Before You Found a New Sorority

[33girl]

Originally Posted by hopeful:)

I think that expansion is awesome, if the Greek community is in need. Why wouldn't you want to expand. ? ?? ?? ?

Why didn't your mom and dad get you that pony you "needed" when you were 9 years old? Because a pony requires a lot of time, effort, space to put it, and let's face it - the whole family has to be cool with the idea of a pony.

If you can't get a bid from the groups that are already there, a new group isn't going to help unless you can bamboozle the national officers into letting you in. And guess what, the last thing national officers are looking for when colonizing is someone who was cut by all the groups on campus. ETA: Or someone who has had 3 years to rush and didn't, and when she is getting around to it, doesn't want to join any of the groups on campus.

[DGTerp06]

Originally Posted by OTW

Ummm...campuses won't want to expand if current houses haven't been at total for a while or if some houses are struggling for membership.

How's about you let the campus officials determine whether or not the Greek community is in need, mmmkay?

That's not entirely true. George Washington University (DC) brought on a new national organization when all it's chapters were not at total and some were hurting for members. What statistics have found is that bringing on a new organization after some time actually does encourage a new percentage of women (or men) to come out to experience what Greek life has to offer. Sometimes chapters can create stereotypes that can become so deep, they can scare people off. Bringing on a new chapter has encouraged those who were, at one point, not interested in Greek life.

It may not be a great way to approach Greek life, but that's what happened at GW and it seems like it benefitted most of the NPC chapters on their campus. I did see statistics from this exact situation and study when my own campus was considering bringing another chapter on (we did not); I was pretty stunned by the results.

This is not to say the same thing would work at every campus, but expansion is usually looked at as a way of benefitting the entire Greek community or council, not just a way for a new organization to start it's newest chapter.

[RhoGamma09]

I am on a campus that has experienced some expansion recently, and it is NOT easy. I know everyone has said this, but let me just throw one more on there and hopefully we can get through to some of the people who might not be grasping that fact.

Yes, it sounds really romantic to start a new NPC chapter and the expansion team might even try to lure you in with that, but seriously, if you dont have the right national support and the right drive, and you seriously have no idea how a chapter operates because you've never been in one (which would make sense if youre trying to start a chapter)...it is not going to be fun.

If you want to start a chapter, then YOU and your other founding friends are the sole people that are doing everything. And no one ends up doing it perfect, no matter how much research or help, there are always big mistakes made.

If you really want to start something from the ground up, you have to be prepared to be confused, frustrated, lost, overwhelmed, and also, be prepared for everyone else on campus thinking your org is a total wreck and none of you know what youre doing (because you dont). You have be strong enough to handle that, look past it, and stay dedicated. Yes, it will be satisfying in the end and you'll be proud and you will look back on it fondly and I am sure you'll have fun, but it is not about "Ohhh! Look, I am a founding lady and I have letters now and secrets and I'm the president!"

Women who found chapters are brave, brave individuals....whether they realize what they are getting themselves into or not. The ones who make it through and are active, they are better people than I am. I have a lot of respect for the women on my campus that made their chapter into what it is now. Everyone else though, you gotta be real careful about what you get yourself into.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Yeah but you have to make sure there is a real need for expansion, and that depends on alot of factors.

[Zillini]

Folks need to realize that the expansion process doesn't happen over night. As already said the numbers need to be there to support a new org. Nearly all Chapters need to be at or close to total. Often Total has been raised significantly and Quotas have been increasing. The growth has to be a proven trend, not a fluke. This means years of increasing numbers.

Once the University determines expansion is needed then a proposal is made to Panhellenic for approval. After that the actual expansion process begins. Panhellenic's typically first approach GLO's that have been chartered on campus previously but are no longer active. Not only is this courteous, but more importantly are the historical ties. Practically every GLO that ever closed a chapter would love the opportunity to return. If there aren't enough/any previously chartered groups or if they decline, then Panhellenic looks to other NPC orgs.

Those GLOs have to then agree to present, which basically means make a sales pitch to Panhellenic. I/nationally they have to analyze whether they can support this new chapter. If it's a campus that has sorority owned housing then they have to be in a financial position to build a new house. That's big bucks. They look at their area alumnae base to see if there are enough willing/able to volunteer. They also have to consider other expansion efforts going on at other campuses. I've heard of groups turning down an offer to present because they already had too much on their plate.

The selected groups make presentations to Panhellenic and the delegates vote on which group they feel would best fit into that campus. Finally the selected group comes on campus to (re)colonize.

As you can see this whole process can take years. And just because someone (hopefuls or alumnae) may want ABC or XYZ on campus, it doesn't mean it will happen.

[DartmouthPanhel]

I just put about 18 months of grueling effort into running extension for Dartmouth College (for NPC at least, it's called extension not expansion).

