A "Nu" Story
 

I think this is your best story to date! So happy for you :)

Your video is private.

My daughter might be part of the Pack next year, ahhh. Looking forward to hearing your story.

Sorry. Just fixed that. :-)

madoug, perhaps! Of course, being biased: perhaps "yes!"

The video is really cute!

Thanks. :-)

Hey, sister, what is the video under, it is not working for me...

Touching video -- and a great story. So glad you found your sisterhood, and looking forward to its continued story...

After a few weeks of concentrated promotion: Lots of flyers and postcards all over campus, after being stamped by the Campus Scheduling office.....talking to other Greeks and asking them if they knew any women who was interested in going Greek and might be interested in what Beta Sigma Phi had to offer and talking to individual women everywhere we went on campus.

The informational was scheduled for early February.....We set up an informational table with Beta Sigma Phi information sheets, and name tags, bagels and schmear, coffee and tea (hot and iced) .

One PNM came. She and I talked a while and said that she'd come to the final rush party.


We were able to Table in front of the student union, which attracted lots of interest. We used the time to talk to PNMs and Greeks on campus about our national charitable drives and intended chapter philanthropy initiatives. We met over 100 interested PNMs, and filled two pages full of names and took applications of those who were interested in being considered for our charter class.

Later that day, six came to the Zumba social that was planned. It went well. My personal favorite memory is from our Zumba Rush event.....it was a very bonding experience, especially because about half our group had done it before....but the other half had not. It was fun, we were tired.....but we left feeling extremely accomplished and talking like crazy. Our President to be took my hand as we were headed to the locker rooms and whispered in my ear " I think that we are all going to be very close. I can't wait for bid day! "
The knowledge that we would soon be sisters, for the rest of our lives....joined to the chain of BSPhi sisters....and especially the original "Nevada Nu" chapter not only by our sisterhood, but also by our name made we want to cry.

On Tuesday, the last day of rush: two came for a philanthropy project. Crafting With Heart: Basically, it's preference + philanthropy day rolled into one night. Specific to this FV. We showed the three recruitment videos that we created, each of the core group of the FV stood up to speak about why they are choosing Beta Sigma Phi, and made cards for one of our chapter philanthropies and served dessert.

We issued 33 bids for membership. That started the waiting game. How many would accept their bids? We didn't know.

To be continued....

This is like the flip-side to a rush story. Usually we hear from the PNM's side. But with this story, we are hearing from the chapter's side (or soon to be chapter). How neat! :)

So proud :)

33 bids....and almost no takers.
 

That's what happened.

So, we issued bids....and invited them to Bid Day Celebrations.
In the meantime.....I went to work on putting together bags for my three littles: Hannah, Grace and Laura.
The theme: Spoil them rotten!
Among the bags were the four charm bracelets that I posted photos of in the Bid Day thread.

The day came....and I was nervous. Hannah, in her boundless wisdom said "We will have exactly enough to charter." Grace, said to me
"Hannah is always right. When she says something will happen, it does." I had a terrible feeling that we wouldn't have enough....and everything would be for naught.
Laura for her part, was extremely excited.

9:30am....the only girls standing in Honor Court were the four of us.

So....using a bid day ritual that I composed for use by our chapter, the three who had thrown their hat into the ring, and refused to let me stand as the only Beta Sigma Phi on campus..... pledged to continue toward their initiation, and became my sisters.
For some reason....this fit. It was sort of reenacting our own story.....of course, I can't disclose what happened during bid day ritual.....but can say that I came close to crying in joy, and only my sisters' words kept those tears from running over.
Oh happy, delirious day!

The next day.....surprise awaiting.....

My birthday was the day after bid day. I had a huge party planned with two separate venues (dessert at one, dancing until late at the other) and expected many guests. After some thought, I decided to reach out to Sophie. I'd been friends
with her in the past, but we had a huge falling out shortly before I began classes at the University. She was a newlywed, and she, her husband and I had been friends for several years before the falling out. I wanted to extend the olive branch and reconnect,
so I sent the following email:

Hi,
Just wanted to invite you guys to my birthday bash on Thursday. 8:30pm at XYZ, 10:30pm at ABC. Your presence would be both welcome and appreciated.

