I think they were referring to the main campus of the University of Alabama, which is not in Birmingham, but Tuscaloosa. Also, there were already 8 sororities at Bama by 1927 when Alpha Xi Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Delta Phi Epsilon all chartered there. Just pointing out that there were at least 8, maybe 9, before Alpha Xi and only 6 active chapters since, so they really weren't one of the first on campus - more like the middle. Alpha Xi just recolonized at Bama in 1981 and closed in 1988. Although 18 years seems like a long time, southern campuses have very long memories. Additionally, Bama has housing issues. Although it is a very desirable campus to have a chapter, it wouldn't be an easy task for any group. Maybe Alpha Xi retained its house at Bama? If it did, that would certainly make a return more plausible.

Gamma Phi Beta now occupies the old Alpha Xi Delta house, and has for quite a few years now. Don't know if they actually bought it, but I believe they did. 33Girl and irishpipes are right: a new group would have to have the biggest, most wonderful house and the most spectacular girls. It would be a multi-million dollar investment with only a slim chance of success.
A new group could possibly come on and occupy one of the university-owned Greek houses next to new fraternity row - on the opposite side of campus from sorority row - but they could never really compete.

Oops wrong thread

Legacies and Bid Night
 

I have a question about how bidding really works. My daughter is at a VERY competitive school and she was a legacy to Sorority A.
All through rush, she was invited back to her favorite houses, the maximum number possible, every day. After pref night she called and said that she would be happy at either Sorority A or Sorority B but that she had put Sorority B first on her card. Although I am a member of Sorority A, I encouraged her to follow her heart... no pressure from me... but of course I was a little disappointed...
Then, to her shock, she got a bid from Sorority A. Unfortunately ALL of her friends went to Sorority B so she was extremely hurt and disappointed and unhappy with being at Sorority A (I'm not saying this was a reasonable reaction... just that it happened.) She actually considered withdrawing from her pledge class and waiting until next year to rush again so that she could be Sorority B with her friends. I STRONGLY discouraged this. But SEVERAL older girls from Sorority B told her that they all had wanted her and if she had "suicided" Sorority B, she would have been Sorority B, instead of Sorority A... that she was IN Sorority A because she was a legacy and so was at the top of their list. Could that be true? Could that have really happened? or are they just trying to make excuses for having put her at the bottom of their list? :(

That's treading into Membership Selection territory, if you ask me. The girls in Sorority B should not be even going there with a non-member.

I don't think that's MS territory. It's bid matching territory.

I'll assume that your sorority (A) has a policy that if a legacy is carried to preference, she must be on the first bid list. Bid matching ALWAYS serves to give a PNM her first choice chapter unless her first choice chapter makes quota before reaching her name on their list, no matter how high a PNM is on her second or third choices' lists. Sorority B made quota before they reached your daughter's name. She was not high enough to get a bid. If she suicided Sorority B, she would have gone bidless.

Most likely the members of sorority B made the comments they did because they don't understand bid matching. There is no way of knowing where your daughter was. She could have been the next one or she could have been right at the bottom. Also, it is highly likely that the members of Sorority B did not see the bid list and do not know exactly where she was on the list. I doubt they were "making excuses" because if a PNM is on the bid list, the chapter likes her enough for her to be a member. They were probably saying those things to make her feel better. They probably legitimately did like her. However, no single person has control over membership selection. They can't promise your daughter that she would get a bid there next year.

Unless she totally hates Sorority A, it would be dumb to depledge to try her luck with Sorority B next year, IMO. She can still be friends with people in other chapters.

Yes, exactly. Suiciding would not have bumped your daughter up on Sorority B's bid list.


Just because your daughters friends all went to Sorority B shouldn't be a reason why your daughter leaves Sorority A (especially if she claimed she would be happy there). Your daughter should be able to find friends in Sorority A, while continuing the friendship with her Sorority B friends.

