An Expansion Story
 

I’ve got to say, I LOVE reading the recruitment threads on GC. However, I didn’t go through anything like this. My local chapter became nationally affiliated last year. I know my user name plainly states my GLO so there’s no surprise element, but I think I have an interesting story anyway.

In May (2006) of my freshman year, I got a MySpace message from a junior at my school. It read, “Hello! This myspace profile is the beginning of a club that knows no end. In this preliminary process there are many leadership opportunities available and we are completely open to suggestion. Please check us out and tell us if you have any questions or are interested in becoming a member!” This message came from our first president, Yvette. We chatted a bit about this club, and I decided I wanted to get more active on campus. I was at the end of a long relationship so I really felt like I needed to get out there and meet people.

We chatted a bit over the summer, and in September, I found out that it was going to be a sorority named Alpha Sigma Delta. With the president and VP, we started our first recruitment at the club fair on campus. We had rush week and basically did COB for the rest of the quarter. Our rituals and symbols were temporary and flexible, because we had one goal: go national.

ooo this one sounds quite interesting!

Agreed. I dont think i've ever seen an expansion story on here; please continue.

Yvette (founder and past president) had contacted NPC in the spring of 2006. My school wouldn’t allow NPC representatives (from whatever sorority) to come to campus and recruit from the ground up; it had to be a student-driven organization. We had a little over 20 members at our peak in the fall. We got letters and packages from different NPC groups throughout the quarter, and it was so exciting! By the way, the only other NPC on campus is Gamma Phi Beta. That left 25 other NPC groups. We didn’t know if we would get one package or 25!

Our adviser had to learn along with us during this process. He knew absolutely nothing about the NPC and expansion. He called our president with a vague message about getting a letter from Delta Delta Delta. We couldn’t believe such a prominent sorority was interested in us! As it turns out, they only sent us a letter saying they couldn’t offer us extension at that time. Bummer! It’s kind of like acceptance and rejection letters from colleges: packages are good, letters are bad.

The first packet came about a week after Tri Delta’s letter, and it was from Delta Phi Epsilon. We hadn’t heard from them, but oh my gosh, we got a packet!!!

Wow, how exciting to be part of something like this! Can't wait to hear the rest!

I'm so interested in this process...tell us more! I think it would be so fun to choose the sorority that fits your group best rather than pick a sorority based on the group already in place!

it makes me think of my chapter...we're only babies on our campus and we did this in the recent past :) (almost 14 years now!)

That's funny to think of 14 years as a baby chapter! The other NPC on my campus is only 19 years old and they're huge and well-established! My school is only 42 years old, though...hmm...

lol yeah the oldest greek org on my campus was founded in like 1920 or something...it actually might be older, because im not sure when the fraternity was founded in general...Kappa Sigma anyone? but then the other 4 fraternities on my campus all came in before 1960's (ish) and the sororities right after... i think starting around 1974ish... the second youngest is about 29...

OOOOO! this is such an exciting thread.

i cannot wait to see what happens!

The process is rather interesting - going through the packets, presentations, discussions on which group to invite, etc.

I want to hear more of this! The last time SMU expanded was in 1994 when AXO came on and I was just a kid back then so I've never gotten to learn about this. It's really interesting to see who would fit with your group of girls instead of finding girls to fit with the national group. More, please! :)

This reminds me of wishinhopin's thread... :)

You guys are gonna hate me, but I'm going on a ski trip today! I should've thought about that before I started this. Oooops! I'll add a little more now.

A few weeks after Delta Phi Epsilon's package, we got a package from Kappa Alpha Theta. A package! From Theta! I called my president and excitedly told her the news.

Shortly after that, we got another package. It was from Kappa Kappa Gamma. They actually sent us three binders (copies of each other), and we were impressed with that. According to NPC rules, we were allowed to pick 3 NPC groups to present to us. By the time the deadline had passed, those were the only three we had gotten. We did get letters a while later from Alpha Omicron Pi and Tri Sigma (Yvette says Sigma Kappa, too, but I'm not sure) saying something similar to Tri Delta. I think AOII said they were interested but couldn't expand at this time. It was nice to get so much attention!

