I just want to say that I've learned so much about the NPHC orgs from reading this board - even more than from books like Sorority Sisters or the Divine Nine.

I hope this doesn't come off wrong, but I think it's definitely easier to choose a sorority when you have four to select from than 26! (Even though no campus has all 26 NPC groups.) If I magically wasn't an AXD tomorrow, I don't know what other NPC group I'd join - there are several I would like. But if I could join an NPHC group, I know which one I would want. Not that I'm saying this makes joining actually any easier, but I think it explains why we do the en masse rush we do in the NPC - it would be overwhelming to research all the groups and decide which one would honestly be best for you. But I think the NPHC system is great because it produces knowledgeable, honestly motivated potential sisters.

Indeed, I have enjoyed this thread so far. One of my mom's co-workers is an Delta, and she joked with my mom about how over-the-top NPC recruitment is when I went through a couple years ago. All I really knew was that women usually had a particular group in mind before going through intake.

I think it's a great thing that NPHC groups tend to prefer taking upperclasswomen; that way you know they can handle everything they've got to do in college (and beyond). I'm glad I was able to pledge as a freshman, because it did make a large campus smaller, but not every freshman woman is ready to juggle school/sorority/possibly work her first semester of college.

I also admire the emphasis put on alumnae. My chapter doesn't really hear much from ours other than recent graduates, largely because I don't really know of any way that they can be involved other than showing up to alumnae teas and philanthropy events and/or donating to the chapter. Kind of makes me dread graduation. My little is alumnae relations chair, and she puts out a newsletter, but really all we can do is let them know what's going on and ask them to come. It's kind of saddening.

I haven't read this entire thread, but thought I'd share this as it seems kind of relevant... I suppose it fits in here...

My school is working towards a tri-council... in which IFC, PHC and NPHC governing boards will work TOGETHER in order to bring more unity to our campus among the three different organizations.

Recently a mandatory event for all Greeks campus-wide was held, in which the president for each council gave a presentation. The NPHC president talked about the history, each fraternity and sorority, how and why they were founded, their colors, their symbols. She explained about lines and intake and calls and stepping. Everything you could ever want to know!! It was so wonderful to increase our knowledge about a system that differed from our own. I think it's amazing that ALL of the Greeks at Mizzou are learning more about each other and the other organizations. Do any other schools have a tri-council? I'm not really sure if we're breaking ground with this or if we're the only school in the world that doesn't already have one...:rolleyes:

I really hope this tri-council thing works out... they're working towards getting all organizations to participate in events like Homecoming and Greek Week. I think that would be the best thing EVER for us to all be working together!!

This tri-council sounds like a wonderful idea, provided that everyone is interested in learning about org's other than their own. I wish that my school had had something like this. My school is pretty panhellenically minded, but the fraternities aren't as much, and certainly not with the NPHC groups. I had friends in each org on campus(IFC,NPC,NPHC), and enjoyed getting to know a little bit about their groups, but not to the extent I would have liked. If this works for your group, please share so that others may be able to implement the same at their schools.

Good luck!

We had an all-greek council composed of 3 IFC glos, 2 local sororities, and AST. It was interesting. The rules of NPC got on everyone's nerves and it caused some tension. We often got overruled because the fraternities and locals had the ability to control things. It can be chaotic because the three groups are all run so differently. Try to set it up in a way that IFC and NPC don't end up dominating NPHC becuase I would guess that the NPC and IFC orgs might know each other better. If everyone is nice, I think it would be a fabulous way to get more interaction going, bigger projects and bigger turnout. Good luck!

I'd have to say this is one of the most informative threads I have read regarding NPHC organizations. I also like the idea of a tri-council (or multi-greek council). Anything that will help extend knowledge, open pathways to positive communication and cooperative community service would be great. :) It would be great if this happened at my university.

Sistergreek SoTrue1920, I'm glad you started this thread! :)

I have a question: how exactly does NPC rush work? Is there a thread I can read or a website I can go to? I wasn't too sure about it in undergrad, and I'm getting confused reading the threads in the Rush forum. Is there a crib sheet for how NPC rush works?

Thanks ladies!

aww...group hug

If you want to learn more, I would read all the sticky threads in the rush forum.
In a (very small) nutshell, all the NPC sororities represented at a specific school hold parties every day for about a week. The people interested in meeting the sororities are split into groups and attend the parties in rotations, generally getting to meet all the chapters the first day, then visiting fewer and fewer chapters as the week goes on, through a mutual selection process.