OMG! Love the little Homer Simpson! LOL! At first I was like...Is there a new sorority or somthing? But then I read his belly!

I feel awful that you ended up wasting a year based on lies and hope. It's not like the majority didn't know...you could have been happy somewhere else that whole time. I think I would have finished just to spite them (but only join somewhere I really liked). I know that when I went through since I was a junior I was going to accept a bid. Not because I wanted any bid, but because I knew that I could enjoy many of the options that I had at my campus and I was NOT going to go through again as a senior.

I'm glad to see you are moving past Waterskiing, although this has brought a thought to mind.

NPCers often talk about finding their "home", but I wonder if this thread is proof positive that a woman's "home" can change with each year--even on the same campus. Women graduate, new women join and the whole chapter dynamic can change within only a year's time.

~I wonder what would have happened if you had stuck it out the second time~ :rolleyes:

I often wonder what the outcome would have been if I rushed again.

Oh well, I found my "home" :p

I think that at a large campus like Maryland with many chapters, there is often more than one place where a PNM could fit very well. I got my first choice, but I think I could have been very happy at any of 3 other chapters that wanted me if that's how things panned out.

For some people, there really is only one place where they belong. I agree that the dynamic might change from year to year. If your mortal enemy joins a chapter before you do, you're probably not going to want that chapter, regardless of how much you like everyone else. But, if you joined before she did, she probably won't join.

ETA: This is totally nuts. Didn't water skiing's advisor also commit a recruitment infraction your sophomore year for telling you to wait another year to pledge? Did you have a decent number of invites? I can't imagine waiting another year, since you'd been trying since freshman year. With the way things are now, every chapter does informal recruitment, so it's just a matter of waiting a semester. And I think my first instinct about KD was correct. ;)

I think things can change rapidly inside a chapter, and even if everything in chapter were the same, other factors might have changed.

Everyone always needs to remember that you can't guarantee a PNM a bid. I don't even mean because it's against the recruitment rules, which it is. I mean that there are often things beyond your control in your chapter.

I suspect that the chapter adviser didn't intend her comment about your grades to be repeated to you as a promised bid, and yet it was. And as a result, you were in one situation in the middle of rush junior year when you could have been in a much better situation during rush the year before.

I'm really sorry this happened to you, and there's a lesson in there for all of us.

wow, this is the craziest retro thread yet! i am on pins and needles wondering what happened!!!

Oh man! You dropped out of rush and waited a year for a chapter ... for nothing? I would think that even if I ended up in the perfect place I would always wonder what would have happened if I had gone through that time and presumably had more choices as an underclassman.

I think that this is a must read for new PNM's. Even though the story takes place several years ago, there are some valuable lessons that PNMs need to be aware of!

I totally agree. This is why I didn't even look at one chapter on my campus when I went through recruitment. I couldn't imagine being HER sister!

hijack:
I think it's crap that sororities cut Juniors after the first day. I honestly don't understand it. Hypothetically, a chapter that ONLY recruited juniors every year would still have members if there were 1000 juniors going through rush. It's just that membership would generally be two years, and not 3 or 4. I honestly just don't see why juniors are immediately cut from some chapters after first round, for no other reason than that they are juniors? As if they have nothing to contribute? In many campus organizations, you can be a member for 3 months and then become president, and things work out great! If someone could explain why it is a disadvantage for a chapter to take juniors I would greatly appreciate it.

/end hijack

continue hijack:
Imagine that quota is usually around 30. (And on this imaginary campus no one ever drops out and they all graduate in 4 years!) A chapter that only pledged freshmen would get 30 every year and so have 120 members after formal rush. A chapter that pledged only juniors would have 60 after rush. Of course, that's an exaggerated example. But if you have even one chapter that only takes freshman, a chapter that accepts other years has to replace those girls more quickly, and even if they're making quota they probably have to do a little COB. Then the dreadful "they're not as big, they're not as popular" virus sets in ... the horror!

I'm not saying this is fair, just that this is the logic. If you're at a less competitive campus, or chapter size varies more, year would be less of an issue.
/end hijack

Um, also, that's "recruitment" I meant to say.

