I understand the need to protect and defend yourself when not only a preponderance of commenters on this website, but many other sites and blogs are tearing this clueless woman a new one. If it makes you feel better about what you're doing to personally attack those vigorously disagreeing with her actions, have at…

You got it. It meant so much to me, especially that the group of friends was multiracial, their thoughts and feelings were respected by the text, and the relationships were so genuine. Snyder is greatly underrated as a writer.

That's awesome. But the illustrations are such an essential part of reading the books, and that's so lost on the Kindle...

I thought the next book, The Figure in the Shadows, was even scarier! I also loved his Johnny Dixon and Anthony Monday series.

You may well be right. That's just as sad.

After a craptastic week of way too much arguing on this site, can I say how much I loved this thread, and the exquisite taste of the people posting on it? So many childhood faves, from the suspense of John Bellairs and The Westing Game to the wit and wisdom of The Phantom Tollbooth, to the seminal fantasy series The…

I used to use Eilonwy as my password for everything. Guess why...

Yes, yes, yes. Also the Egypt Game and The Headless Cupid. ZKS ruled.

You have nailed it. I don't even understand what she's trying to do. I'm always find myself thinking, "You're pretty, talented, wealthy, married to a talented and attractive man, have lovely children, access to just about anything you want...why do you seem so frantic and desperate to make us believe you're as…

I didn't say a damn word about inserting herself into a situation, which is what she already did. And I certainly didn't say anything about her changing their culture. If there are any changes that need to be made, the Maasai can determine that. Perhaps you misread or just misunderstood: Why isn't she working with…

Dear god. This has nothing to do with "protecting the Maasai" from this fool. They have real world problems encroaching on their culture and traditional lifestyle. This is about her appropriating their every day lived experience for profit and then acting as if she is opening some door for women that this backwards…

...simply traveling, doing interesting things, and sharing the experiences with others... Are you seriously claiming this is all she's done here? You're the one who seems confused about what the word "co-opt" means. Let's see: a privileged white girl from America presumes that she is entitled to immerse herself in…

You need more than a change in direction.

I can dismiss the OP's assertions when she expresses not doubt or confusion but disbelief, and makes claims of impossibility and inaccuracy. The other commenters countered her claim that because she had no experience with this type of alumni involvement or higher level interference in local rush activities, that…

I can't help you with your difficulties in reading comprehension, or your desire to remain oblivious to what exactly the commenter claimed. You may think you expanded on the OP, but you merely doubled down on her assertion that her experience in her sorority might shed some light on the allegations of systemic racism…

Sadly, Vanderbilt is tainted for me, because this woman is a Professor Emerita there.

I already dealt with this foolishness in the comments on the original post on this story. "My sorority isn't like this...alumni aren't that involved in MY sorority, so this isn't even possible..sometimes girls just don't get in - even white girls!" Thankfully, most people ignored that okey-doke, but there were still…

The prior response to this thread was from me, so I'm not sure what you're referring to. Perhaps you missed it somehow, although it appears right above yours asking why I haven't responded. Regardless, I think we've taken this about as far as it needs to go. I don't think the use of sir or ma'am is going to be…

I feel like you should just scroll up to the top of the thread, re-read the OP a little more carefully and try to comprehend what she ACTUALLY wrote. She didn't write, "This sounds like a very different process from what I'm familiar with based on my sorority experience. This amount of alumni involvement isn't…

I'm more likely to accept the assertions of members of FOUR DIFFERENT SORORITIES at the school which were cited in the article, and the extant evidence of the currently and persistently segregated sororities at the university, than the protests of someone in some other sorority at some other school who just doesn't…