ADVICE TO DIVINE 9 INTERESTED PERSONS
 

:D I am NOT greek. I am NOT a greek posing as a non greek to help you. I am an interestee who is attempting to help other interestees be intelligent in their pursuit of Greek life specific to the "Divine Nine". This is my first and only post that I will put on here to help stop the ignorance on here by mis or uninformed interestees... I have a list of things that if you follow will aid you in not sounding stupid on here or at your campus. I have had the great fortune of talking to others who are at the point I now am trying to get to (They are already Greek), and have compiled this list of insightful help aids. Please reccommend this thread to anyone who my be as you Greeks call a "troll", outsider, interestee, wannabe...

1). Before saying anything to anyone at all, visit everyones website first (National Sites). (Even the Sororities). Read everything that they have open for an outsider to visit. It is there for a reason and will definately come up at some point. The web site also will give you a chance to feel each group out. Everything from the color scheme to the links give insight into the group.

2). Look on youtube also. Look at the strolls, step routines, parties, probate shows etc.. Even listen to the backgroud conversations. This is an excellent tool to feel them out on a personal secondary level. You can see them in action.

3). Check facebook accounts on your schools network. Some pages you can view without having to add as friends. You can join groups and some even have pictures to view. This helps you to know see their faces.

4). After all this is done then either in a discreet facebook message or in person at an event, approach one in a respectful manner (try not to do so when they are in a group). Most will have a NPHC week of events you can go to and see them all. There is usually a panel discussion during that time.

5.) Be discreet in all that you do. Don't let your enthusiam be your demise. Don't say you want to join. Say you are interested. Once that is established....Keep everything else to yourself. PERIOD!

6). Everything you say and do is looked at. You may think they are not paying us any attention but they are.

7). Be ready for anything and everything. You don't want to be caught sleeping. That is to say first off have the grades in place already. I learned this the hard way. A 2.49 IS NOT A 2.5 . ITS ONLY A "C" AVERAGE SO MAKE IT HAPPEN. 12 CREDITS IS FULL TIME NOT 9, 10, OR 11. STOP WORRYING ABOUT MONEY, IF ITS IS MEANT IT WILL COME TOGETHER AND YOU WILL HAVE THE MEANS SERIOUSLY. DON'T NAME DROP IF YOU ARE NOT REALLY COOL WITH THAT PERSON. DON'T ADMIT TO A RELATIVE BEING A MEMBER WHO IS INACTIVE. DON'T SAY IT IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT.

8). MOST IMPORTANTLY...DON'T LIE. THEY WILL FIND OUT. IF YOU WERE INTERESTED IN SOMETHING ELSE AT FIRST BE TRUTHFUL BE HONEST AND BE YOURSELF. THEY WERE WHERE WE ARE TRYING TO GET TO SO YOU ARE NOT UNIQUE TO WHATEVER YOUR REASON FOR WANTING TO JOIN.

:D:cool::mad:SiNcErEly:mad::(:)RETRO May we meet on teh other side

I wouldn't send an NPHC member a facebook message to express interest.

My advice is to be a FRIEND first and the rest will fall into place.

I don't think he meany fb friend.... he meant like ACTUAL friend.

Like, where you talk, and hang out, and do stuff together.

no prob! Good luck.

I agree with 99% of what you said, except for that part. You should not commit yourself to an organization (NIC, NPC, or NPHC) if you cannot fulfill the financial obligations.

I think this person's advice is for aspirants. It sounds like he's saying "if it's meant to be, the money will come up eventually" and not "become a member but stop paying afterwards."

But you shouldn't try to be a member if you don't understand that it is a lifetime commitment and initiation dues are not enough.

Maybe I missed it, but where do you get the authority to give advice?

I wasn't insinuating that all. On the contrary, anyone wishing to join a GLO should be upfront about their financial situation. Every group requires dues and incindentals in order to be a member. It's foolish and irresponsible for anyone to advise a rushee/potential new member/etc. that the necessary money will just show up out of thin air if it's meant to be.

The money won't necessarily show up "out of thin air," but if this is something an aspirant really wants, s/he will make it happen. When it's time, the money should be there.

I see what you're saying though.

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant, thanks!

What I am saying is that if the first few steps are seriously followed an aspirant will find out that there is a financial obligation before during and after like any other worth while not for profit organization. I have looked at 'ALL' of the Divine 9 sites and the information is there. .SERIOUSLY IT IS. Whatever is open to the public was put there for that reason so US INTERESTED PERSONS can know it. There is even price amounts, interested persons forms, bylaws, etc. I stress again THOROUGHLY SEARCH THE SITE BECAUSE IT IS THERE AND WAS PLACED THERE FOR US. The point is for one to seriously look as if they are serious. As far as the money I was just saying that worrying about it won't materialize it. 'If' you are serious about your decision you will get the money. We get it for all types of frivolous things so when it is important we can do the same. Thats all I am saying. Sometimes fear makes us over analyse things, as interestees and it's ok I think. I dont feel anyone on here means disrespect and I certainly do not mean to imply that even doing these things will guarantee because nothing is guaranteed, but we can at least do our part to make us as desirable as possible without becomming something that we aren't. These are all tips for aspirants. Please keep posting.