Generally, a sister's involvement in day-to-day sorority life dips during her senior year. After all, seniors are working on their resume, tying up loose ends with regards to graduation, applying/interviewing for jobs, etc. Many chapters' officer boards are comprised of mostly juniors - sisters who have chapter/campus experience and (usually) more time to devote to the chapter than their senior counter-parts.

So, if a chapter takes a junior, she'll basically have a shelf-life of only that year.

If initiation is in the late fall, and chapter officers are voted on in the late fall/early spring, then any junior the chapter takes will most likely not be an officer, since the office obligations will bleed into her senior year (like, half of it).

That means that that chapter is going to have to work to replace that sister long before they should. Plus, it's an easy way to pare numbers when you don't have much else to go by.

I'm having a hard time being succinct here. And I know this isn't how it is with all chapters on all campuses. Just sharing some possibilities...

Leslie Anne,

You rock. This has been such a great thread! I'm having a hard time not going off about what you went through.

i know this is kind of late about DPhiE being very jewish,
however it was non-secretarian, not founded to be Jewish
in my chapter, im the only one..however i just was initiated in the spring and there was a senior who i took over the "token jew" spot from

Preference Night
 

Hi everyone! I'm back. :)

I have to chime in on the discussion about juniors. I like the idea of free juniors because, yes, they still have something to contribute. But like FuzzieAlum and SydneyK said, having too many juniors can present some problems.

KDs, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that holding the office of Assistant Treasurer is a pre-requisite to being Treasurer. If there were only juniors there would never be a Treasurer (or at least there would only be one for half the school year since officer installation is half way through the school year).

Since I pledged KD as a junior with at least 2 1/2 years left, I guess I'm biased and would like to see more juniors given bids.


On another topic that was brought up, I think that the advisor of Water Skiing probably told my big sis privately and my big sis decided to tell me why I was being cut. If I hadn’t had a previous history with the chapter it would have been just like any other cut when a chapter doesn’t think you have a good enough GPA to pledge. I also never felt that I was promised a bid from them at all. I always new it was a risk.

Fortunately, I’ve never wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t dropped out my sophomore year. Yes, it would have been really nice to have another year in a sorority but I don’t blame Water Skiing for it. It’s just one of those things that happen in life. Thinking about it now, I’m pretty certain that I would have ended up where I am now. I don’t always think that “you end up where you belong” but in my case I believe it’s true.




Preference Night

I don’t recall which chapters invited me back to Preference. All I know is that I went to Skiing and Tennis. From all those years, I only remember one outfit I wore during Rush and that was the one I wore to this Preference night. It was a very pale pink, ankle-length flapper style dress. I think it worked well with my short bobbed hair. I felt great in it. :)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-skiing.jpg When I walked into Skiing, Nina greeted me. She was such a warm, lovely girl. I felt very comfortable with her and with the chapter in general. I felt at ease there. They had a beautiful ceremony and I even teared up a bit. I left feeling content, which, at this point, was a very good thing.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-tennis.jpgAt Tennis, Jeanninehttp://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...y-jeannine.jpg met me at the door. I wasn’t expecting that but I was very happy. We talked for a while and then all the rushees were brought into a circle around a fountain with our rushers behind us. The chapter president spoke and then the girls sang while their candles were lit one by one by the sister next to them. Jeannine gave me a flower and whispered in my ear to take a petal, drop it into the fountain and make a wish. It was beautiful. She gave me a hug as I left the house and I nearly began to cry.

I didn’t want to get too emotionally attached again. From the beginning I had loved the graceful elegance of Tennis. Something about the chapter tugged at my heart. I knew that it was likely that I wouldn’t get a bid there though. My junior status was definitely a problem.

I signed my bid card putting Tennis first and Skiing second. It would be wonderful if I got my first choice, but I wouldn’t be unhappy with a bid to Skiing either. My only fear was that I wouldn’t receive a bid at all.



Bid Day....coming up as fast as my fingers can fly.

*sniff*
(I hope your wish is the same as mine.)

