Life Skills course will open up to non-sorority sisters in Fall 2002

  EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin Veena Goel
(left), a second-year sociology student and first-year undeclared
student Jenn Evans participate in a group activity
during their Life Skills 101 class Monday.

By Marcelle Richards
Daily Bruin Staff

From sex to school to stress management, a class restricted to
sorority sisters will open its doors to all women as of Fall
2002.

The class initially geared its content toward sororities by
using such a setting in classroom hypothetical situations, which
will be slightly modified to accommodate the more diverse
class.

Currently in its pilot stage, Life Skills 101 was initially
intended to be a class for all women, but it was previewed on
sorority sisters after a grant was given to fund a
sorority-exclusive program.

“It’s better to keep it within a similar population,
because then you can evaluate the material,” said Assistant
Instructor and Coordinator Rena Orenstein. “It’s not
meant to be exclusionary. The skills we’re teaching are
general enough and the material may be applied widely across
different communities.”

A similar class for men is expected to be offered next year,
though a sorority-exclusive class may remain in place.

“It totally met my expectations,” said Adrienne
Rice, a third-year microbiology student who took the class.
“People have stereotypes about sororities, but this class did
not represent a certain group, as sororities do not.”

While a fraction of the time is allotted for discussion,
activities such as meditation are also included to promote general
wellness.

Students in the class praised the close-knit atmosphere.

“You think, “˜It’s only sorority girls, how
fair is that?’ I don’t see a problem with it,”
said Lisa Aminnia, a first-year undeclared student.
“It’s really intimate, everyone gets to know each
other.”

Currently two classes exist, during which small groups gather to
discuss issues in a more intimate context.

Since the class was largely promoted by word-of-mouth in
sorority houses, advertising will be increased next year. Class
sizes will remain small to continue the presence of contained group
discussions, according to Orenstein.

Women who found out about the course expressed concerns that the
test pool of students lacked the diversity needed to test the
applicability of the material.

Some students believed the sororities represent a narrow group
of women who would not correlate with the range of views held by a
larger female population.

“It’s insulting to say, but it’d be a
closed-minded view of what dating and life is,” said Sonie
Haneline, a seventh-year communications and anthropology student.
“If you look at a typical sorority, you don’t see a lot
of diversity in culture.”

Others were angered by the exclusive nature of the class during
its pilot stages.

“We have cultural studies classes, lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender classes that are inclusive of everyone,” said Ava
Geltmeyera, a fourth-year anthropology student.

While targeting subject matter in courses is acceptable, the
course should be made open to everyone, she said.

Orenstein said diversity was apparent in sororities and that
stereotypes often play a part in sketching a contrary image.

“The sororities are more diverse than people might
think,” Orenstein said. “There are several students who
look like they could be Latina or Asian American, but it’s
hard to tell because we don’t ask.”