I think rush in the first semester can be good or bad. Good in a sense that they haven't heard the stories/rumors or all of the stereotypes yet. It can be bad though because they really don't get to know the brothers, even though we have an extra long rush of 7 weeks (8 my freshman year!), with all of the rules and regs, it's hard to completely be yourself around the prospectives, and some chapters put on a major front. Then guys are dissapointed with their decision. By then it's too late because most of the chapters won't take someone who picked somebody else over them once already, mostly since it's such a small system of only 8 fraternities, 2 of which together are about the size of the biggest house on campus.

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Zeta Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

Gina_Lynn,
I'm not Greek, but the responses I keep hearing from the GLO members make me think of something that you may be able to relate to...GLO members tell me if I am wayyyy off base! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Say that when you were a little girl you had your heart set on following in your parents footsteps and attending State U. They took you to the homecoming football games, all of their friends were also alums of State U. You learned the fight song and all of the cheers. Why, you bedroom was even decorated in the colors of SU! Every one that you had ever come in contact with that was associated with State U was intelligent, fun to be around, hard working. You never hesitated to tell people that when you grew up, you were going to State U! Then, as you got older something happened. Maybe you found out that the thing you wanted to major in was not available at State. Maybe your parents couldn't afford the tuition. Maybe you didn't get accepted. Maybe you were following a best friend/boyfriend, whatever. Anyway, you don't go to State U, you go to NextStateOver U. At first, you maybe were disappointed and compare everything to SU and NextStateOver U. pales in comparison. Then, you meet some people, become friends, go to your classes, learn THEIR (now your) fight song, buy a really nice sweatshirt and HEY! whatdaya know, you actually LOVE NextStateOver U! You meet some increadible alums and are impressed with their intelligence, etc. One even agrees to mentor you. Your roommate lets you cry on her shoulder when something goes wrong in your life. Your classmate lets you borrow his/her notes when you missed class cause you were sick. At this point, you can't IMAGINE ever liking State U! Why, their mascot is really dorky! And the dorms! What you thought were quaint are really run down....and on and on.

Once you attended NextStateOver you realize that it is a great place and are glad you are there. I think this is what the GLO members have been trying to say. Of course there will be people who still wish they had gone to State U, just as people will wish they had pledged XYZ instead of what they did.

Boy! that got longer than I had planned...but I guess you get the picture! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Eclipse,

I think that's a very interesting analogy. There does seem to be a difference, in that many who are interested in NPHC organizations have grown up knowing about them and wanting to be in one particular group. There are also those who grow up knowing a particular NPC or IFC group who may want to join that organization, but there are probably many more who are just interested in becoming a member of a GLO for the overall experience.

This may have lot to do with the (this is my perception) much higher profile of NHPC alumni members.

Wow, that's very interesting!!!

[quote]I sense that this is different from BGLOs...if you are not accepted by the
BGLO that you've researched and committed to in your heart, then no other BGLO (or any
GLO, for that matter) is for you. I may be off on my POV, please feel free to clarify.[quote]

Nope, that's about the long and the short of it. Most members of BGLOs feel pretty confidant in saying that because we have several chapters, ways of getting in the orgainzation even if the chapter on your campus is not active, and whe take quite a few members thruough Alumnae chapters. If the chapter on your campus or in your area doesen't seem to agree that you would be an asset to them, you can just try again later. If you show up wearing someone elses letters next year, then the chapter that turned you down was right.. you weren't for them.

[Quote]but then I'm not sure what exactly what the resources are that BGLO prospects are expected to use in researching a GLO, and what exactly they're supposed to research. [Quote]

The internet has made life very easy for prospective members of BGLOs, they can look up the national website of the orginaizations they are interested in, they can look up their prospective chapter's site. I know that all of the sororities have books that you can buy in a bookstore or check out in the library about the history and purpose of the orgainizations. In Search of Sisterhood, by Paula Giddings is the "must read" for all prospective Deltas. In fact, I would suggest that you all read it. By necessity, it goes deep into the history of both Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sororities, and gives a very good context and rationale for why we stay so demonstative with our affiliations.

