhaps it is from society as a whole. The point is, people deal with demands of physical perfection on a daily basis. It’s (unfortunately) a part of reality that won’t be dissipating any time soon. It has to be dealt with. And dealing with it does not mean using it to discriminate.

The worth of someone's character is not dependent on his or her size or ability to coordinate an outfit. It lies in his or her intellect, morals, and tolerance of others. Whoever made the executive decision that so many of the seemingly qualified sisters should be let go (when membership was already in decline) was completely in the wrong.

In an effort to perfect its image, Delta Zeta has never looked worse.