Customer Reviews

Torn Togas: The Dark Side of Greek Life

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I agree that hazing and other detrimental things that some chapters do should be brought into the light and made to change. However, when reading this and other books like this, please keep in mind that not ALL fraternity/sorority chapters behave this way. I belonged to a sorority, and I was never made to feel inferior in any way, even during my pledge semester. So just keep an open mind when reading this book, and realize that, while hazing is still a problem and should be dealt with, NO organizations should be stereotyped just because of some bad apples.

"Torn Togas" could not only be the worst written book grammatically ever to be published, it as also the most factually inaccurate book I have ever read. I heard of this book after watching an episode of Oprah that dealt with hazing across the country. Being a fraternity man myself, I am interested in learning more about Greek life anyway I can, so I bought the book. While I was reading it I was absolutely flabbergasted at the biases and stereotypes this woman had about members of college fraternities and sororities. She may feel that just because she was in a sorority herself, that it is alright to say the things that she did, but I truly feel that she was out to write a book that would sell copies and she tried to make it as interesting as she could. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to experience how it feels to be Greek and deal with the discrimination and prejudices that people have. I do not know where this woman went to college for her undergraduate work, but if the stuff she says that went on there actually did happen, how does the Greek community there still exist? Where I go to school, I have never heard or even thought of 25% of the things she said went on at her campus. This book is a slap in the face to anyone that is an undergraduate, graduate, or a family member of anyone that has ever been in a Greek letter organization. How much credibility can you give a "so-called" Greek when she can't even spell the names of the Greek letters right? This book would be a waste or money, time, and brain cells to anyone who would purchase it.

This is a long overdue investigative book - that is enlightening and compassionate by an author with a conscience who took initiative. I would highly recommend it for anyone transfering to a four-year university. It can be a safety precaution. The book serves also as an example of how a student like the author can be an influence in defining and helping to reform important issues. It is great reading for anyone who wants to get an inside look at the realities of hostility that are subversively ingrained into higher education and therefore into the business world. To summarize: The book is well worth the investment.

This was a very informative book. I have never been in the Greek system but my son is in his first year of college. I have a much better understanding about the reality of these social griups.

I went through sorority rush at California State University, Long Beach in the mid seventies. After reading this book I understand why I was totally rejected by all the sororities on campus. The main reason I was rejected because I was overweight. This was because of a medical problem that I had at the time, it was not from overeating. One of the chippies in one of the sororities told me that they might "take me up" but that she couldn't "make any promises". Another sorority telephoned me and invited me to dinner and tghen called me the same day and told me that they were going to have "initiation of officers" and not to come. They said that they would "get back to me" but they never did. No one ever asked me about my family background. My father was a Naval officer who was present at Pearl Harbor at the time it was bombed. So after reading this book I know now what was going on during sorority rush.

It is about time that people were able to find out what is really going on in these organizations. There are too many of them that are out of control and doing illegal things to their members. State laws are sometimes too late to be effective in preventing harmful things from happening. Young people go off to school not really knowing what they will be facing with these organizations and innocently join. IT should be required reading for anyone considering joing a fraternity or sorority.

This woman sounds like she was very bitter about the entire experience. Quite honestly, it's people like her who contribute to the many problems of the greek system in general by not speaking up when these things are going on. I will admit that she did offer some solutions. My undergrad greek experience was nothing like what she described but these can vary from campus to campus. One thing I really didn't like is that she gave away which house she belonged to. If she wanted the readers to know which sorority she belonged to, she should have just said so and not use examples of hazing rituals for us to figure it out. I suggest if you want to read this book, borrow it from your local library and don't waste your money.