Jackson Free Press

At the Lyric Theater in Oxford I recently encountered a very strange example of Southern femininity—the vicious sorority girl inflamed by pledge week. The Lyric, which opened just over a year ago, has quickly become a world-class music venue, perhaps the best in Mississippi, due in large part to the booking of excellent bands such as Wilco, Umphrey's McGee and Modest Mouse.

But watch out for mean sorority girls.

Last Wednesday my boyfriend and I sped off right after work from Jackson to head to Oxford and to The Lyric to see the Disco Biscuits, our favorite band. We got there a half-hour early and made our way to the front of the room, grabbing hold of the stage to mark our places and wait patiently for the show to begin.

The show soon started, and all of us at the front shared smiles as we danced and listened to one great song after another. But somewhere late in the first set, a large group of sorority girls arrived, and things began to get ugly. First, one young woman came up next to me at the stage and began elbowing me sharply, as if to make room for more of her friends. Though I held my ground, her shoves became more and more physically intense and painful. I did my best to ignore it and focus on the music.

But about 10 minutes later another young woman who was there from the start—and clearly not a sorority girl—went ballistic. "Did you see that?" she shouted at me. "That sorority b*tch tried to choke me!" She was upset, almost crying. Her face reflected the shock and physical pain of someone who had been assaulted.

How ironic that these supposed "feminine" young women are using physical violence to get what they want, even when it's something that they clearly do not deserve. Do I detect an overabundance of "Daddy's Girl Syndrome" at work here?

Surely, these same physical assaults, had they been done by men at the venue, could have resulted in sanction from the management, and possibly even someone pressing charges.

So to the sorority women at Ole Miss, I have this to say to you: Stop giving The Lyric a bad name. Mississippi needs these venues to attract great music and great music lovers. I want to be able to dance without getting shoved, pushed and harassed by you. And if you want to be sure to get a good place at the show, then get there early like I did, and skip the hour-long makeup ritual in the bathroom.