[sinclairfan]

Dear Kim,  my name is Morgan.  I've been going through the possessions of a great aunt of mine, Hester, who recently passed away at the age of 103.  She was born in 1913, and went away to a an all-girls' college in upstate New York 1931.  In a musty safe containing her letters, I found one set, grouped together with elastic bands, labelled "Mu Delt Tau", which I gather is a sorority she belonged to while a student.  My curiosity got the best of me, and I confess I snooped and began reading some of the correspondence to Aunt Hester, spanning several decades.  Many are run-of-the-mill invites to reunions and charity events.  But more than a few concern memories of "rush weeks", and the subsequent "initiation week", during which pledges to the sorority would be vetted, made offers, and then, in effect, hazed into the house, sometimes with silly, harmless pranks (being forced to wear funny hats, mismatched socks, what have you), but sometimes with more intense physical challenges.  One of the rush week traditions appears to have involved a single night in which interested fresh(wo)men would gather in the living room of the house, the lights would be dimmed, and upperclass(wo)men house member would have 10 free minutes to "take swings at" the aspiring pledges who they had issues with, who were in turn welcome to defend themselves or retaliate as best they could.  The letters consist of my aunt's sorority sisters recollecting to her injuries which they had inflicted and/or sustained during these battles-royal, and/or lifelong grudges which had begun at this annual event.  My question for you, Kim, is:  did these events actually occur?  The behavior seems so un-ladylike for the times.

Dear Morgan--the behavior was certainly un-ladylike, which was the point, was it not?  I read a story many years ago by a male author attending a still-all-male university in 1965, right on the cusp of the sexual and cultural revolutions on the end of that decade.  Guess what he and his "chums" did when not studying?  They played contract bridge, because it was one of the few effective ways to keep the hormones at bay and not think about all the sex you weren't having.  And when the Pill and all that arrived, contract bridge disappeared pretty quickly.  Well, picture a few hundred wealthy, attractive, intelligent, competitive, ambitious women cooped up with each other, far from home, with few socially acceptable outlets.  The sparks from the hormones are sure to fly, and your aunt's letters provide a glimpse into one of the way they no doubt did.  What stories must have died with your aunt.  Preserve what you can, and read college stories of that era such as "From the Terrace" by John O'Hara and "The Plastic Age" by Percy Elkins.  And, if any of your aunt's peers have somehow managed to survive her, see if they are willing to open up about that time.

[sinclairfan]

Dear Kim--my name is Jane.  I was drawn to your recent letter from Morgan about 20th century college sorority, well, catfighting.  My story, or my deceased grandmother's, is similar-but-different to hers.  My deceased grandmother's Alma Mater was in Massachusetts, and she attended about a decade later, in the early 1940's.  But the prestigious school was all-female at the time, and social life, both during and (decades) after school appears to have revolved around sorority life.  My grandmother's surviving letters (also musty, but readable) contained sultry details not so much about rushing, but in her case, about annual Officer (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) selection.  Kim, the sorority members would vote.  If a candidate received 50%-plus-1 of the vote, she was declared the rightful office holder.  But if the 1st place winner came in at under 50%, she would have a showdown with the number two vote-getter in a full-on catfight, with the entire sorority watching.  My grandmother's letters were replete with recollections of fights witnessed, recollected, regreted; well, you name it.  Kim, my grandmother never mentioned any of this to me while I was alive, despite our close (I thought) relationship.  Should I be hurt?

Dear Jane--I don't recommend dwelling on any pain you may be feeling from your grandmother omitting that chapter of her life.  Remember--if she had raised the topic, she would be recalling memories of friends (and enemies, he he) long since or recently deceased.  That's what happens when you survive to old age--you see a lot of friends' and families' funerals.  I do feel your pain--what a unique opportunity to query a real life witness to events from a times when women's opportunities were so restricted, thus amping up the rivalry.  But hurt, no?  Be grateful for getting a glimpse.  As I am to you for sharing.