I can't wait for Bid Day!!!!!

YAY for bid day!!

I hope you use some sort of picture with that day too. :cool:

Bid Day
 

Bid Day in this thread without pictures? Perish the thought! :p


I went up to the Student Union apprehensive about what the outcome would be. I approached the table, told them my name and was handed an envelope. Yes! I got a bid. The nightmare was over! I opened the envelope and saw:















http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...Rush-KDbid.jpg


I had gotten a bid to Tennis. I was thrilled!!!!!

I’ll admit that Bid Day with Kappa Delta (it’s so nice to finally write it) was quite different from my Bid Day with Water Skiing. In fact, the two chapters had very little in common when it came to the manner in which things were done. It took a bit of getting used to but it didn't take long to love it. :)

The new KD pledges all met at the chapter house later that afternoon.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...e87/kdumcp.jpg

We were given these really cute green and white t-shirts with a logo that looked like a postage mark (with the circle and the wavy lines). Curving around the circle was, “University of Maryland” and “Pledge class 1986”. Inside the circle were the Greek letters KD and under the lines was, “First Class.” I loved that t-shirt! I wish I knew what happened to it. Anyway, after we celebrated at the chapter house we headed over to The Row for GIGIP (Gee I’m Glad I Pledged) with the rest of the sororities.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...rush-gigip.jpg

I got a wonderful big sis and made absolutely sure that I made grades and was initiated. Initiation was a wonderful experience, but it was even more important to me because I finally had a sisterhood that wouldn’t be taken away from me. I treasure that sisterhood.



Side-note: About 18 years later my beautiful Kappa Delta pin was used to initiate GC’s TroganGal, who’s been posting a bit in this thread. :)

So that’s my story. Thank you all for sticking with a very long tale and for your wonderful comments. I’m guessing that you’d like to know which sororities are which? I have an appointment this afternoon but as soon as I’m back I’ll post it. :D

Do you mean, your badge was used to initiate Trogangal?

I know some sororities have little sisters keep and wear the big sisters badge until hers comes in. I personally don't know if I could part with either one of my badges.

We are supposed to give our SAI badges back to headquaters when we die, but I really don't know how I feel about that........

Either way, YaY for Leslie and Kappa Delta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I kept SAI bid card too. (Phi Sig does bidding a different way) I got it framed, so the card is in the middle with a red matte border and then beyond that is a white matte border. It's beautiful!

I have since sent of my SAI membership certificate and my Phi Sig shingle. I've been waiting anxiously to get them back!

I'm just gonna throw out a guess that Waterskiing is Pi Beta Phi....

YAY Tennis/KD!

Thanks for a great story, Leslie Anne! I smiled when I saw the picture of your pledge class in the post...I'm the same age as you and fondly remember those captioned pictures from my college days (up until recently I know I had one of me and my now-husband at a formal from 1986).

Can't wait to hear "who's who" later!

Wow, that a great story in the end. I'm glad you ended up where you wanted even though it took three long years to get there. Can't wait to find out who is who!

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]One of the fraternities at my old campus, one of the re-founding fathers did this for his little, and wound up taking his littles pin when it came in...now they pass along the founding fathers badge to their little and just take their littles badge, so the newest member of the family has the pin from the founding father. As much as I think that's an awesome tradition, I don't know if I could ever bear to part with my badge like that

Uh, yeah. I have made it very clear that I intend on being burried with my badge. There is a part of me that just can't part with it. Ya know, it's my badge....I was initiated with that badge. I wear that badge and am proud of that badge and I just feel like, "Nope, sorry, you can' t have it back. I don't care how dead I am, it's mine."

Now, unless, I have a daughter or niece that join SAI--maybe I could pass it down to her.....:rolleyes:

Game, Set, Match!

Yeah, it's really sad that because of all the stereo types and ideas out there working against greeks--even if someone has met a successful, happy greek member she may still refuse.

On some campuses there is a large stigma associated with being greek.

Clearly Tennis is Kappa Delta! What an awesome roller coaster of a story! Best retro (or current) recruitment thread ever!