We had a sleepover and poured over the packets. We split up into groups and wrote out a fact sheet for each group and ranked them according to all kinds of things (philanthropy, total members, NM period). We all liked Theta and Kappa. D Phi's packet seemed really small and less organized. :-/ Sorry to any D Phi's who read this, but we just weren't as impressed with their presentation.

This all took place in November and December of 2006. We had to wait until mid-January for presentations! Delta Phi Epsilon ended up dropping out, and I never heard why. I'm glad we didn't have to prepare ourselves for 3 presentations, because 2 was hard enough!

Ok, to be continued on the 31st! So sorry!

You have fun on your ski trip & we will all look forward to the "rest of the story!"

Welllll, we haven't left for our ski trip yet. My grandma fell and is in the hospital with a broken hip and upper arm (humerus?) so we're still at home. We may go up tomorrow, or our trip might be canceled. Luckily for you, that means more of my story!

Our president did most of the communication with the NPC about arranging visits. It was complicated figuring out parking, conference rooms, etc. I also know that Gamma Phi must have had to approve of us going national, but I didn't hear how it happened. They were invited to come to the presentations, but I think their adviser and a few exec board members only came to one. I didn't hear about the inner-workings of that. Oh, our on-campus adviser also came. I'm glad he got to learn about the process with us.

Even before we met them, we were really excited about Theta. Every time our president talked to their representative, she gushed about our chapter. She was very impressed by us and so excited to meet us.

Our first presentation was from Kappa Kappa Gamma in mid-January. My sisters and I met up at our VP's dorm room really early to get ready and make sure we all looked okay. (Our outfits had been pre-approved weeks before.) We had glittery posters explaining what we were all about (as a local) and binders filled with information (some useful, most not). We walked down a hill together and had our first meeting with a group of about a dozen women. Our president introduced herself to the extension directer, Joanie, and we all loosened up and started chatting. Then we went upstairs and started the presentation. They told us all about their founding, new member period, expansion procedures, etc. Meeting the international president was amazing. We were in awe by her presence. When it was Q&A time, I think a lot of us didn't have questions because we didn't know WHAT to ask. They stayed and chatted a while after that, and we had refreshments. When it was time for them to leave, we all hugged. (Yes, we hugged international advisers and general muckety-mucks of the fraternity). Then we let out a huge sigh of relief and took our painful shoes off!

Isn't she fabulous? She has done so much for the Fraternity!

This is like Rush @ UCSC the sequel.

I was thinking the same thing! It's sad the NBO tried hard for SO long and didn't end up affiliating and this group seems to have taken barely any time at all to affiliate. This story just makes it sound so much easier than how NBO had it. Very interesting read though since I just read wishinhopin's thread a week ago :)

What's NBO? Are you referring to another thread about expansion? Sorry I'm so clueless!

And yes, honestly, it was pretty easy! I don't know how to (or feel the need to) justify that, but it was pretty easy. Maybe it's because we only have one NPC that came on the campus 19 years ago.

NBO was Nu Beta Omicron and it was a local started back in about 2003 with the intention of affiliating. They went through a long and hard process and tried to affiliate with AXiD and then with Theta Nu Xi but ultimately folded. I heard Alpha Psi was started with the intention of affiliating with Alpha Phi and tried to around the same time that NBO was but neither was successful. I'm glad that your group had an easier time with it and that there are now two NPC groups on UCSC's campus :) I guess it just wasn't the right time for NBO...

You mean Alpha Psi at UCSC? Yeah, I've heard the same thing about them and Alpha Phi. I don't think NPC will let you do it that way (pick one group to affiliate with) but instead have presentations like we did. They have been on campus for longer than Gamma Phi, but I really don't know what's up with them and national affiliation. IMO, they would probably rather stay local. If they did go national, they would have to wait a few years now because we actually have panhellenic on campus now. My chapter has a few years til we're up to quota. :-)

Yes, Alpha Psi at UCSC (did I spell it wrong...?) Anyway, I had heard that their original intention when they formed was to affiliate with Alpha Phi - hence their name being so similar. I'm not surprised that their attitude may have changed since they've been on campus for a bit now and also since you now have an actual Panhel Council and not just the Student Life guy and an intern like when NBO was trying this.

