In front of a crowd of about three hundred greeks and non-greeks alike, Alexandra Robbins addressed aspects of her New York Times best-selling novel Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities last night in Schwab Auditorium.

Robbins began her lecture telling a story from her book about a sorority girl named Lissa who collapsed at a party when her drink was drugged. Her sorority sisters took her collapsed body, dropped it on the doorstep of a fraternity, rang the doorbell and left. The following day, the chapter president of Lissa's sorority told her to never talk about the incident because she didn't want the chapter getting in trouble with its national office.

This account was just one of the negative instances highlighted by Robbins in her book that prompted years of hate mail.

"All of this because some people are unwilling to admit that greek life is not yet perfect," she said.

Robbins said she found that many sororities' focus is becoming more about status, money and image rather than the traditional standards of service, scholarship, leadership and friendship for life.

She said the obsession with image is largely because of pressure from the national chapter offices.

"Nationals have a picture of who their sororities are," Robbins said.

She said that sororities within a chapter are different from campus to campus, but the national offices are trying to conform them to fit a certain mold.

Because this is the case, sorority sisters are caught having to conform to two separate sets of standards: those set by what they nationally represent, and those set by their college, culture, and trends.

"I've had many sisters say to me that if only they didn't have to sacrifice aspects of their personality, their sorority experience would be unbeatable," Robbins said.

Some student's opinions on Robbins changed after hearing her discussion.

"When I first read the book I thought it really portrayed sororities in an unfairly negative light," Emily Wissinger (freshman-division of undergraduate studies), a pledge at Alpha Chi Omega sorority. "Now that I've listened to her discussion, however, I can see how it can be viewed more positively."

Robbins made it clear that her accounts of sorority life are in no way universal. "If you're a non-greek, consider giving the sorority girls on campus a break," she said. "The image that sorority sisters have is not their doing or necessarily their choice."

Many students took issue with the means by which Robbins went about obtaining membership and was able to disclose secret rituals and codes, some saying that she had no right to do so. Robbins said she went undercover for a year at different sororities nationwide to write her book.

"It's like saying that you can't report on Penn State football unless you're a Penn State football player," she said. "If I was going to write a thorough book, I would have to provide that information."

She said that she was careful to only disclose some secrets and used discretion. She also said that the majority of sororities' "secret" rituals can actually be found in the libraries of Congress.

Robbins said that of the feedback she has received from sorority sisters nationwide, 95 percent has been positive. "Even in a world with dress checks and denial, you can still find girlfriends to love," she said.