To be honest, while not being an expert, Retro has a point.

Good luck, Retro!

Let us know how everything goes when you're finished.

Thanks for all of the comments. I hope this helps other like minded interestees. I shall remain silent from now on. Please feel free to post as you will. Thanks to EVERY Greek whomever you may be that with patience added their comments and allow us "wanna bee's" to express ourselves intelligently and to possibly gleen from you.


:pSilent until I am the same:)

aaww, I enjoyed your post. You don't have to remain silent!

I beg your pardon, but I do not understand why one must have "authority" to give advice to others? Advice should be given out of the goodness of one's heart, and should not be limited to those with any form of authorative power.

With that being said, Retro, I would like to thank you for your kind words of encouragement and your advice. I'm almost sure a good bundle of lurkers on GC are experiencing the same thing and it is nice to get some feedback from someone going through a relatable situation as opposed to the "I'm Greek, you're not, so please get out my face/don't type to me" attitude lingering on this messageboard.

Okay, I meant to say "how do you have the authority to give good advice"

lol, okay now that's different.

Yet and still, something that Retro has typed may have benefitted somebody in some way, be it something we should heed to or something that we may read and think "okay, now i KNOW not to do that."

There's alot of stuff that I have learned as well through this process, and some of it might not do anyone else justice. I have also received "advice/pointers/tips" from Greeks that had me worse off than before, so I don't think it has anything to do with "authority" either.

Such as?

i wont mention anything too specific, but quite a few Greeks told me to "talk to so and so first, and make sure u mention this and that".

and after i verify this with someone else or actually follow the advice given only to be told that was NOT proper protocol, I went back to the aforementioned greeks and they were like "oh yea, my fault. such and such chapter is different and blah blah".

Maybe because their chapter IS different?

^^^ yea...

Going back to my original point, giving "good" advice has nothing to do with whether or not someone has authority. Elephant walk made it seem like since Retro has no Greek affiliation, he (or she) may not have the authority to give good advice, and I was just stating that I know people who are Greek who gave me advice that in the end, did not benefit me.

it wasnt bad advice, and i still thanked them for it, but it just didnt help me and now i know it's because all chapters are different in regards to that matter.

Why would you look at their strolls, probates, and step shows to get an idea about whether you want to join that organization?
Also, if you can't make up your mind, don't go to any functions. At my school if you got "caught" going to other functions, it was a wrap. You could forget it. The greeks were not very forgiving when it came to that kind of thing.
At any rate, while it's nice to give advice, people should always remember that it is different on each campus. Still, I think across the board it is a bad idea to send someone a message on Facebook expressing your interest.

To see if their public persona is something you want to be associated with.

Not in the sense of OMG THEY HAVE THE TIGHEST STEPS AND STROLLS EVER but more like ewwwww they pride themselves in looking like gangsters and hoochies.

Well that kind of thing really depends on the chapter. You may have some AKA's that are doing the most hoochiefied stroll you have ever seen at one school, but at another school they are ladylike in what they do. I think it should be more focused on their national platforms than something that can involve so much variety. Remember you are in this organization for life. Pick based on that...not on something fleeting.

What's your affiliation?

I think it goes without saying that certain things depend on the chapter, which is why graduate and alumni intake is so ubiquitous in NPHC organizations. Why waste time applying for a chapter that you don't fit in with? Or worse, getting into that chapter and being associated as being a slut or a thug because that's the chapter's rep?

Even if that is the chapter's rep, if I truly have an interest in that organization I would have to find a way to make it work. I have frends who didn't like the chaPters on their campus, but because they truly loved what the organization stood for, they joined. In the process they helped to also change the rep of that chapter.

And I think it's silly to join a chapter and try to change it. There is an entire period of formal and informal indoctrination which occurs after initiation that perpetuates a chapter's identity.

Most good people I know who pledged bad chapters are either silently complicit or adopted the characteristics of the chapter.

I guess those people are pretty weak. No one I know who pledged "bad" chapters ended up being silently complicit or adopting the characteristics of that chapter. And no it's not "silly" to work at changing the rep of a chapter. And even if the rep doesn't get any better, if you carry yourself a certain way, people will realize that you aren't like that.

Sorry, but I just can't see basing a lifetime decision on ONE chapter's antics. I guess if it's that bad you should just wait and do Grad.

What organization are you a member of?

What organization are YOU a member of?

I don't mean that as harshly as it sounds. :)

Alpha Phi Alpha. Yourself?

Wow. What chapter did you pledge?

Omega Lambda Chapter. We're on the web, google us.

Still no answer, huh?

sure thing what year did you pledge?

not yet :)