Honestly... because I rushed before I knew the difference.

I'm in a "professional" GLO that has a focus on music.... and yet I have absolutely no interest/involvement in music. When I rushed, I thought all sororities were the same, and DO just happened to be the one that had rush first.

I'm still glad I joined, because I love my sisters, but if I had the chance to do it over again, I would have gone NPC.

Can't you be both DO and an NPC??

Nationally, yes.

My particular chapter had a by-law against it.

Because of the people that I met. I have went to the Beach Party and I had a lot of fun, But It was getting to know them on a more personal level that drew me in. I felt at ease after that and the rest is History. :)

I chose, and joined., Beta Sigma Phi for many of the reasons Erica did. I have sisters of all ages, and I can be active as long as I want to be. I'm in my mid-40s, and I really like that idea. We have social, cultural, service and many other projects, and Beta really is about life, learning and friendship.

I guess at Nebraska, I didn't really have a choice of whether to go anything other than NIC.

Unlike some places, at Nebraska, groups like Alpha Phi Omega or any honorary/ professional GLO's are not considered Greeks at all. When you talk about Greeks at UNL you automatically mean NIC/NPC/NPHC. I think a lot of it has to do with many students associating greek with having a house. I have friends who are independent but in things like Omicron Delta Kappa and they do not consider themselves greeks at all. Organizations like this do very little social gatherings, and tend to struggle to get participation out of their members.

For that reason, even in spite of GC, I have difficulty in identifying SAI or APO or any of the other non-social GLO members I've talked to on GC to be really greek. I don't see you having the same issues or the same experiences that I see amongst social GLO's. This isn't meant to be offensive to anyone, just an end result from what I see on my campus, and how that's affected my thoughts on the issue.

Looking back, there is no way that I would have done anything differently in choosing service vs social.

I completely agree. My APO chapter is constantly having to remind independents on are campus that we're not a social GLO and that we focus on service. We don't participate in Greek Week or anything like that and it's definitely a different kind of brotherhood.

That said, I joined APO because I'm addicted to community service. I thought about joining Circle K, but I definitely liked the idea of a Brotherhood (and wearing letters and having a formal :) ). It's been an awesome experience and I love running into other people who are in different APO chapters.

I plan to go through sorority recruitment in the fall. I think I will most likely join an NPC organization (we don't have NPHC) because I've met amazing girls from across the country and after being involved with a national service fraternity, I don't think I could focus solely on a local chapter.

It's kinda like that here. We have lots of multi-cultural greeks as well as Greek honories... but you ask any of my sisters what are the other fraternities and sororties on campus, and they will tell you just the NPC/NIC ones. And maybe a few others that we have mixed with.
I know NIC/NPC members are also members of other Greek orgs besides their own, but others feel that one GLO is enough and stick to what is familiar.
It's sad, but what can you do?

I joined my then local/social because back then we were the only Chi Delta with the symbols we have. (There are other Local Chi Delts unrelated to us elsewhere.) Everyone was pretty laid back, the rush events were easy going and fun as were the girls. And I was strapped for cash during my college years. Being in a local made my financial situation a little easier.

My school did not have NIC fraternities when I was in undergrad. The AEPi chapter colonized my senior year, but I didn't think joining an Jewish fraternity would do me or them any good. lol

However, had I gone to school up the road at American, I might have given them (NIC fraternities) a looksie. When I was in grad school, I saw that the NIC fraternities there were very diverse. In fact, I thought that all the NIC fraternity men there were pretty gentlemanly. I would have fit in there if I wanted to, I'm sure.

I pledged a service fraternity because I wanted to do service and bond with other people on campus who were not similar to me. APO was the only service fraternity on campus, so there I was.

I became a member of an NPHC fraternity because being in a Brotherhood of BLACK men was important to me. It wasn't just the social action that was Alpha's trademark, but the fact that it wasn't afraid to be a fraternity by black men and for black men, historically providing a safe space for academic advancement as well as fellowship.

I wasn't interested in musical fraternities because I am not a musician.

My school had several business fraternities....wasn't interested.

My school had a Latino fraternity. They were nice guys, but I felt like they deserved their own space.

We had no multicultural fraternities. In fact, there are no multicultural fraternities in DC that I know of.

Who knows where I would be if my school had EVERYTHING on campus? Alpha is definitely in my heart, but still...who knows?

No attack intended! Just wondering...would Chi Deltas not consider NPHC and NALFO orgs to be Greek?

Also, what was it about the multicultural sororities that made them not seem Greek?

Well, Sigma Gamma Rho is a service sorority founded for some of the same reasons Senusret mentioned: social action, networking, academic advancement and sisterhood.
I'm interested in SAI but there is no chapter nearby and I can't charter a chapter at my school because we have no music department.:( I played the flute, violin and piano.

Years ago , when I was at Grambling State U, I had transferred in and did not have the prerequisite number of units or class standing to join any greek lettered org:( There were no NPC's, only Honors and NPHC's, and music orgs. There were also the ROTC orgs Perishing Rifles, and I can’t remember the name of the other ones something Angles. Anywho, I'm happy where I am but if the opportunity ever arises for membership into SAI, I'll jump on that bandwagon!:)

ETA: One of my best friends is a PMA (Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia)I always though it would be cool if we were both in musical orgs

i am in the mood to post short replys today so i'll keep this simple too.
the girls were nice and didnt seem snobish like some did to me.

I chose to become a member of Beta Sigma Phi for many reasons. I didn't go Greek in college, due to having many friends already there. I never felt alone. Looking back, I wish I would have given Greek life a try. I thought my chance to join a GLO had come and gone. After getting married, my husband and I moved to a new area where I knew no one. I wanted to get to know more people and to have a social outlet. Enter Beta Sigma Phi. It has introduced me to a wonderful group of women (both on GC and at home) and I really feel the sisterhood in my chapter. I know BSP is not the same as a college-based, social GLO, but I feel like I have found my "home" and I wear my letters with pride!

Don't ever believe it's any less!!!!! We, as a Greek community, have to stop promoting the "You're not Greek unless you're NPC/NIC" mentality. GCers are some of the most open-minded and encouraging people I've encountered in dealing with this issue.

Thanks! Your post made me happy! I have really enjoyed meeting many different people on GC!:D