I don't think they would shoot themselves in the foot by asking for recs if they knew they were going to be impossible to get. I'm sure they know what they're doing and there's a reason for it.

And just my speculation but...I'm guessing if it got around "OMG! Did you know Alpha Phi didn't ask for recs AT ALL?" it would reflect negatively on them, given the importance recs play for all the other chapters.

There may be a bit of a missed perception as to why/when recs are necessary. While requesting recs is a part of preparing to go through formal recruitment on most campuses, a requirement for a rec prior to extending a bit is a part of most nationals. So, in a case where the national requires a rec, if a house is interested in a girl for whom they do not have a rec it is the house's job to track one down. During formal recruitment, girls can certainly progress in the early rounds without a rec, but if a rec is required they certainly cannot pref without one. I can't imagine the task it would be for Alpha Phi to have to search for recs for their entire pledge class. Far better to ask that each young woman being considered to shoulder that responsibility, as most of the girls going through formal recruitment did. I think it is a very sensible way for Alpha Phi to do this.

Exactly!!
Why not? We did it when we colonized at Auburn a few years ago. If you have a network of alumnae set up across the state, it's not that difficult. No, you won't find an alum to sponsor every PNM, but it's certainly possible to get to 85 or 90%.

Holy passive aggressive, Batman.

Congrats on having that system in place. Alpha Phi probably does, too. That said, the recs the girls can provide from alums who know them are still the most accurate. It certainly doesn't mean that a third-party rec wouldn't suffice, but asking the girls to seek a rec from someone they do know sounds to me like an excellent first step. Then, networking (to get the rest of them)like y'all did would absolutely be the next step. Does that make sense?

Yes. That's usually how it works.

Yes, of course it makes sense. I just wonder how the PNMs...the Alabama ones, at least...are going to find an Alpha Phi in the state when the only chapter in the state shut down 40 years ago. Their youngest alumnae from that chapter would be in their very late 50s now...and in their era, big chapters meant 85 to 100 members. And Alpha Phi at that point did not have a big chapter. And there are very few chapters in the region.
I'm sure Alpha Phi will have a way to do this, but it seems like a huge burden to place on the PNMs.
I do wish Alpha Phi every success, though!:D They have a beautiful Web site and seem to be doing a wonderful job preparing the way.

As a Bama native, I can attest that I did not meet (or at least identify) an Alpha Phi till I was in grad school in NY.

Well I can attest that I didn't meet members of a LOT of GLO's until LONG after school so your point would be completely irrelevant.

Indeed. I never met a Delta Gamma until law school but I was still pretty sure there were some out there. :rolleyes:

I think Alpha Phi knows what they are doing - they seem to have a very strong expansion team and have gone onto quite a few "competitive" campuses lately and been very successful. It looks like what they have set up at Bama will work quite well for them. They seem to understand the Greek system there quite well.

What's funny is that I had a few high school teachers who were Alpha Phi's from LSU when they had a chapter there. So I think they do have lots of alumnae in the South, or at least they did at my high school in New Orleans! I agree with GeekyPenguin, Alpha Phi knows what they are doing. :)

Exactly! El Paso has many Alpha Phi alumnae and we've never had a chapter close. The closest chapter is in Lubbock (yet as far as I know, none of the alumnae members are from the Tech chapter). So just because there isn't an Alpha Phi chapter close by doesn't mean there aren't alumnae.

I know that Alpha Phi knows what they are doing, and I seriously doubt they are going to say "you don't have a rec? Sorry, you're SOL."

Maybe you can leave it up to the A-Phis to deal with the issues of expansion at Bama, and you can be concerned with what the DG chapter at Bama does.

I think putting out there that recs are required has quite a bit of genius.

The names given to the colonization team will have been vetted by members, no need to waste time interviewing women who may not be what they are looking for. There are many students at Bama who are from other states where APhis may have more alumnae as well. There may be a woman from Kamloops who was uninterested or unaware of the Greek system at Bama and didn't go through, and therefore she may receive a rec from Viper Tongue who used to babysit her and become an amazing founding sister.

I find it absolutely fabulous that it asks girls to supply their own recs.

Why NOT ask girls to do a little leg work? You assume that women are too stupid to find their own recs. Just because you had to spoon feed your colony their recs doesn't mean every group of girls needs that same assistance. Perhaps APhi's standards are just higher than some.

And, kudos to the girls that take the initiative to supply themselves with the tools to succeed. Those are the kind of women I would want. The ones who sit back and feel sorry for themselves and don't try -- to hell with them.