Initiated, Transferring to a School with a Colony
 

So I was initiated (actually initiated, not "I think I initiated but no one will vouch for me and I don't have any proof" ;)) this past fall, and am considering transferring to a school (first school doesn't have the major I want to change to) that is just recolonizing their chapter. I would like to stay a collegiate member and be involved- is there any way for me to do this? Would I have to wait until they chartered and then they would vote on affiliating me or not? I emailed the email address they give on their facebook page as contact info a few days ago, and haven't heard a response. I will be a sophomore both year- and credit-wise.

If the answer is "we can't tell you, wait to hear back from the consultant," then that takes care of that!

I would contact the national VP of collegians (or whatever you guys call it). The address you emailed may be getting deluged with responses, and you need to make sure that they're aware of your situation (i.e. that you're already a sister).

I can't imagine a reason you would have to wait until they were chartered to get involved. If anything, I would think having an initiated sister in the colony would give the other colony members more incentive. If worst comes to worst and the colony didn't charter, you would still be an alumna.

Yeah, that's about what I was thinking. I glanced through our national constitution/bylaws and didn't see anything about it, so decided to ask. Can any Alpha Xis clue me in on who I would talk to about that? The website just lists the VPs, not what they do:

http://www.alphaxidelta.org/index.ph...&category=Main

I would also suggest calling your national HQ and ask for the direct contact info. for the sister who is in charge of the extension/colonization process. The box could be getting deluged, or it could also be the case that so few women are making contacts at this time of the year (school's already out, the PR effort has not kicked into gear yet with the general public, etc.), it's not getting checked regularly. I was involved with an extension 2 years ago, and that was the case. Things didn't really kick off until the fall.

In that situation, we had 3 members who were already students at the colonizing school, who had transferred from another campus where they'd initiated. They expressed interest, and came to events right along with the PNMs. One did affliliate with the new chapter; the others decided to stick with their alum status and one helped at events, etc. before graduating. I think that each NPC sorority might have differing policies on how this works, so I think you're on the right track with trying to make contact and find out now.

I would suggest calling or emailing HQ

Alpha Xi Delta Women's Fraternity
Telephone: 317.872.3500
Email: fhq@alphaxidelta.org

or emailing the National Membership Status Chair which can be found under contacts and national chairs.

The President of your chapter or VP membership (or whatever y'all call it) could be a valuable resource to you right now. They are likely to know what to do/who to contact.

Sent you a private message with some info

Got it, thank you!

My guess is they'll be thrilled to have you.

Maybe they will make you Chapter President!

Best of luck and have fun!

Also remember that this is a time of year that the new leadership consultants are just getting started. If I remember correctly, the ELCs are who keeps up the FB pages, so it may just not have been checked in a few days, or she may be confirming some info for you before she responds. I'm pretty certain this has happened before, so as long as you're in good standing with your initiating chapter (ie, no outstanding debt, etc) you should be fine.

Ahaha oh man I hope not! I have some growing up to do before I'm ready for that responsibility, and I'll be going from a very small greek community to a large one.

Thanks everyone for the help, I've got some good leads! :)

You will be in an interesting situation because although you will be a fully initiated member (which I think they'll be thrilled to have and may even want you to help with the colonization efforts), you will still have all of the additional work of starting a colony. It will be hard to not say "at my chapter..." all the time, but on the other hand, that knowledge will be very valuable to these girls, especially if you come from a chapter similar in size and demographic to the new one. Hopefully MaggieXi was able to set you up with a good contact. I don't know anyone involved on the East coast (if it's next year, it's pretty obvious where you're thinking of moving ;) ) but I know people who know people so you can PM me if you are still feeling like you're not getting through to the right person. Good luck with your decision and if you do decide to go through with the move, I think that will be a blog and/or Quill worthy story - colonization from a different perspective.

/eta oh, and you might be able to get your Mom AI if she's not a sorority woman already! That's a perk of Alpha Xi Delta colonies that other sororities don't offer, and pre-existing chapters don't get either.

Good luck with your colony.

The two probably won't have much in common size/demographic wise, but I'm more concerned I'll let it slip that I read so much here and they'll think I'm a crazy person! This school was my second choice, so even before I was considering transferring I'd been reading up on recruitment stories/related info about their greek system just out of interest. I'm sure I'll slip up somewhere and my internet stalking will be apparent ;) haha

You don't have to rush again. You are a true blue Alpha Xi Delta until you die. And I really can't imagine the scenario where they wouldn't take you in as an active collegiate member. Just relax and beat the bushes until you make the contact you need. Remember, sororities are run almost exclusively by volunteers. There are a few paid jobs at FHQ, but in general it's all women who have busy lives outside of the double blue and gold, and now we're going into summer. Keep at it and don't get too frustrated if others don't respond with the same amount of intensity as you feel this merits.

Oh no I know I don't have to rush again- I meant that I feel like I'm familiar with recruitment at this school from reading GC threads, and I hope no one (be it the consultants/PHA/whoever) is weirded out that I've been doing my research haha. I guess at my small school we'd be really surprised to hear someone had looked into us before arriving?

