Greek community members across campus had mixed opinions on the decision, ranging from dismay to approval. Julio Sosa | Unofficial Official Sorority Photographer
The Panhellenic Council announced on Monday it would be implementing a university-wide ban on big-little pairings.
Big-little pairings, which have long existed as a bonding tradition in sororities, were deemed to be “too financially and emotionally draining” by the Panhellenic Council after a series of complaints from various sororities across campus.
Extreme competitiveness, emotional uncertainty and inter-sorority conflict were listed as some of the major reasons behind the decision, according to College junior and Panhellenic Council President Karen Kristoff.
“Big-little pairings have good intentions at heart, but often create disturbances in sorority life,” Kristoff said in an email sent to sororities Monday night. “We hope everyone will take time to reflect on how their big-little relationships have impacted their lives after this decision, and take steps to improve the climate on campus.”
While some Greek life members expressed dismay at the decision, many others in the community responded to the ban with resounding approval.
“I completely support the [Panehellenic Council’s] decision,” College junior and Beta Epsilon member Alyssa Rayburn said. “Big-little pairings are causing too much infighting among our sisters.”
Wharton junior and Alpha Omicron Gamma President Christina Elliot said that competitiveness between bigs to outdo each other during big-little week had led to several physical conflicts within her sorority.
“Last month, two of our sisters got into a brawl over who decorated their little’s dorm better,” Elliot said. “Now the video is being used by MME instructors to teach advanced pinning techniques across the nation. That’s not the kind of image we want as a sorority.”
Nursing senior and Iota Rho Delta President of External Affairs Melissa Rey said that the sorority was also experiencing backlash from the Greek life community over the incident.
“Frats don’t want to hold mixers with us anymore, because they said they ‘fear for their lives,’” she said. “So I think it’s a good thing that big-little week won’t exist anymore.”
The Greek community’s concerns are not isolated to just sister-on-sister violence. Theft is a major problem plaguing Zeta Eta Kappa sisters due to the growing trend of bigs that overspend on their littles. This problem was made notorious by an incident in February when a Zeta Eta Kappa sister broke into a Tiffany’s store in the middle of the night after she ran out of money for big-little week.
The sister, who asked that her name remain anonymous in this article as the Philadelphia Police Department is still trying to hunt her down, explained that she felt she “had no choice” but to rob the store.
“I’d already spent $800 from Monday to Wednesday on clothes, stuffed animals, balloons, chocolate, posters, accessories, an iPad Mini and a golden retriever puppy,” she said. “I was all out of cash. But then I walked into the chapter house on Thursday and heard Rebecca talking about how she bought her little these cute Tiffany bangles, and I just couldn’t let her outdo me.”
In addition to increased stress on bigs, big-little pairings also affect littles in ways that Kristoff said were “inconsistent with the Panhellenic Council’s mission statement.”
Engineering sophomore Elisa Brian recalled the all-consuming anxiety that plagued her last year when she was going through big-little week. Her big kept on leaving her cryptic notes inside the pockets of her clothes and would sneak into her dorm in the middle of the night to leave gifts, Brian said, causing her to feel like she was constantly being watched.
“Trying to figure out who your big is can be really psychologically intense,” Brian said. “I almost cried one time because I thought this girl was lurking in the hallways waiting for me to leave my dorm in Riepe. Like, is she my big? Am I supposed to confront her or pretend I don’t see her? It was really stressful.”
This year, Brian found herself in a moral bind when she received her assigned little, and was told to go “all out” in preparation for big-little reveal. She ended up just telling her little, she said, and saw an expression of muted relief on the girl’s face.
“Honestly, now that Panhel has banned big little pairings, I feel like our relationship will be better,” Brian said about her big-little pairing. “Now we can just be normal friends instead of being forced together in a weird arranged marriage situation.”
Editor’s Note: This article is part of The Daily Pennsylvanian’s annual joke issue. Read more about the history of joke issue here.
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