Again, some of this is private GLO membership selection stuff, some of it is bid matching, BUT, in reading your post, my assumption was that your daughter is not in Sorority B because she was not high enough on their bid list. And she likely matched with Sorority A because she is indeed a legacy, and as such, I assume, was on their first bid list.
The women from Sorority B should not be saying things like that for a number of reasons. First, because they really do not know where your daughter was on their bid list (or, at least, they certainly shouldn't) because they don't know how everyone else in their chapter voted. Also, of course, because MS is supposed to be private and not talked about after the fact. I'm sure the girls really did like your daughter, and maybe think they're helping by letting her know how well she did until MS, but it likely makes her feel worse, and think that she'd be able to withdraw from Sorority A and then try for Sorority B next year (BAD IDEA!!!).
In short, try to remind your daughter what she liked about Sorority A, that she can certainly stay friends with members in Sorority B, that she should get to know the women in her pledge class, and that she's really REALLY lucky to get to share her sorority with you! How exciting to be a Legacy!:)
Best of luck to you and your daughter.

What everyone else said. But just emphasizing AGAIN that probably only 1-2 people in the chapter see the final bid list - the President and Recruitment Chair, or other officers depending on the organization's structure.

Sororities have subgroups within them. Even if all of your daughter's friends in Sorority B ranked her #1 (or whatever), they have no idea what members outside their friend group did. At my chapter (and I have no problem saying this) we were required to be TOTALLY SILENT from the time the final preference night party finished until voting was finished for the night. We had NO IDEA what anyone else did. All that we knew for sure was that if any legacies attended pref night, they would be on our first bid list.

It bears being said one more time that #1 and #1 is an automatic match. If a PNM ranks a group first, and that group places her on the first bid list, she will be matched there.

So your daughter wasn't on Sorority B's first bid list. She was on Sorority A's first bid list, by virtue of being a legacy.

I will be B for Blunt. Sorority B for Bitchy is trying to make her feel B for Bad. She could have suicided them and been left high and dry. And I'm guessing they are quite well aware of that. Especially if both groups made quota & are t total.

She made the B for Best decision.

So why is she suddenly not happy with Sorority A? Because her friends aren't there? As someone else has already said, you should remind her of why she likes Sorority A.

And it might not seem like it now, but it will probably be a very positive thing for her to be in a sorority that doesn't include girls that are already her best friends. It will allow her to branch out and meet a bunch of new people. If you ask me, that was one of the best things about college... being involved in organizations and activities that include people that you probably would have never met otherwise, and then realizing how happy you are to have joined because of that.

Nice one! :)

Sorority Bid matching works by taking the PNM preference into consideration before the GLO's preference. From the outcome, one can assume that Sorority B's pledge class was filled before your daughter's name was reached, thus she was matched to sorority A.

It's just like the residency match! Lets say, I am applying for an internship, and I put #1 UCSF and #2 UCLA. Lets also say that both programs had 50 spots, and I am ranked #100 at UCSF and #2 at UCLA. If 50 spots are not filled at UCSF by the time my name is reached, I will be placed there. However, if the more than half of the first 100 people on UCSF's list all chose that place as #1, I will be placed at UCLA.

Using non-sorority terms may help to make the discussion less personal?

Bid Matching
 

Okay...I have a question. My little brother's girlfriend goes to school in Michigan. She asked me about this-and to be honest....I didn't have the answer. Maybe some of you will.

When she was able to rank Sorority A, Sorority B and Sorority C...she chose to do it like this:

1.) A
2.) B
3.) C

She ended up getting C. So, I get the idea that if Sorority A made quota before she was picked up by them-she would not get them but, my question is regarding Sorority B. If she ranked Sorority B second and Sorority C third, and then she got Sorority C-does that mean no matter what-she was going to be a member of Sorority C? She asked me if she had placed Sorority B in the slot for her #1 choice-whether or not she would have gotten a bid to Sorority B or whether or not they already filled their quota before it reached her on the list-so, she still would have ended up with her 3rd choice?

I don't know what to tell her and she's pretty upset. Because I have faith in all of the NPC orgs. I told her to really give Sorority C a chance because she doesn't know if it will be a perfect fit for her or not unless she sticks it out.

Had she placed it like this:
1.) B
2.) A
3.) C

Would she have ended up as a member of Sorority B? The fact that she ended up as a member of Sorority C...pretty much-I'm asking...Does that mean that no matter who she would have put first (either A or B), she would still have received a bid from Sorority C?

Sorry if this is long-any advice?