TriDelt sisters in snit over SNL skit

Delta Delta Delta President Nicole Giallonardo was not amused. Last Saturday, NBC's Saturday Night Live presented a skit that portrayed sorority girls in a, well, less than favorable manner. In fact, to some, like Giallonardo, it was downright offensive. Not only did the skit satirize sororities, it satirized her sorority. Giallonardo, a College senior, said the skit was "a stereotype that some might find funny," but added that she was not amused. "The skit certainly doesn't portray TriDelt on this campus," she said. The skit, which brought the studio audience to uproarious laughter, portrayed one stereotype of sorority girls after another. At one point, a sister giddily answered the phone, chirping "Delta Delta Delta, can I helpya, helpya, helpya?" while bobbing her big hair back and forth. She later ogled her friend's gaudy lettered jewelry, saying, "those earrings, like, make your whole head sparkle." The three girls sat wide-eyed when a Tau Kappa Epsilon brother sauntered in and invited them to "party 'til they puke," with one managing to stutter, "he is, like, so cute!" And the sisters, who were "like, SOOO hungry," whined about ordering pizza and failing grades. Local and national sorority leaders, who said this week they have not yet seen the skit but have heard many complaints, said the show is not a realistic picture of sororities today. University PanHellenic Council President and Chi Omega sister Maureen Hernandez said the show's treatment of sororities brings up some "timely issues." "This really ties into the issues of what a sorority is and what it is for," said the College senior. "Where do sororities fit in? How do people view what we do?" Hernandez also emphasized that PanHel is "trying to build a sense of system at Penn" that TriDelt's added publicity may disrupt this effort. TriDelt's national Executive Director Paula Turner said yesterday SNL used the sorority's letters without permission from the national office, but said she "would be way out of line to comment on [legal action] at this time." "[The skit is] a real slam to the entire Greek system," Turner added. However, SNL comedienne Beth Cahill, a co-writer and star of the skit, said they meant no harm and that she is surprised by the sorority's reaction. "Didn't they like it?" she asked. "People who are secure with themselves can laugh at themselves," said Melanie Hutsell, another co-writer and star. "Those girls should lighten up." Hutsell recognized that "not all sorority girls are like the characters we played. Our characters are very heightened and exaggerated." Cahill said the characters were based on those that she and Hutsell created in Chicago, in a scene called "The Miss Vagina Pageant: a feminist beauty contest." Cahill said when she and Hutsell arrived on the show this year, they brought the characters with them. "We got the [TriDelt] costumes from a catalogue, but we didn't wear the official pin or colors," Hutsell said. "We weren't trying to hurt anyone," Cahill added. The comediennes said the live studio audience roared with laughter during the four-minute skit, which also starred Siobhan Fallon.

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