So much for a strong sisterhood. At least, that was the message national leaders of Delta Zeta’s sorority chapter at DePauw University sent when they abruptly kicked out several of its members late last month.

Among the 23 sisters who were told to vacate the house were all the overweight members of the sorority and Delta Zeta’s Vietnamese and Korean sisters, according to a Feb. 26 article published in the New York Times. And while sororities have long been thought to recruit members based on superficial qualifications such as looks, the audacity of the decision still came as a shock. If anything, it legitimizes long-held stereotypes.

The national organization, however, maintains the girls were asked to leave because of a lack of commitment for recruitment of new members. Yet ex-members have spoken out claiming these allegations are untrue, making the chapter’s justifications all the more dubious.

One of the booted members, Elizabeth Haneline, told the Times that some of the girls who were asked to stay had done very little for the chapter. They even dismissed the sorority president.

Also troubling was the organization’s failure to warn the girls. Had it truly been an issue of commitment, the girls should have been notified prior to the decision and given a chance to prove their dedication to the group. Instead they were offered no warning of any kind.

The national representatives also claim the girls were not “”kicked out”” but instead were sent letters saying: “”The membership review team has recommended you for alumna status. Chapter members receiving alumnae status should plan to relocate from the chapter house no later than Jan. 29, 2007.”” But their attempt to differentiate between eviction and a so-called alumna status is so laughable it almost adds fury to the flame rather than softening the blow.

With student support and interest in the sorority waning, national officials planned on changing its image – which over the years had been more focused on diversity than appearance – to promote more recruitment. According to the Times article, some of the students surveyed by a professor at the university said the sorority was “”socially awkward.”” So the decision was less about the dedication of certain members and more about them putting up a better, prettier, less- nerdy image in an attempt to draw in more members to Delta Zeta.

The recent events mark only a new chapter in the organization’s tempestuous history. In 1967 the DePauw University chapter was accused of discriminating against girls of color when national leaders attempted to prevent a mixed-race student from joining the group. Then again in 1982, the chapter refused to allow a young black woman to join Delta Zeta, provoking intense opposition.

The most recent actions though, while appalling, are not surprising, and they offer a rather disheartening reminder for women at campuses nationwide interested in joining a sorority, particularly Delta Zeta. In general, although not always, sororities are not campaigning for world peace; they are painting nails, dressing up, flirting with boys, going to parties and looking pretty. That is not to say their members cannot be equally smart or successful as other university students, just that they are not going to the share the same priorities as, say, those of the chess club. On that note, stereotypical divisions of cliques such as sororities should be a warning to girls.

For those kicked out of the DePauw University chapter who complained about the superficiality of the organization, to some extent they knew what they were getting into. Although their membership termination was an obvious example of sorority discrimination that they in no way deserved, they should not be surprised by the lack of character and morals displayed by sorority officials.

To say they should have expected it would be too harsh, but they should not have been astonished.

In the end, if the sorority deems them “”unwanted,”” it is the national sorority leaders who are wanting. Any sisterhood that can so easily abandon some of its sisters never deserved them in the first place. And it’s no sisterhood at all.