Laura Donovan's Blog

Last week, the Arizona Daily Wildcat reported that the Gamma-Rho chapter of Kappa Sigma will be leaving the UA after losing university recognition.

Greek Life at the UA seems to be in trouble. Just a few weeks ago, Alpha Chi Omega lost their charter for having too few members. Sigma Chi and Alpha Delta Pi are just getting back on their feet.

As the biggest fraternity on campus, Kappa Sigma is also considered one of the most popular. My Delta Gamma roommate of freshman year went there all the time, and I’ve only been to the house once, but it was overflowing with students. Inside the house, there was a guard by the stairs who monitored the people trying to get to the second and third floors. Their leave may seem unexpected, but others saw it coming. The Wildcat article does not list a particular instance leading up to Kappa Sigma’s chapter removal, but executive director of Kappa Sigma National Fraternity Organization, Mitchell Wilson provided a vague answer in the article:

There are two ways a chapter can lose their charter or campus recognition: either by university decision or by the national headquarters of the fraternity organization.

UA Kappa Sigma president Bryan Nagy told the Wildcat that the chapter removal was not based off one specific incident, and I believe it. Friends from other fraternities have been waiting for Kappa Sigma to leave the UA for many years. Some of my other fraternity friends were certain they’d move into Kappa Sigma’s grand fraternity house on frat row once Kappa Sigma got the boot.

Nagy said that the national headquarters for the fraternity organization had things on their radar since he was a freshman, due to past seniors.

I was not at all surprised by this decision. A friend got asked to join Kappa Sigma, but he immediately rejected the invitation once he realized how he was selected. He and nine other potential new members entered a room. There were four girls inside, and one of the girls walked up to my friend while the other three walked up to different guys. The other six men were asked to leave, and my friend was told he got a bid to join the fraternity. The girls were asked to spot guys they would hook up with, and those guys got bids. My friend did not want to associate with a fraternity that would base admissions on appearance.

What else was going on behind closed doors, and why hasn’t any of it been reported?

The GOP has been highly unpopular for several years, so it makes sense for conservatives and liberals to butt heads, but it’s strange to see conservative pundits turning on each other. Laura Ingraham dubbed Meghan McCain a “plus-sized model” before questioning why Obama never got any bad press for alluding to Jessica Simpson’s “weight battle.”

Ingraham went on to call McCain a “useful idiot” for left-wingers in her political blog. The nay-saying began when McCain bashed Ann Coulter in her Daily Beast blog. McCain has also blamed the 2008 election for her disappointing love life.

News commentator Lili Ladaga suggested that Miss McCain was following her father’s career. I’d hardly say young McCain is reminiscent of her father, especially since she’s speaking out against conservatives and whining about the election.

Ladaga expanded on the “like father, like daughter theme,” by unfairly comparing the Bush twins to their father, former president George W. Bush:

The Bush twins, on the other hand, have at times eclipsed their father in the limelight. From underage drinking to a fashion spread in Vogue, Jenna and Barbara Bush have never shied away from the media.

Like most teenagers, these girls drank, but there’s no need to parallel their immature drinking to their father’s serious battle with alcoholism. Would you compare all college students to Bush just because both parties share an appreciation for alcohol?