The term STEM became a blanket term to equalize the rigor of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math because of the extreme similarities in core courses. Also, it's being used to unite women in male dominated technical fields.

Speak for your own organization's policy, not the other 25.

Do you mean the UAs like you have to be female, you have to be a full-time student, etc etc?

ETA: I just refreshed myself on the UAs and aside from the no one can join two groups part, they are really more about things the chapters do or don't do than things individuals do. Since AI is still on a case by case basis, it would be hard to make a UA about it. Does that make sense?

Why would we need one on AI? In the first place, you aren't an NPC member so I doubt you know much of the history and/or purpose of UAs. Not everything is covered by UAs. And I can't really imagine what a need might be for one to cover AI...there might be but at this point, I don't see it. Not trying to be snarky at all. It just isn't something at this point that begs the need for an AI UA. The current ones pretty much cover all that would be of need/interest

What do you expect such a UA would contain?

AI is membership selection. Isn't that privately up to the members of each organization?

You have no idea how close I came to saying, "bless your heart" for that very reason.

Yes.

ETA: agree with 33's stabby explanation. Consider the contrast: "what can AI do for me" versus "you've done so much for ______ , we would like to extend membership to you/invite you to become a member of our organization".

i think you're completely missing Sen's point, which is: If there isn't a UA, then

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge (Post 2291699) Speak for your own organization's policy, not the other 25.

If the JL and city social structure are as closed as described, it is not at all clear to me that AI will open the social network for the OP as she hopes.

Perhaps NPC GCers need to rethink how much information they are willing to provide on GC. It can be confusing when people read you all type so much detail on certain topics and then get silent or antsy on other topics. Maybe it makes more sense to ask people to speak to someone in real life or check out official websites. Then these people can trust they are getting reliable and verifiable information; and people can have a more consistent understanding of what topics are and are not discussed on GC.

:) I'm just sayin'....

Well, there's probably some ground between the haphazard sharing of the NPC and the oddly silent (in my opinion) stance of the NPHC.

The problem is it's not consistent across the board, except for the fact that in most cases women seeking AI would have to be disappointed once they went through the process. It just seems that no matter how many times we say it, women don't get that alumnae membership is just not the same as collegiate membership.

But you're right that if a woman is interested in AI in a particular NPC sorority, she should find a member in real life, or via private message here, and ask a specific question. A woman seeking AI into Chi O in Arkansas is going to get a much different answer than a, say, DPhiE in California. Which of course is in no way saying she would have a better chance into one versus the other. Just that the dynamics would be different.

I weep for the day a Delta collegiate or alumnae aspirant gets most of her information from a GLO message board when she walks by Deltas everyday or (the same way she found Greekchat) has access to official means to contact Deltas.

;)

Also, are there national, regional, and chapter websites with information or at least official contact information?

There are a few reasons that we are silent. It's not really a "stance." The only questions that we can answer are explicitly listed on our websites or other resources. So frankly, if there is a general question, an interest should have already done the footwork to find the answers because they are available. If it is a question about a local chapter/situation then it should be referred to said members of that chapter. Why? If an individual doesn't know any members of said chapter of interest then I'd assume they aren't really trying to be in said chapter/organization. Why should members vouch for someone who they don't know? I can't help interests on GC.

I apologize for the hijack...I'm just saying real life interaction/research seems to be the best suggestion, whether it gets the OP to her goal or not.

This is why I still can't get behind the idea of recs in NPC recruitment 100%. But that's a different discussion for a different thread :)

(Some NPHC GLOs have requested silence on membership questions if the source is unofficial or not authorized by the NPHC GLO.)

There are times where GC NPHC GLO members will politely respond to a thread. But, only in certain circumstances will GC NPHC GLO members keep a thread active or private message the person.

There are also NPHCers who interact with aspirants outside of GC including other Internet sites. Typing to someone whose membership is more easily verified is more credible than typing to usernames on a Greek message board. This is with the understanding that an aspirant's (or NPHC GLO member who has a question) experience will only be based on official information obtained from an official NPHC GLO website or from NPHC GLO members who are familiar with an aspirant's specific chapter of interest, specific circumstances, and specific NPHC GLO policies and procedures.

Aspirants who try to go based on the advice of usernames on Greekchat for certain topics will be disappointed and brought back to reality.

And yes...all this too!!!

For some groups there are, and for some groups there aren't. That's part of the problem. All collegiate chapters of all 26 NPC groups rush and extend bids in some fashion. If they didn't they would cease to exist. However, all groups don't do AI, and of the ones that do, it can vary from place to place. Some groups require backing of/affiliation with an alumnae club or chapter, some don't.

Sen, that's why I used such words as "usually", "typically", etc. Please pay attention.

And I didn't draw any comparisions to NPHC groups as I know they work differently than NPC groups. The OP is interested only in NPC groups so there would be no reason to talk about NPHC.

No, you didn't and you haven't. You think you have, but bless your heart anyway.

Gosh, Sen, guess I'm not really seeing the bolded????? Bless my heart!

