Good, I rewrote some parts a few times just to make sure I was expressing my point clearly.
I think PenguinTrax made an excellent call for compromise earlier in the thread, something I could absolutely get behind.
I used GC when I was considering recruitment and then going through, so I can see using this website as a sort of reference, like 'what do I do if...'. But not 'how do I...?' On the other hand, you could probably use one of the other subforums to procure the information. Additionally, it's not fair of me to compare undergrad recruitment to alumni initiation. They're apples and oranges, though in the end it's all fruit salad :D

That is exactly why we don't want an AI Forum. To become an AI, a sorority should approach you of their own volition and not because of your pursuit of them. Having an AI Forum unnecessarily advertises AI to people "seeking" alumnae membership. The women who have joined through AI are welcome to share their stories with their sisters and the GC community, but an AI board isn't necessary.

I don't disagree with you on that, at all.

But, I do think that there is room for successful, career women, who may have, for whatever reason, not joined a sorority earlier in life, who would like to contribute and would like to for that particular organzation.

Texas, I guess all I am trying to say, is if the National GLO's are not up for being approached for AI, why don't they just end it there when they receive an e-mail or phone call regarding?

With me, there was a sorority in particular where I didn't know any current members, but did not pick one at random and think, "Oh that sounds good!"

That's all I am trying to say.

Well, Penguin's sticky does give very clear instructions. The only thing that I wished had stayed was the list of which sororities do AI versus ones that do not or under very specific circumstances.

I wouldn't bother contacting XYZ if they only do AI in special circumstances, but if I had previously been a pledge and couldn't complete initiation, I might.

There is. They're invited through their connection by a relative or friend. And you can contribute your time by calling up a collegiate chapter or the local arm of the philanthropy the sorority supports to offer your services at any time.

They do. But there's no need to flood our limited office staff at the HQ or our volunteer directors with unnecessary calls from people who learn about AI through GC.

I'll say it before anyone else gets to it.

The difference between undergrad recruitment and alumni initiation is that undergrad recruitment is the main mode of intake for the GLO and alumni initiation makes up a very small percentage of new sisters each year. Therefore, collegiate recruitment is a unanimous agreement and policy among all NPCs. Because AI is so individualized and circumstantial, no uninitiated person should be or needs to be privy to that information.

I am beating a dead horse when I say this, but the sorority approaches you, not the other way round. If a member thinks you're right for their org, they tell you, they start the ball rolling. That's how you come into knowledge of AI policy.
The point of removing the list is so that people don't go through the list and think 'hmmm, I'll only pursue these GLOs because it's easy.'
If they want you, they find you.

Why to KEEP the AI forum
 

I am going to make the following assumptions:

1. AI is a good thing when done properly, i.e. a woman is invited by women in a sorority to pursue membership.

2. Most women in sororities know nothing about AI.

Therefore, I think that eliminating the forum entirely eliminates a tool for raising awareness AMONG EXISTING SORORITY MEMBERS.

I support PT's suggestion to post the sticky and delete anything that sounds like sorority shopping.

But I think that is where individual members of GLO's and their HQ's policies are inconsistent. If the sororities didn't want qualified women to contact them about AI, then they would refuse to set up introductions with the local AA, but we all know that doesn't happen in all cases.

I never thought that the list of which GLO's did AI's in any way, referenced that it was an easy process. In fact, I think there was something printed specifically to tell readers to NOT make that very incorrect interpretation. I don't think the forum should be dropped b/c people can't read and follow given directions.

Let the sororities educate their members, then. GC isn't a PR tool for NPC sorority Grand Councils.

I agree.

Since each sorority handles it differently, it makes sense for each sorority to teach their own members how it works in their sororities.

But redirecting women to local alum chapters takes a lot of the filtering burden off HQ. They don't have time to field constant phone calls about AI. If they send a woman to an alum chapter, that alum chapter can intervene quickly. No officer at any HQ is going to turn around and say to any random person 'sorry we don't do AI' or 'we only Ai under these circumstances.' That's private information.
An alum chapter can step in and meet these women personally, regardless of policy.
The problem is, a lot of people cannot read directions, but with this forum it's playing with fire as the directions concern information that isn't and shouldn't be public knowledge.

One point that bothers me is the assumption being made that women interested in becoming a member of a sorority following college automatically know the proper protocol.. they often don't.

Please keep in mind-- all of you posting your concerns about this forum are involved in the Greek system. Most of you understand what is proper and what isn't as far as AI in your individual GLOs.

The premise that someone who wishes to belong to a sorority should make friends with someone else in a sorority is not always realistic. In my geographical area, sororities are virtually unknown. I have no family members who have ever been involved in the Greek system, nor do I know anyone at all (except one D9 woman who I work with, and one friend who I recently discovered is an alumna from a local) who is in a GLO. So.. who would I ask my questions of? If I lived in the south where GLOs are more common than not.. sure.. no problem. But I don't. And neither do a good portion of the population.

That's why I came to Greek Chat. After my paperwork had begun.. and had stalled.. I searched and searched and searched on the internet for some info about the process. I was absolutely delighted to find somewhere I could read about other women's experiences.

From these posts, I learned it was not uncommon for AI to take a very long time after the paperwork had been submitted. I also felt comfortable enough to PM some of the women here who wrote about their journey. They were extremely friendly and helpful... and got me in touch with people who could help.

Further, I now know of two women who had connections with their GLOs in college (one had received a bid but had to turn it down for financial reasons, the other had more vague ties). Both women learned through reading about experiences of people here, that it was a possible to reconnect with their GLO and become an initiated member.. although that possibility was remote. Both pursued it, and both are initiated members today.

If women ask naive questions on this forum.. so what? Let's try to help answer them... If they are going about it the wrong way.. what's so wrong with telling them that in a kind way? And.. if they think AI is easy, again.. what's wrong with helping them understand how difficult and rare it is? I make those comments with the caveat that we have no right to judge who is or is not "right" for AI.. it is up to the GLO's headquarters and the local alumnae group to decide.

One worry that was expressed is that the existence of this forum would "cheapen" AI by leading women to believe it's an easy process. I disagree! I think it's the opposite! I think that anyone reading this forum, and the many stories.. would see how difficult it is. There are also many PNAIs who posted their stories and were unsuccessful. And, of course. .there have been warnings by GC members to PNAIs telling them how rare it is.

And finally, I want to reiterate my point that this board is not encouraging swarms of PNAIs. In the grand scheme of things.. there have only been a handful or so in the last year!

Sure, it would be great if everyone interested in joining a sorority later in life had a crystal ball. But the fact is, they don't.

But then I have to ask...WHY A SORORITY???

I know this is another horse that's been beaten to death, but if there's not much Greek activity in a PNAI's area, why not get involved in something that IS active??

Why a sorority? Because there are alumnae chapters. Yes, mine is far away... I drive between an hour to two hours for activities.. but well worth it.