In other news, I may be staying at my first school for a semester longer, but that's a whooole 'nother story. Thank you everyone for the great advice!

I know that in my fraternity, you'd be in a *very* select group of people who would wear brother and Petitioning Group (our equivalent of colonies) pins side by side. I know that my advice to someone in your position is to *not* let the colony push you into becoming president of the colony, but perhaps to be willing take a more minor office (treasurer or a membership position (the pre-pledgemistress?)). I'd also suggest talking with whoever Alpha Xi Delta has that is running the extension effort before you talk to the members of the colony.

Second the responses about pushing away top official positions. It helps the colonizing chapter with their own sense of identity. Plus, the fact that you're initiated while others aren't means that others will still come to you for advice; that's where you'll really shine and be able to have the most useful influence.

It's not weird to do research at all. I've seen that most people in Greek Life have very little contact with their (inter)national headquarters / alumni group. It's usually only the exec-board officers, and only because they are obligated to. This is a great opportunity for you to get acquainted with what happens upstream.

excelblue is right. I would guess the vast majority of collegiates really don't have any idea what is involved with the sorority at the national level, what it means to be a sister in a different chapter, how things are the same and different, who the national officers are, etc. Those who attend conventions and leadership training hopefully get a clearer picture of that, but that's usually not more than a handful of girls per chapter every year.

I do think it's very smart for the OP to be contacting headquarters/the extension team, because I do know that in the case of the extension I was involved with, the members who had transferred from other chapters were not automatically offered affiliated status in the new colony. They had already gone "alum" when they transferred away from their original school, so it was up to the extension team to invite them to affiliate with the colony. Of course they were still Gamma Phis and always will be, but affiliating with another chapter does require good standing with the original chapter (as someone else mentioned) and the approval of the new chapter or, in this case, approval of the extension team. Other NPC groups may be different, but it's wise to check on this procedure ahead of time.

I transferred and affiliated back in the day myself...I arranged this the spring before and moved right into the house at my new campus the next fall. I didn't know anyone, but they made me feel right at home from the first day. I loved both chapters, and my new chapter surprised me with my affiliation ceremony later in the fall. That's one of my fondest memories, and I still have the card that everyone signed and wrote little notes on. The next year I went to Convention the first time with two other sisters from my new chapter. The year after that, my new and old schools were playing each other in football, and several of us took a road trip and stayed at my former chapter house. I'm still in touch with women from both chapters. Best of luck to the OP!

Not to be a Debbie Downer - but some groups do not allow transfer students to affliate with a colony or new chapter. I guess they dont want someone to pledge at one school expecting to transfer to a bigger school?

There are NO groups that prohibit all member transfers. Some groups require the member to be accepted by the new chapter, but that is completely different than "some groups do not allow members to affiliate with a colony or new chapter. I guess they don't want someone to pledge at one school expecting to transfer to a bigger school?" BTW, Debbie Downer, a member of her organization has already chimed in...doesn't seem like Alpha Xi has a big problem with members transferring from one school to another as long as they are in good standing.

I also wouldn't assume that these rules, when they exist, are always to prevent someone from joining at less competitive/smaller school and then transferring to a larger/more competitive recruitment school. In my case, the schools were both flagship state universities, but my original chapter was "stronger" on campus than the chapter I transferred to. At my new chapter, we had another affiliate who transferred in and her original chapter was very strong on campus. And, she was always reminding us of this. This did not win people over.

This isn't true at all. Please stop speaking for other groups when you haven't a clue.

Some chapters of sororities make it a policy to not affiliate transfer students due to their individual situations at their specific campuses.

And some (IMO progressive) GLOs will let anyone affiliate anywhere at any time (provided that they are members in good standing and meet academic requirements, for example).

After all, if you are an initiated member of your fraternity/sorority, you've already gone through one membership selection process, and you shouldn't ever have to go through another, correct?

*sits back and waits for it...*

I like it in theory, but sometimes in practice things can end up messy and tear a chapter apart.

I'm not talking about the superficial situations where "Nancy Nu is way too fat and ugly to be one of us." More of the situations where Sally Sigma had to leave her previous school primarily because of behavioral and reputation issues and continues right down that path at the new school.

Also, there really are chapters in the south where dozens of women would continue to come in through the back door via a "lesser" chapter were there not these rules in place. Those kinds of deliberate transfers can have a horrible effect on the originating chapter, both numbers and morale wise.

I agree.

There's a theory that you can't affiliate with a chapter that doesn't exist, and a colony is not a chapter.
Unless, of course, you've got language in your regulations and policies that allow affiliation with a colony.

Another reason why transfers should not rush to affiliate. Hold off a semester...visit the chapter, get friendly. If it's a match, then affiliate (assuming the feeling is mutual, of course). If not, don't affiliate and keep your membership. Because if you do affiliate, and are unhappy, your only recourse is to resign from the sorority.

I could not agree more with this, AnchorAlumna! Know of a situation where a member affiliated and hated the chapter. She was on the hook for dues for 2+ years.