NPHC was first mentioned by AnchorAlumna. Tld221 offered an "NPHC perspective" disclaimer to her post. Then DuBaiSis commented about the odd silence of the NPHC.

I wasn't making an NPHC comparison in my initial post about whether the GC NPCers should consider how much information should be provided.

Anchor Alumna simply inquired for contextual clarity. Since NPC and NPHC approach joining a bit differently, my sense is that she did not want to provide an NPC perspective for someone interested in NPHC. The OP received very solid advice to approach her two friends since AI isn't a website meet-up activity.

Well I guess, theoretically, NPC could have a UA that says "all AIs must be former members of a colonized local" or something like that.

I doubt it would want to veer into that territory - esp since I understand some groups don't do AI at all. So it wouldn't apply to everyone and UAs are intended to do that.

Who is NPC to tell a member organization that they can't offer AI to any woman who has not been initiated into another group? UA means Unanimous Agreement. Good luck getting all 26 groups to agree on this subject. If ABC has a liberal policy of offering sisterhood to any interested woman, that is the business of that GLO, not the NPC. I agree with Titchou. There is no need for UAs regarding AI. Woman are free to contact any group and those groups may use their own criteria when deciding how to approach AI. As long as no woman AIs into multiple groups, the UAs have no bearing.

NPC has a UA saying its collegiate chapters can't initiate girls in high school....no one seems to have a problem with that.

I agree with you that there's a snowball's chance of getting all 26 to agree on ANYTHING about this issue, but the vast differences between each group's policies may be part of the reason some people look askance at AI.

I think the issue is that NPC members are AI'ing women who HAVE been initiated into another group. It just came up in another thread.

Well then, that's problem with the local alumnae or whomever not doing due diligence - just like with collegiate chapters. Of course, some people can hide that information pretty well. My GLO has a policy that collegiate chapters should check with the previous campus of any transfers to see if they went thru recruitment. Granted, most don't do that but I always did whenever I was doing recruitment.

clearly I missed this thread..... happen to have a link? I'm not finding it through searching

I know. ;) But that was the first mention of NPHC. I saw nothing in the OP's post that seemed like an alumna NPHC aspirant.

Regarding the sentence in bold above: Why assume that a woman interested in AI is at all interested in a collegiate experience? Or that she isn't aware of the difference? Not picking on you DubaiSis, just asking the question generally. As an alumna initiate, I can be a bit salty about the way AI inquiries are handled here on GC. I admit that. But I really don't understand why there is always an assumption that women interested in AI are, as Katmandu put it, "trying to re-live your college days." That's not at all what I was looking for, and certainly not what I wanted! I have no desire to act like I'm in college or to be treated as if I were in college. I have no desire to erase my college experience or in any way diminish the choices that I made in college. They were the right choices for me and I have zero regrets or desire to change them.

I do, however, enjoy the friendships and opportunities afforded to me by my alumnae membership. I enjoy the ability to mentor and coach as an advisor. I enjoy the opportunity to meet women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50, 60s, 70, 80s and 90s who all have some common bond. I enjoy the ability to volunteer on various levels within an international organization. I enjoy knowing that I am part of an organization with deep historical roots, and being able to participate in the ritual that reflects those roots. I wanted an alumna experience. Not a collegiate experience.

This thread isn't about me, of course. But I truly wish that GC could move beyond this assumption that everyone interested in AI wants a "do-over" on their college years. Perhaps it is true for some. But it does us all a disservice to make that assumption for all.

Just to add...

Another reason we, NPHC, request that an aspirant seek info in person / official web site is because there can be changes to the membership process from one Boule' (international convention) to the next Boule'.

Only current, financial, membership trained members are in the best position to answer questions about MIP (membership intake process, our recruitment). And actually, they are the only ones who are truly qualified to answer questions about MIP.

If you go back through old threads in the Alumni Involvement forum, a few posters started their thread with "I didn't have a chance to join in college. I feel that I really missed out. What can I do to AI?"

I remember one poster who just came right out and said that she is looking for any NPC org that does AI so she can join a NPC org.

Not everyone who wants to join via AI has had sincere intentions. But, they made for some interesting threads.

Can you PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT NPHC in my thread? No offense, but I do not qualify for NPHC, thus why I am not seeking one of their organizations. Also, I do not think there was ANY mention of anything in any of my posts that would allow someone to think I was. I do not understand why the topic was brought up, and so adamantly discussed when it is of no relevance to my question or situation.

^^^

Sometimes it just happens that threads go off on a tangent.

But, at this point your question has been answered multiple times, so now we are just chit-chatting.

Welcome to the internet. Topics of discussion are fluid. A person may start a thread but he/she does not own or control it.

No, it was known. An NPC group knowingly AI'ed a member of a NALFO group and included that information in the AI's bio. That's a very strange move, and it's not clear if that's specific to AI.

WTH? You don't QUALIFY for NPHC?!?!?! What does that even mean?

That she is not AfAm. :rolleyes:

She should realize that we have members from a number of different ethnic groups / races in NPHC orgs. We do not limit our membership to AfAm only.