Well I don't really use the term, I was just responding to someone's comments. Now, I won't lie, I think like that at times, but I don't make a habit of claiming somebody's group isn't "real." But then I think a little differently, because I really don't see the need for a national greek community. I think its ok if everyone has their own identity, and views other GLO's as completely different.

Twas more of a general statement than a jibe at you.

/Thinking in pirate speak now

K, I'm gonna throw my two cents in, just for fun. This isn't the exact same situation, but I think it has sort of the same principle. So, at my school there were four fraternities, and four national panhellenic sororities. Then comes along Sigma Alpha - a professional sorority. And there was confusion as to what to do since we had never had a non-IFC, non-NPC GLO on campus.

So... we felt they should affiliate with someone in order to enjoy the rights and privileges that Greeks are afforded and sponsor on campus. We invited them to NPC, which didn't end up working out since they must allow in men, and we cannot, but they ended up affiliating with our President's Roundtable, which includes a representative of every Greek/Greek-related organization on campus. A drawn-up agreement exists between us and them... and now we're all happy. :)

The purpose of all this was to be inclusionary - not to try and force our system on the ladies of Sigma Alpha. We wanted them to be active, involved Greeks on campus, and it's working.

Why is there such a divide between multicultural/ethnic sororities and the more traditional sorority life? We're more alike than different, I'd say. For schools that have separate councils, is there an organization such as our President's Roundtable that your GLOs get together to at least discuss your respective organizations/situations?

I think it's pretty much to each its own. I consider a real fraternity or sorority one that has a lot of history behind it, is financially strong with a lot of members, and most importantly one that is life long, not just in college. Ya know the "Hey I used to be in a fraternity/sorority when I was in college. " That is so lame to me. Those aren't real organizations to me.

Lovely Response! I'm an alumni now and actually on the National Board, so I have a whole new perspective since beginning this thread. Unfortunately, not all Pan-hell representatives have this same attitude, and it turns out neither do all of our chapters. This puts us in a situation where Pan-hell may be willing to "absorb" one of our chapters, completely disregarding that we are a National sorority with 89 years of history, that specific chapter with over 50. This is something a Pan-hell sorority is forbidden to do to one of their own sororities. I'm incredibly not fond of Pan-hell as an organization right now.

Do you mean an NPC sorority chapter at a specific school would absorb one of your chapters?

Or do you mean there's an NPC who wants to absorb all your chapters on a national level?

Either way - NPC would only approve it or not approve it. They can't FORCE another NPC to absorb your chapters, or to not do so, or force YOU to do anything either way. However, since you aren't an NPC right now, they aren't bound to follow any of their inter-member agreements with you.

what I mean is that one of our chapters wants to disaffiliate and join and NPC sorority, but they are going through the motions and getting contacts while still being a KBG chapter. The entire sorority of KBG is continuing to be independent and the rest of the chapters are happy to be KBG. This specific chapter has gone behind Nationals backs to contact other sororities to see if they can join, and have gotten positive responses from both the Pan-hel reps and several of the sororities. They are treating the chapter like an independent local, and the rest of us are pissed about it.

To be quite blunt, it's not NPC's fault that this particular chapter is being a bunch of disloyal asshats. It could be that they are also playing the NPCs they are looking at and not telling them the whole story (i.e. saying they are already disaffiliated). If I was KBG (which I'm not, but that never stopped me from giving advice before) I would send a letter to all 26 NPCs letting them know exactly what is up and the caliber of women who would be joining their organization.

Has KBG worked toward an agreement with the NPC so that this cannot happen? I'd say that this is the only realistic way to prevent this from happening. The NPC is aware that you're a national sorority, but they aren't bound by any rules regarding the treatment of your chapters. So make some.

I'm giving this a big-ol' COSIGN.

The only thing they can do is write into their own constitution that members can't join NPC groups. NPC won't make an agreement with a non-NPC sorority. That would open the door to every regional and local out there trying to get something on paper with them. I'm not devaluing KBG in any way, just saying that they have to police their own members and not depend on NPC to do it.

The reason NPHC members can't join NPCs isn't because of the NPC, it's because of NPHC. (NPHC members, please internet smack me hard if I'm wrong.)

Yes but if they're leaving KBG anyway, they don't care what KBG bylaws state either. It's a chapter not an individual. I don't know enough about the NPC rules to say whether or not they'd make an agreement.

But the chapter's made up of initiated individuals, see? :) The only way a chapter absorption works is if BOTH parties agree to it.

We released some of our early chapters to Tri Delt and Pi Phi. The key words are WE RELEASED. From what BootyKBG says, KBG is not doing that. Any NPC that gets them will not be getting a chapter, they'll be getting a collection of women who are also disaffiliated members of another national sorority.

If they want to disaffiliate from KBG as individuals and start an interest group for a new NPC at their campus - that's one thing. But they should not be given the power to arbitrarily close the KBG chapter.

I don't know if any NPC would even take them without speaking to their National Board...and if they speak to the National Board, and find out the chapter is not released, they probably would refuse to take them.

Technically true, but they don't care if KBG has rules against it, since they'd already be breaking them. And unless KBG has an agreement with the NPC, their KBG membership does not invalidate their joining of the NPC.

It's not the same as one member leaving, because KBG doesn't want to lose their chapter. Where as a whole chapter affiliates like a local does individuals would have to rush/ form an interest group/ etc. KBG should act to disband them before this happens (if there are no other options) to prevent the chapter from being absorbed as a KBG chapter.

The difference w/ ASA and the then NPC members it that there was an agreement between the AES and the NPC. Each agreed to release the chapters it had at the others' schools, but if that ASA chapter had gone behind HQs back and approached XYZ w/o agreements in place, they could have been absorbed w/o ASA's permission.