Ok, time for me to continue! We had our presentation from Kappa Alpha Theta the following weekend. (They were a week apart). This meeting was a lot longer and more drawn out because we met them for lunch before. We met in a beautiful room by the ocean. I'm glad we got to share another part of Santa Cruz with the Theta women. We met national representatives (including their president) as well as undergrads like ourselves. (Kappa also had undergrads with them, but I forgot to mention it in my other post.) Lunch was nice, but we were pretty nervous. I remember thinking the meal I ordered (a sandwich) wasn't very "sorority-like" because the woman next to me ordered a salad. Haha whatever!

We then hopped back in our cars and drove to campus for the presentation. Theta's president was very southern and proper - equally as awe-inspiring as Kappa's president. I remember she had a HUGE Theta kite necklace on. Major bling. I'm pretty sure Gamma Phi didn't have any representatives at this meeting. I can't remember if our campus adviser came.

Immediately after they left, my sisters and I sat down to discuss the presentations and vote on our (potential) affiliation. We were all still stunned by Theta's performance. I'm not afraid to voice my opinion, so I piped up right away. I said that Theta seemed much more put together than Kappa and they had so many programs. (or something to that effect...)

(I've read other expansion stories, and I noticed one difference I'm very happy about. Both Kappa and Theta said they would take our entire chapter if they chose to offer extension to us. Basically, they wouldn't do interviews to decide who to keep.)

However, one of my sisters pointed out that Kappa was "put together" just as well. We had seen their presentation the week before and it was the first, so we didn't know what to look for.

I've read something similar in regular recruitment threads, and I think our decision came down to this: we felt more at home with Kappa. We hugged them after they left, but this wasn't the case with Theta. The general consensus of the group was to go with Kappa, but we still voted on it. We each wrote our preference on a piece of paper and passed them in. I'm not entirely sure, but I think about 3 girls (out of 19) wrote Theta. I'm glad they still voted the way they wanted to after our group discussion.

I'm pretty sure an official letter was written up, but before it was sent out, our president called the extension director (Joanie) to tell them we had chosen Kappa. Apparently, she started screaming! (Side note: Joanie is ADORABLE. I want to visit her in Colorado someday so she can make cookies for me.) We also wrote a letter to Theta to let them know our decision. I believe that if another group choses to pursue national affiliation at UCSC, Theta has "first dibs." Joanie was already able to tell us that we would be accepted as they had voted on it a day or so after their presentation.

We became a colony at the end of February. We were inducted (what is the right verb for new member initiation??) by the international president with many alumnae in attendance. We then took on Kappa's name and symbols and held our first recruitment under their name. (Very unsuccessful, but that's another story.) We were officially installed on April 28, 2007 at the Pi Province Meeting at UC Berkeley (our Pi chapter). That weekend was AMAZING, and I am so very much in love with Kappa.

We held our first formal recruitment with Gamma Phi Beta this fall, and we took on 13 new members. We now have 28 members, which is pretty good for UCSC! Winter recruitment starts in a little over two weeks. I'm so excited!

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/phot...18196_7184.jpg
(In case you're wondering, I'm the second from the left.)

Thanks for reading, everyone! If you have any questions about expansion that I can answer, please ask!

Kristen

P.S. Lucy is my dog's name. :-)

What a cool story!

Thank you for sharing! I have not heard an expansion story before on GC, and the fact that it is for one of Kappa's new chapters makes it that much better. I am glad you have had a great KKG experience as I think Kappa is the best (but I am biased of course).

Best wishes for winter recruitment!

Very interesting insight into expansion. Congratulations to you and Kappa, and best of luck to you (and my sisters!) during recruitment! Hope both groups get fabulous pledges!

Great story!
 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us! For those of us who joined the standard way, it's interesting to read how a group goes from being a local to a national.

Yes, she is! I think I want to be her when I grow up. :D I have learned so much from her, and the way that she is so gracious, warm, and kind to everyone.

im sad you didnt go with dphie, but that okay as long as you are happy! <3

is that what usually happeneds when a local is given an extension to a national group? the national chapter votes and who to let stay and who has to go? im not sure how i feel about that...

Yeah, D Phi E backed out before we arranged a date for the presentation. Not sure what happened with that.