I would definitely echo what everyone has said about the time effort and stress involved with starting a new chapter. Also, as a founding sister, you may not actually get to see the fruits of your labors. In many NPC systems, it take a group a solid 3+ years to truly get settled into campus life. While your hard work will hopefully benefit the campus and generations of women to come, you may not see that all come to fruition during your collegiate tenure.

For NPC, you do not get to "pick" the new sorority for your campus if you go through general extension. I described it many times as a recruitment process--both parties have input. Your campus will need to invite all 26 groups, and then learn about them, invite them for formal presentations and then extend a single invitation (and hope the group accepts). Not all 26 will even send information, sometimes groups that send information will not accept an invitation to present. At any given time, most sororities have already committed to colonizations and they need to assess what they can realistically give (even giving formal presentations is a drain on resources as it generally requires high-ranking fraternity staff and a significant financial cost).

You SHOULD NOT go into extension looking/hoping/needing a specific group. If you are, ask yourself why? What do you really know about that group? Do you really want extension?

An alternative route for extension, that works well if there are questions in your panhellenic community about student interest in a new sorority, is to form an interest group first. The interest group can either help with the formal extension, or can function as a local sorority until it chooses to affiliate nationally. Again, even when an interest group looks to affiliate with a NPC group, the won't necessarily get to say "I only want group XYZ".

If your CPH (college panhellenic) voted down extension, there is probably a reason. Ask to meet with them (or with a specific extension committee if there is one) and figure out their concerns. Most often, a CPH will vote down extension because it feels that the panhellenic community would suffer. Often they think (based on extensive numerical data) that the new group would either fail to thrive, or would cause another group to suffer. It is their responsibility to protect the panhellenic community as a whole. Those reasons are hard to argue with, but you can ask the CPH if you have check in following the next recruitment to see if things are looking more hopeful. If the reasons are more vague, or don't have the numbers to support them, you might be able to make a case. Read up on NPC recruitment and extension, and prepare a strong case for why a new group is needed and will be successful. Ask if you can present at a CPH meeting and be prepared to answer questions. At the very least, know that you've laid the groundwork for future efforts.

My campus has been, according to our recruitment data, ready for extension for a while, but it was still a difficult process. It also required hours and hours put in by women who were already affiliated. I formed an extension committee whose members probably put in over 100+ hours, and it was for a group that they weren't going to be in. You can't found a sorority on your own, and you need to make sure you have the support behind you.

If you have any questions about formal NPC extension, I'm glad to answer!

[KSUViolet06]

^^^ Excellent post, DartmouthPanhel!

I just wanted to add a little something on to that (as I'm sure you know):

Even if you were to form an interest group, that doesn't guarantee that the school will vote for extension.

I've heard of girls forming interest groups thinking it would encourage the school to vote for it, and they end up STILL voting against it.

[itsasecret0909]

Hi there! We would like to found a new chapter of a sorority at our school! We want to found a chapter that is currently existing and has national recognition. We need suggestions and advice on what to do. We would like to gather girls, information and national/alumni support before we approach our administration. How can we go about doing such? Any suggestions and advice are much appreciated!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by itsasecret0909

Hi there! We would like to found a new chapter of a sorority at our school! We want to found a chapter that is currently existing and has national recognition.

If it's currently existing, you won't be founding it.

Vito is right, find out if your school is open for NPC expansion before you go through a lot of wasted effort. Oh, and actually go through NPC rush before deciding that all the groups aren't right for you.

[Psi U MC Vito]

The first piece of advise is to make sure your school is actually open for expansion.

[Want2beDelta]

do any of you guys know the process of going into a NPHC sorority?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Want2beDelta

do any of you guys know the process of going into a NPHC sorority?

www.deltasigmatheta.org


Also, you might want to get a new username without Delta in it. If you're not in a particular sorority, it's considered bad form to have their letters in your username/email/etc.

[Cre8tiveSoul]

Originally Posted by Want2beDelta

do any of you guys know the process of going into a NPHC sorority?

Take a look at the A Torch to Guide You thread (it's at the top of the list) and you might want to talk to members of the particular NPHC sorority you would like to join, or check their national website. Just trying to help you out because I don't want you to get ate alive in here lol Just one sisterfriend trying to help another

[dreamseeker]

Originally Posted by Cre8tiveSoul

Take a look at the A Torch to Guide You thread (it's at the top of the list) and you might want to talk to members of the particular NPHC sorority you would like to join, or check their national website. Just trying to help you out because I don't want you to get ate alive in here lol Just one sisterfriend trying to help another

All that and she still didn't listen to you. lol

[Cre8tiveSoul]

Oh, you got to it first KSU my bad