Hmmmm... well that's just what my school does, and that's how another school found out (albeit after the fact) that one crazy PNM was indeed initiated into an NPC sorority at the school she transferred from. Someone just missed her record of membership in her file when they were registering her for formal recruitment. I don't actually think it's written on the transcript proper, but a part of the general transfer packet of materials sent from one school to another (along with health records, discipline records, etc.)

Maybe it's more common at smaller schools... I dunno.

I also know my formal recruitment application had a place for me to sign that I had never been initiated as a member of another NPC and a place to give my SSN#, so I figured there was some sort of background check. Maybe some places do check up on it and some others don't.

Maybe she could be a recruitment counselor!
 

If she still wants to be involved in the Greek Community at her new school, maybe she could get in contact with the Panhellenic Association and be a Rho Chi/Rho Gamma/Gamma Chi/Pi Chi/Sigma Rho Chi/whatever this school calls it. She'd be able to meet women in other chapters and she'd be the ultimate in being unbiased for the PNMs because her sorority does not have a chapter there. If she joined an NPC sorority, then that would be the most involved she could be in the Greek Community. If she joined a local at her old school, then she is allowed to go through recruitment.

If she (or any young woman for that matter) was involved with a Beta Sigma Phi chapter on a college campus, which identifies and operates much like an active GL group on campus, she could seek membership in an NPC org.--pretty much the same as a local -OR- on the flip side, if she was in an NPC she could check out BSP, ESA or any of the other orgs discussed in the "joining a sorority" after college thread...perhaps there would be a fit for her there.

Alumnae Panhellenic may be an option for her too, if there is one, considering she left her former chapter in good standing.

Hope she can find a fit. And there of couse is nothing wrong with looking into membership in non-lettered campus clubs, organizations, etc., where friends can be made too!

I can't imagine switching schools and wanting to get involved with any sorority other than Kappa - not after I've been through the initiation and ritual - maybe it doesn't mean as much to some people as it does to me - but I didn't say "I'm going to be a Kappa for the next short part of my life, then maybe I'll be a Zeta for a while... oooh, and DeeZee sounds cool..."

you'd be surprised how many girls don't know that once you're initiated into an NPC group you can't join any others. i've had a couple girls telling me that after they transferred to another school they were going to rush, not because they were trying to be sneaky, but because they simply didn't know.

i think a lot of girls/chapters just think that it pertains to that campus, and that if you go to another school without your sorority then it's ok to join another.

:eek: Sounds like someone in membership education was dropping the ball!

May I ask a question regarding Sorority practice in such a situation? On the Fraternity side we have the same or at least similar rules about not joining a national if you have been initiated into another national. (I understand that there are some very rare exceptions in one or two fraternities, but those are irrelevant here). Anyway, when I was an undergrad we had a transfer student who had been to high school with a couple of our guys. He had been initiated into a national that had no chapter on our campus. Since he got along well with all of us we invited him to hang with us (wearing his pin, letters, etc). He was not a member but was considered more than a visitor, not a brother but sort of a cousin. He participated in everything except closed chapter business/ritual and that sort of thing. He contributed prorata for any social events and always pulled his own weight in any activity he could join in with us. We had an informal composit photo showing the brothers and one "cousin". We thought of him as "one of the extended family".
Would an arrangement something like that be possible in the case you all are discussing?

Potentially. It depends on the rules for social activities which tend to be stricter for NPC than for fraternities. Hanging out at sisterhood or philanthropy events or even just at the house wouldn't be uncommon, IF she's good friends with the sisters. Clearly ritual would be out. But that's not the sort of arrangement that you can ask for as the person from the outside.

I think this used to be much more common for sororities, but now that the risk management rules are so much stricter, I don't think it happens as often. Not only that, if you have a campus with not the best Panhellenic regulations, another sorority could get wind of it and possibly use it as a rush infraction (even though the girl in question can't join). "Closed parties" (aka mixers) are much more closed than they used to be.

Thanks for the info. The case I spoke of was unique in my house during my undergrad time, but it worked out well. We would have bid this guy if he had been eligible and as it turned out he was a very good non-member member. We had some guys who used to hang with us fairly regularly, but it was a much looser and much more informal arrangement than with our "cousin".
I understand that years ago there used to be a fairly common practice of inviting people in that sort of situation to become SA's or Social Affiliates where they were sort of cousins to the chapter. I think that has mostly died out as an official program but I think it has merit since there seem to be rather a lot of people stuck in the same situation. Much more undergraduate mobility perhaps?
As to the person in question, since she is an initiated member of XYZ couldn't she check out the orgs on her new campus, see if and where she seemed to fit, and if she found a really comfortable fit ask if she might (as a member of XYZ) be accepted as a "cousin", with the appropriate limitations, of course?
That way she would retain her XYZ identity, share close friendship with her ABC cousins, and have the chance to pull her own weight by actively helping out in all appropriate areas?

I think it's still an awkward question. But it's not impossible. Also, risk management rules are still strict enough to cause issues. But I don't know that there aren't NPC sororities that allow honorary/associate members either.

Thanks for the update on current limitations. It has been a few years since undergrad so I am not really current in my info. Would it still be a problem if her "special status" was officially disclosed to the Greek Life office and any other appropriate group? In our case, we notified the Dean of Students, whose office supervised Greek orgs, to see if there was any difficulty. We were advised that he was covered by our umbrella insurance policy and they had no heartburn about it. He then volunteered to kick in for his share of the premium since he spent a lot of time with us. A happy result all around.

It's not so much the Greek life offices - it's the sororities' national offices and the way insurance policies are worded. They would probably be more likely to not budge than the school.

There's been mention on here of a "displaced Greeks" sort of group, but I forget where it was & I'm too lazy to search.

I will definitely have to check my manual but I feel like AEPhi might have (or at least use to have) some social member status which is rarely if ever used. If I remember correctly i think it was meant for unaffilated women that lived in houses because the chapter didn't have enough sisters to fill the house. I guess the idea was if you live in the house we might as well invite you some of our non-ritual events.