Cross Country
A Weighty Flap on Sorority Row
College Greeks have long faced accusations of being narrow minded, but rarely are those concerns so literal as now at DePauw University, where former members of the school's struggling Delta Zeta sorority say sisters were told to leave the house because of their weight. A months-old controversy on the Greencastle, Ind., campus, the issue received a national spotlight last week when the New York Times reported that the 23 girls ousted after a reorganization by the sorority's national officers included the only black, Korean, and Vietnamese sisters, as well as all those considered overweight. Six of the 12 students who were asked to stay quit in protest. Delta Zeta national president Debbie Raziano said the article "grossly mischaracterizes the situation" and contends the sisters either were already on "alumnae" status because of a previous sorority vote or were put there because of a lack of commitment to recruiting. But DePauw President Robert Bottoms has chided the sorority and tightened control over Greek life.
A Really Tall Order in the Big Apple
Mean streets no more. At reasonable prices. That's how New York City is advertising itself these days. The city is on a PR blitz to fight its stereotype as pricey and exclusive: Think Sex and the City, not Law and Order. The city's goal is 50 million visitors each year starting in 2015. (That's up from 44 million in 2006.) True, NYC is already a top U.S. destination; in fact, the number of visitors has increased each of the past five years following a slight dip after September 11. But the city now has a Madison Avenue ad exec on board and a cool $15 million extra per year to splurge on attracting even more visitors over the next five years. NYC will announce four new overseas offices this week for the effort, which will eventually have about a dozen outposts to compete with cities like Dubai and Sydney that are trying to draw international travelers as well. Of course, the effort has a few skeptics. Gotham, affordable and friendly? Fuhgeddaboudit.
With Bret Schulte, Katherine Hobson, Will Sullivan, Silla Brush and Associated Press
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