in zta there is no "inactive" status-you are either an active collegian, an alumna or have resigned your membership. to qualify for alum. status if still enrolled in college, you have to have been a member for 8 semesters. if you stop coming to chapter and/or stop paying your dues or just resign, you will lose your membership.

RE: not paying dues/attending chapter/etc. Seems to me that many chapters have automatic billing/payment systems nowadays and members would be quickly terminated for financial reasons, if nothing else! I don't think that's any kind of "secret" information. The automated billing system has eliminated the stress and expense of pursuing members who have financial obligations to the fraternity. You pay your bill - you remain in good standing. You don't - oh well, too bad, so sad.

Sorry to offend the n00b, but I was being funny and flip. The fact of the matter is, if you wrote that group down on your bid card and that's who you got a bid from, you are bound to them for a year...so yes, not taking it at that point is stupid. You can't take a bid anywhere else, so you might as well give it a whirl. Go to bid day. Keep telling yourself "these girls like me. These girls chose me."

This is why I think it's so injurious to struggling chapters when they aren't allowed to cut ANYONE, no matter how bad a fit the woman may be, no matter how rude they may be, no matter how unsuitable in general they may be. Girls who the group really DOES want who may have had a question about the group see women who obviously are only there for reasons of numbers and they can't confidently say to themselves "I am here because they wanted me." The girls who could have been a positive addition quit, and the chapter continues on its downward spiral.

The concept of sisters who just drift away has pretty much been eradicated. It used to be a lot looser than it is now.

This requires the chapter to WANT to do that. You're generally talking about friends who you've known for four years and as a senior you're maybe feeling a little burnt out too, and yada yada yada.

It _can_ be done, it just isn't always done.

Regarding your statement about Theta, that's not quite accurate. I can comment on Kappa Alpha Theta. Financial inactivity is difficult to obtain and the member who is applying must complete a rigorous, thorough application process which undergoes review at several levels. It is typically granted for a semester if the member qualifies; it may be extended up to a year under extraordinary circumstances.

As for attending events, the inactive member may attend as a guest only upon unanimous vote of the chapter. There is no option for paying a fee to attend events. An inactive member is just that - inactive. Think of the financial and membership implications if members decided to go inactive and just "pay as you go" for various social events. Oh yeah, sure...

Hey Drole, empty out your PM box, will you? :p

Thank you for the clarification about Theta. Some of the information that I have about a less rigorous interpretation of the policy or a "well so-and-so does it"....

Done ;)

lane swerve/

I like this. :)

I imagine that would be terrible. I loosely compare it to nonfinancial Deltas who just show up to events. Delta is for life for those who don't "officially depledge" but we want Sorors to be financial and active before coming to most collegiate and alumnae events (whether the events are free or cost). Rededication is also about that link between being a Soror and being a Member.

/lane swerve

You're welcome; having an automated billing system is taking a lot of "wiggle room" out of policy interpretation. As I am reminded, the members know the rules and if they choose to break them or not enforce them, there are natural consequences.

And - DrPhil you come swerve anytime, okay? You picked up what I was setting down :D

Assuming you are speaking about me, I can assure you I am not offended. I was just wondering about the conflicting advice I've seen here, where some people would be told they are just seeking letters and others would be told it's wrong to not accept a bid, yet at the same time, suiciding is not generally recommended. I do understand what you mean about at the point the girl has received the bid, she's better off just accepting it since she's bound to that organization for a year. I was just wondering what would be preferrable if she really knew she didn't want that org...and I guess the answer is not listing them on her bid card even if that means suiciding. I think it's all a fine line.

I don't even have a dog in this fight. :-) I'm years and years out of recuitment myself and my only daughter has not yet even begun kindergarten. I was just reading and got curious.

That situation is not unique to small or middle-sized campuses, chapters, or greek systems. There are, have been and always will be "mystery members" that continue to pay their dues but who mysteriously always have required classes that conflict with Monday night meetings and a laundry list of sometimes valid and sometimes suspect "excuses" why they are MIA.

Generally as long as they keep paying their dues they dodge disciplinary action...when they stop paying their dues AND they are MIA it usually just gets handled quietly. It's far easier to get away with being an MIA member in a very large chapter than in a smaller to medium size chapter- it takes longer for people to notice that Sarah and Emily haven't been around when you are focused on getting to know your 60-70 or more new members!

I've seen some amazing things done by chapters and the advisory teams to help sisters who experience real unexpected financial hardships during their collegiate years. Sadly, not every member that stops paying their dues or goes MIA really have true financial emergencies or drastic changes in their financial resources...often, there's something else like having your own apartment, a new car, a trip to Europe, a time consuming major or a job that causes members to drift. That's life.

Collegians, I find, have very little interest in or time available to address their sisters financial issues and it's just easier to recruit new members than try to get someone who has lost interest to come back around. Downside of a very large chapter is you are not going to be BFFs with 200+ sorority sisters, but the upside is you won't have as much pressure put on you as an individual to be at every event on the chapter's calendar.

As far as formals are concerned, it depends if the cost of the formal is included in the cost of dues. For many chapters, it is not. Not everyone attends the formal...it's a rather big expense to be automatically billed for. In that case, I don't see any problem with special status or inactive sisters attending it, as they pay for tickets like everyone else.

Is it really common that members who are dropped this way can simply be replaced? Aren't most chapters above total a little bit most of the time so that they can't just COB when they lose a few members?

I tend to think that this kind of attrition is what explains the size difference among groups that make quota at schools where most chapters are above total.

I also think that some chapters that end up with more members from "social prominent" families are less likely to have members willing to say to the chapter that they can't afford their dues. So while all chapters may have MIA members, some chapters have a higher ratio of MIA members who are still paying dues and remaining on roll.

No.

No. Also, if you're above total, you can't COB.

Sisters who pay their dues and don't do anything are fine for a large chapter, but if you're under 75 or so, having everyone be OK financially and only half the people actually showing up to stuff is going to screw you.