Yours is (IMO) the smart solution to what Greek_or_Geek described. I'll add this: for those members with behavioral/risk issues (and yes, I've seen those), holding off a semester allows the potential affiliate to demonstrate that (a) she's turned over a new leaf or (b) she's still the same old, same old and the chapter is prepared to deal with that from the get-go.

I have stories, stories, stories that can never ever see the light of day...and I bet the rest of you do as well.

Was expecting to get flamed; everyone must be out enjoying their Saturday.

Don't tell me I don't have a clue - I wouldn't have said SOME groups do not allow it if I didn't have an example in mind.

I also never said I spoke for AZD - this could be also read by both later transfers and may apply differently at a small school than a big one
The advice to ASK somebody in charge was good.

Oh wise one, please do enlighten us with the information on which NPC groups do not allow transfer students to affiliate with a colony or new chapter.

And if I may, if you're going to speak about my sorority, please use the correct letters. It's A Xi D or Alpha Xi or Alpha Xi Delta. There is no z within any of the 3 Greek letters.

It's a huge peeve of mine.

And back to the discussion at hand, the OP isn't sure she's transferring yet (as she said) and it doesn't sound like she's leaving under any sort of negative cloud that would interfere with her being welcomed with open arms. Although it MAY be true that she couldn't/shouldn't affiliate until after the colony turns into a chapter, she has been given the correct contact information to make sure she has her information from the source. And she's not transferring FOR the colony, it's just a nice bonus to her education. Hopefully she will let us all know what happens when the rubber hits the road.

OMGWTFBBQ. It's not even a frigging colony yet let alone a chapter. This is NOTHING like "ABC doesn't allow you to pledge at crappy chapter Podunk U and then transfer to super popular chapter at SEC U." THAT is what those kinds of rules are for.

I think all the "you're going to be president because you're already a sister!" jazz is ridiculous. It could be that the Greek system AS A WHOLE at the new school (if in fact she does transfer) is LIGHT YEARS away from her old school, and she has no desire to be part of it - even as an Alpha Xi Delta. It could be that she doesn't get along with the colony members that are chosen. It could be that the expenses will be a lot more than what she is currently paying/able to pay. Or it could be that she reconsiders and doesn't transfer at all.

This isn't just putting the cart before the horse, this is the horse's parents haven't even had sex to conceive the horse yet.

OP here- ideally, I would like to help out if they needed help with anything (and I've seen that colonies are a lotttt of work, so I would anticipate that I could do some things to lighten the load) and get to know the colony women, but after watching a friend serve as a colony president I don't think I'd be comfortable holding such pivotal positions as colony e-board. Additionally, I may be cutting it too close to the transfer deadline for fall so I maybe pushing back when I transfer, so that changes some things.

33girl, as always, you kill me. Thankfully in this case, the only person here that matters knows all this. But it is unfortunate that bad, confusing, unnecessarily negative information gets kept here for the ages. As far as helping answer the original question, it was answered with "you need to contact the ELC in charge of the expansion team." Everything else is either a thread stray (nothing wrong with that) or just kind of harsh. Maybe some NPC sororities are really restrictive about what their membership can do, but in the case of Alpha Xi Delta (and we are virtually unrepresented in the SEC) I'd say we are quite free and easy. The advice I would give is make sure you talk to an alumna, either your chapter adviser or someone at FHQ, not for approval, but to make sure you do everything right.

If this is the case, though, her first chapter should be dealing with her behavior, and if she is suspended (or even expelled) from her chapter, she is not in good standing.

Let's be honest, there is hardly ever a good reason not to let someone affiliate.

I think that's highly subjective depending on whether your experience is with a chapter in its final death throes or one that is extremely competitive and selective.

I'm just curious why?
Because an affiliation of a sister in good standing doesn't seem like a problem to me. She's an initiated sister and is there really a difference between initiated sisters from different chapters? Because this makes it sound like sisters from "chapters in its final death throes" are somehow not good enough for the "extremely competitive chapter".

Yes, there can be a HUGE difference between initiated sisters from different chapters. There are some chapters I would have never had a prayer of getting into, some chapters I would have fit right into, and some chapters I would not have wanted to be part of if I was paid (and yeah, that includes some "extremely competitive" chapters). That doesn't make them evil betrayers of sisterhood. As I touched on, sometimes the Greek system AS A WHOLE is so different from school to school you just wouldn't feel comfortable. I would never want to be in a huge SEC chapter, period, and most of the Greek alums from my school (regardless of chapter) feel the same way.

I mean, we pick women ultimately based on whether they fit into the chapter in some intangible way. Let's not pretend that just because you go through a ritual or two, that all gets swept under a rug and "OMG! You're my sister!! Love!!" Should women be given every chance and a bit of time to meet and try to fit in with the chapter, as AnchorAlumna said? Yes. Should BOTH sides realize that it may not work? Yes.

And that "death throes" comment was a little ridiculous. If anything, those chapters should be just as careful, if not more, about letting anyone affiliate.