As far as what they are supposed to be looking for well, I explain it this way:

If I were to ask a prospective member of Delta "Why Do you want to be a member" and what I hear is about what you can see by looking at this chapter alone.. they have missed the point! Things like colors, the popularity, niceness, intellegence, ect. of the members here, a project that we are involved with here (without being able to tell me about the national program behind it) are inconsequential (sp?). When we bring our girls out, they have soror who come from the 8 surrounding states to meet them and bring gifts and welcome them to the sisterhood. If they chose Delta because of this campus alone , they would miss the beauty of thay moment, and I would have set them up for it by allowing them to do it.

Here's my POV on the overall question: I sense that there's a fundamental difference between how the greek identity is viewed by those in BGLOs and those in GLOs, as well as what aspects of committment to one's GLO are given the most importance. Here's an example to illustrate the point:

On the OU campus, the theme for formal rush (both IFC and NPC, I believe) has been in the recent past "Go OU, then go greek." The theme's point is to emphasize that all greeks are Sooners, and pledging a particular house need not divide greeks in the effort to do well by both OU and the community. The intent is not to diminish a particular house's ideals, goals, philanthropies, or individuality, but to promote unity amongst greeks. This theme is not necessarily embraced by NPHC for rush (though I could be wrong, if there are any OU BGLO members out there, please let us know for sure). Does this imply that NPHC greeks aren't school or community oriented? To be sure, it doesn't! I think we all know that scholarship and service are important cornerstones of BGLOs.

It's not that there isn't a spirit of service (or loyalty, for that matter), it's just represented differently. My perspective on loyalty in particular:

Originally posted by Gina_lynn:
Members of GLOs, I have always wondered how it is that you can continue to get loyal members of your orgainizations when the rushees are
1) allowed to choose a house (I hope I'm saying this right) in their first semester, before they see anything about the orgainzation

From talking to friends and colleagues of mine, at some point of the process of formal rush, they simply know where they belong, it becomes a call from the heart, and that's how they choose their preference. From what I've learned about the NPC matching process during formal rush, the choices are mutual. However neither a house nor a young woman may get her 1st choice, and even when those choices are mutual, they aren't face-to-face until the very end of the process. A mutual committment can and generally does work out through this process - evidence the great numbers of women pledging and initiating various GLOs, and taking an active part in sorority life. To take the marriage analogy further, I guess this would be more like the traditionally arranged marriages - the committment is definitely there, you may be blind about some (minor) things going in, but you know you share the basic values with you future spouse...er, house. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif My personal opinion: I don't agree with the idea of arranged marriages, or the NPC formal rush process. I think back when I was researching sororities, if I had pursued my interest in a particular NPC house, I would have done informal rush, not formal, just because the format's more personal.

2) May have always wanted to be something else, and due to whatever reason, didn't get in (or turned a bid down), and now are a member of your orgainization and

If a young woman is already member of my sorority, then she has proved to our members' satisfaction that she is committed to our GLO. I would imagine that this holds true for all GLOs. No matter what the motivation for your committment, you have committed, and that is what's imortant. I sense that this is different from BGLOs...if you are not accepted by the BGLO that you've researched and committed to in your heart, then no other BGLO (or any GLO, for that matter) is for you. I may be off on my POV, please feel free to clarify.

3)(and please correct me if I'm wrong) the resources aren't out their to do research.

In the sense that BGLOs have resources for research, I'm guessing not, but then I'm not sure what exactly what the resources are that BGLO prospects are expected to use in researching a GLO, and what exactly they're supposed to research.

I'm not trying to put down your system, I'm just trying to understand.

http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif That's cool, and I'm glad you asked!



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equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

I also feel that the first semester should be focused on education. Many people come to college right out of high school and don't realize that college is not high school, that's why I like the second semester freshman rule

SoCalGirl,

Sorry the computers mess up bid matching. I don't know if it's possible for you because you may have too many sororities and too many rushees. But at my school there are only 4 sororities that participate in formal rush and the number of rushees, I think, never exceeds around 60, so we do it by hand (representative alumnas from each sorority). That way, we can add our personal touch and make sure things turn out right because we personally make every match.

[This message has been edited by mwedzi (edited July 21, 2000).]

Mwedzi,

I wish we could do matching by hand too. But it is difficult with 8 sororities and a few hundred rushees. The computer has its problems. But the girls get so catty during rush that I'd rather the computer jack everything up than have members "fiddling" with the lists.