Yep! In KD you get initiated with your big sister’s badge and return it when you get your own. TroganGal was an AI so she didn’t have a big sister. I kind of adopted her. :) That’s one of the great things about GLOs; that bond between people half way across the country that you’ve never even met.

I was going to write the same exact thing!



Quick wrap-up:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ory-laurel.jpg “Laura Ashley Laurel”, the first person I met at Maryland at Freshman Orientation is a Kappa Delta.

Just as SECdomination guessed, the girl on the shuttle who said, “Hi Lady” was indeed a “KD Lady.” Depending on your perspective it was either an odd coincidence or fate. Your call.


Regarding some of the women in my story who are not KDs:


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ory-angela.jpg“Angela” my Water Skiing big sis and I remained close friends for the next 15 years. She would on occasion introduce me to people as her sorority sister. :p


After 17 years, http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...story-gail.jpg“Goofy Gail” sent me an email out of the blue just a few months ago. I’m thrilled to be back in touch with her. She’s a wonderful friend.


My friend http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...story-iris.jpgIris and I are still best friends. This fall it will be 34 years!




Now for the reveal:


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...-football2.jpgFootball = extraordinarily energetic Alpha Chi Omega
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh-cycling.jpgCycling = very sweet Alpha Delta Pi
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-diving.jpgDiving = graceful and lovely Alpha Gamma Delta
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...-aerobics3.pngAerobics = super energetic Alpha Epsilon Phi

(only 10 graphics per post) to be continued....

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ceskating3.jpgIce Skating = smiley Alpha Omicron Pi
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...h-croquet3.jpgCroquet = beautiful Alpha Phi
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh-fishing.jpgFishing = gentle Alpha Xi Delta
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../rush-golf.jpgGolf = lovely be-pearled Delta Delta Delta
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...terskiing2.jpgWater Skiing = FANTASTIC Delta Gamma!
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh-hockey2.jpgHockey = enthusiastic Delta Phi Epsilon
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...h-bowling2.jpgBowling = friendly Gamma Phi Beta
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sunbathing.jpgSunbathing = super bubbly Kappa Alpha Theta
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-tennis.jpg Tennis = Home Sweet Home Kappa Delta!!!!! :)


to be continued yet again.....

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../rush-polo.jpgPolo = very elite Kappa Kappa Gamma
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ardriving2.pngRacecar Driving = "dangerously" wonderful Phi Sigma Sigma
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh-surfing.jpgSurfing = what I now know as fantastic Pi Beta Phi
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh-soccer2.jpgSoccer = warm and funny Sigma Delta Tau
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-skiing.jpgSkiing = fabulous Sigma Kappa



http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...e87/TheEnd.jpg

Wow... I was at work all day and look what I missed! The all-time best twist of a retro-recruitment thread ever. Good job Leslie Anne and congrats on *finally* finding your home in KD!

Great reveal! I had to chuckle about Polo -- they were also considered the most elite house at Duke when I was there (and may very well still be).

Now I'm going to go back through your story and see where all of your friends pledged!

Great thread Leslie Anne! I was very entertained, and pleased that you found your home in KD!

thank you so much for sharing your journey with us.

Such a great thread ;) Thank you for sharing it with us!!!!:)

"Retro on the Rocks with a Twist"?!?!?!?!??!?!

My dear Leslie Anne, that was a veritable rollercoaster of a recruitment ride! And such a happy ending for everyone! Thank you, thank you for sharing your tale, especially in such a lovely way - the graphics just served to highlight your storytelling capabilities! Easily the best of the Retro Threads!!

Great Story, Great Graphics! I'm so glad you finally found your "home"! It was quite a ride and I'm guessing you treasure your membership just that much more because of all you went through to get there.

This was a wonderful thread. I've loved all of the retro recruitment threads; they've been fantastic, and you took them to new heights!

I'm sorry I misunderstood about the bid promising. I think I thought you were told to wait a year in a conditional kind of way. I apologize.

I loved everything about the thread, and I admire your resilience through the whole process. And your positive and forgiving feelings about groups even after experiencing some challenges are really inspirational.