I know Kappa and Theta both said they would take our entire chapter if we became affiliated with them. I've read that other orgs may not necessarily do that. Which way are you not sure about? We would have been really hurt if they excluded some members of our chapter.

exactly. i know if a national told me that some of my sisters could not join the organization, i would be really upset! i would be like, we were a sisterhood before nationals came along, and even though we we are local, that would not make our sisterhood any less valid, real and authentic.

thats just how i would feel if i was a local going through expansion.

if you had been interviewed, and nationals decided that they would take everyone except for ONE girl, do you think you would have still accepted the extension?

feel free to shut me up if im being too nosy.

Well, I'm glad that didn't happen, but I'm pretty sure we would have decided as a chapter that that org wouldn't be right for us. I love my sisters, and I would hate to have a representative from nationals tell me she could no longer be my sister.

I guess we would put it to a vote, logistically speaking.

When we went through expansion, we had heard that it was possible for them to not take all of us, but all four orgs that presented to us said that they would take all of us and initiate any alums who weren't already in another NPC group. However, whether or not we got a say in who else would be signing the charter with us was another matter...

...you'll just have to read my thread if you want to know more. ;)

I realized it's been a long time since I updated this, but I've had a request for more details on my expansion story. With another upcoming expansion (Northeastern), it's pretty exciting to think about the process.

I know the way my story played out is not the same as other chapters. For example, the Santa Clara chapter came about in a pre-existing Panhellenic environment. The members went through part of formal recruitment with the other chapters then had interviews with representatives of Kappa headquarters.

Here's some more info about my local: we were called Alpha Sigma Delta. I had no part in choosing the name. I think our President and VP picked the name because the letters sounded good together, and no one else had the name at the time. We made up a meaning for the letters. Alpha was the first/something about being important, Sigma was a strong bond (like in chemistry), and Delta because we wanted to change into a national. Our colors were pink and green. We had the clover and lily as symbols. I think maybe a pink sapphire was included, too.

I'll add more later!

<--- Requestor

Yay! I'm excited to see this.

When there were only three of us, I was selected to be the secretary kind of by default. All of the Greeks at my school do their first tabling/advertising for recruitment at a club day thing a few days before school starts. It was so intimidating! We had a banner on our table with our name, but there were only three of us! A few other sororities had tons of girls with matching shirts. I honestly don't remember how many interested girls we got that day, but as I said, we basically did COB throughout the first quarter.

When we first started, our meetings were PAINFULLY long. I tried to use Robert's Rules like I had learned at my Norwegian club, but I wasn't in charge. We eventually got better about sticking to an agenda, but they were still wayyy too long until Kappa came into the picture.

We tried to have some social events and make our name known on campus, but it wasn't easy. I don't think many people knew who we were for a while. We held a benefit concert for the Invisible Children in January that was actually very successful. Our president was dating a member of a local band, so they helped us out a lot and we raised over $1,000!

Ok...I think next I'll move onto the transition period and how we became Kappa.

Ohh, thetygerlily, you're totally right! I forgot that I added on to this after we affiliated with a national org. Ok, I need to put some thought into this and add more.

Ha, I figured I could only badger you so much ;) But I am still excited about seeing the rest of your story! And it's especially relevant now with several people considering colony experiences.

By the time we had presentations from nationals, Alpha Sigma Delta had an Alpha and Beta class, so we already had some big and little sisters. The members from the Alpha class (myself included) never had big sisters except for honorary/temporary big sisters from the Berkeley chapter when we were installed. Some of the girls kept in touch with them, but I never got to know mine very well. We also didn't have any alumnae of ASD yet because we were so new, so that wasn't an issue either.

Shortly after our new member pledging, a couple of local Kappa alumnae started coming to our meetings and acting as advisers. They helped us make our meetings more organized and started implementing more of the officer roles that we didn't have yet. We didn't have nearly enough members for the amount of positions Kappa has (something like 19) and it was only barely enough by the time we were installed. I'm sure we also started forming committees, but it definitely took us a while (like a year or two) to actually get the hang of them and start using them effectively.

I'm trying to think about what else is different between my expansion experience and those of other GCers. Hmm...what else is there? Our first Panhellenic recruitment? (as well as the first one on campus!) I can't think of anything else right now.