Rush is right around the corner for some schools. So good luck to everyone!

Soror Gina,
Very good topic. I've been learned alot about NPC system so far and didn't realize how different it was from the NPHC system.
RedAngel
11-Spr'96

I think the way rush has been pictured in this thread does make it seem superficial. Speaking for my chapter, who participates in formal rush, we don't let just anyone in. EVERY girl that comes on bid day has at least one recomendation from an alumna, who has to actually know the potential member. The majority of the girls have shown previous interest in our organization and are hometown friends, roomates, college friends with a member. I think loyalty is directly tied to how much time and commitment you put into membership recruitment. We may cut a lot of girls but the girls we get are the ones we really want. Less girls during rush parties allows members to have deeper conversations and get to know the girls which is better than having tons of girls coming back every round. When new members are initiated and shown how rush works for our chapter they often think "How in the world did I get in!" and realize its because the members truly wanted them and took the extra time and effort to get to know them. We also have an extensive pledge education program. Your not going to sit in a seminar for hours a week. Take test. Recite creeds and other ritual if you dont realy want it. People do de-pledge. But the ones that stay that realize that the respect, devotion, and sincere caring of our house. All this comes together to makes people loyal.

Oddly enough, I think I do understand a bit about how someone could assess loyalty in a NPC group, based upon some of the NPC responses. Being in an NPHC organization, I totally understand where my sister-sorors and fraters are coming from, but now I think I do see where you can potentially develop a loyalty to a group that initially you didn't give serious consideration to.

It really depends on a person's mentally, and whether they follow-through and truly dedicate themselves to the oaths and committments they take. I would assume that if you accept a bid and pledge an oath from a group that wasn't your first choice in NPC, you've decided to make a committment to make that organization your own. If you cannot do that, then you shouldn't make the oath.

And once they've done that, maybe they do realize that what they loved about their first choice was superficial: the colors, the motto, the stereotypes, and not the essence of the organization, which you can only discover once you understand the organzation's history.

To be honest, I loved Zeta well enough based upon her motto, principles, the members I knew and the history I "thought" I knew about her. But having been in the organization and truly understanding her history, I honestly love her now. The "love" I had for her initially when I was interested was frankly, I now realize, superfical. What I've learned since then from her, about her and through her has been genuine and forever written upon my heart and mind. And that depth can only be learned from knowing her intimately, not just a name on a bid card or via a few parties anyway, I think.

-well, first of all, i want to say thanks to all the members of PHC orgs that posted here, because prior to reading these posts, i had my own ideas of what formal rush was. i thought i knew what it entailed, and i thought that the whole thing was at best a really stupid system. but now, i have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the process and the members of these differnet orgs.

-at my campus, there are a lot of PHC and IFC orgs., and i thought i was one of the more well versed members of a NPHC org; thinking that i had a pretty good handle on what they were about. i have a fair number of friends and associates that are in PHC and IFC orgs. i thought that BGLO's and GLO's were just too different, and that i'd never understand the rationale for GLO's method of initiation. this has really been enlightening.

-also, i want to say that i think that Gina_lynn was right on point when she said:

'"Why Do you want to be a member" and what I hear is about what you can see by looking at this chapter alone.. they have missed the point! Things like colors, the popularity, niceness, intellegence, ect. of the members here, a project that we are involved with here (without being able to tell me about the national program behind it) are inconsequential (sp?).'

-i love Sigma and all that it stands for. if some guy told me he was interested is Sigma because he thought the bruhs looked cool, or we stroll tight, or our colors are tight, or something superficial like that, i would seriously doubt his potential for membership in MY org.

-on a different note...
i have a question for the GLO folks. i have come to understand from the people that i've talked to and things i've picked up that MOST GLO members don't have any affiliation with their fraternity or sorority outside of the four/five years of undergraduate college. why is that? i know that there are people who do continue service with the org., like house moms/dads. but why do most people consider themselves alumni and say 'i WAS an xyz in college'?

-i'm out

NPC chapters are vastly different from school to school. I think that is one reason alumni involvement is different. Many alumni remain involved with their particular chapter. There are numerous alumni groups throughout the US for my sorority and alumni participation is growing.

Shelacious: you pretty much hit the nail on the head. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif


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equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies