Sororities have nothing to hide when it comes to paying dues

I have been accused of paying for friends." Yes, you guessed it " I'm in the Greek system. I am a member of an international sorority and " like many other members in clubs and organizations " I have to pay membership dues.When I read the "Dues too high for some Greek Life members" story in The Panther last week, it had me burning with irritation.


"The presidents of Chapman's sororities would not comment on the cost of their spring semester dues" They would also not comment on whether their dues have increased because they do not want to persuade future Greek members to choose a sorority based on cost."


I am the president of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority at Chapman and, along with four out of the six other sorority presidents, I was never contacted about providing this information. To print that the presidents "would not comment" on the cost of our dues is not only false, but it also has very negative connotations. It suggests that we have something to hide when, in fact, we only have things to be proud of.


The majority of the money our members pay goes toward service, scholarship and philanthropy programs " not just toward excessive t-shirts and socials, as the story suggested. Every Panhellenic organization at Chapman stands for serving the college community to the best of its ability.


But we need funding to do it.


Almost every large club or organization on campus, from a sports team to an honors society, requires some payment to function. What is curious is that only the Greek system is pegged as being too expensive to participate in.


Contrary to what last week's story suggests, the amount of dues we pay is not something we want to hide. When potential new members go through recruitment, they are well aware of the financial obligations of joining a sorority. They are also well aware of the benefits and the options available to help members pay their dues " semester scholarships and payment plans, for example.


In addition, the way each chapter uses its dues differs. Some dues are all-inclusive " all mandatory expenses are included in their initial payment. Others allow women to pay for each non-mandatory event as they wish to attend.


Regardless of the payment options, no woman should ever be discouraged from joining a sorority because of financial means.


It is already a huge challenge to fight negative stereotypes placed upon Greek organizations by the media. Having our own school newspaper print untrue and unclear information about the Greek system is not only disappointing, but extremely disheartening. Next time, I'd appreciate a phone call.