Sorry for the short notice,

Mimi


So, the parties began. There was an excellent turnout....and at the second venue, I recieved a text: It was from Sophie. She and her husband were enroute!
Needless to say, after the party and a long heart-to-heart....we put the past behind us and became friends again. That was one of the best birthday presents I've ever recieved.

Over breakfast, she asked me about what I was up to these days, and I mentioned Beta Sig to her when listing what occupied my spare time. She interrupted my stream of chatter with:

"Beta Sigma Phi? What is that?" she asked
"A community sorority", I replied.
Her eyes lit up.

"Mimi, can I join too? "

We had our #5. (After the sisters got to vet her a bit....okay, a lot!)

In retrospect....she is very similar to the rest of us. Similar sense of humor, warmth, and values. She's a good fit for us. Also along the "friends first....sisters later" trend that seems to be developing.



#6? Number 6? Who's Number 6??

Of the 33 bids we issued....three women got back to us after bid day. Two of them are interested in rushing with us next semester. The last of the three, yearned to pledge now and we all liked her a lot....but her schedule was so ridiculously packed that she could barely spare a moment.

We made a deal with her that she could be part of our charter class, but that we would not expect anything more than to attend chapter meetings, until the end of the semester when her schedule lessened considerably. This suited her fine.

One more....just one more?

We only had six.....we really, really needed seven to go forward. The next week was a picture in chaos. We contacted the 30 women who we extended bids to via email, expressing our interest in them and a hope that they would consider joining with us.

Cue: Crickets.

As a group, we determined that if we didn't hear from the thirty by Friday at noon, their bids would be null and void, and that we were going to hold off on FVing....

To be continued......

I love that you reconnected with your friend, and Beta Sigma Phi will continue to bring you together.

Oh Mimi, you're making me wait! I wish I could 100% remember my college chapter forming, but it went a bit like this in a way. We made a list of women we thought would be good sisters and invited them to meet us. I think the story is WAYYYY back in the BSP forum!

SEVEN, SEVEN, SEVEN! You can do it! Then you will keep adding! We (VA KPi just hit 10 and you will too!)

Wednesday passed, and my worry hit fever pitch. The next day...I woke up to a Facebook message from Sophie.

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Michelle wants into the sorority too :-). Is that possible?

End of the story. Nevada Nu was rising into a new dawn...in a new century. Six months of craziness into calm and accomplishment.

Between classes this morning, I ran upstairs to the University Archives and asked to see the first Nevada Nu scrapbook. When it was placed on the table, I carefully opened the front cover, and smiled.......


*~* All's Well That Ends Well *~*

??? I'm confused about your number? Is there more to your story? Because you said this in an earlier post?

We had 28 bids go out...which was supplemented by a few bids that were issued after bid day.

In the end, the majority of those women who accepted bids chose to not go through with pledging. So, while we were happily expecting a huge charter pledge class....things didn't turn out as we hoped.

I am confused, too. I thought you said that there was a deadline to accept the bid(s)?

You also keep speaking of the "end". . Do bids = initiation, and if so, then what? I don't know much about the organization, but is membership as easy as "anyone" who will sign up?

As a member of Gamma Sigma Sigma - a national service sorority - I understand small chapters and a non-exclusionary rush policy, but that didn't mean that everyone who "signed up" for rush was offered a bid, and not everyone who received a bid ended up being initiated. I know that "numbers" are important, but it's also important to make sure that people are committed, and that it wasn't just a matter of signing the dotted line and BAM! you're in. So I was just wondering.

We did have a deadline. It was last Friday.
The bid extended to Michelle was the equivalent of a snap bid. We had a minimum number of sisters that we needed to start a chapter, and in BSPhi persons can express interest in the org....the chapter chooses whether to extend a bid to that person, based on private membership criteria. All of those being initiated were known to us beforehand, with the exception of one member, who went through the entire rush process and was offered a bid.

We received over 80 applications and extended 33 bids total. There were women who applied to be considered for a bid who were NOT selected.

BSPhi chapters are pretty autonomous and in starting a chapter....when you know women who might be interested in the org....we discuss whether to invite them.
Sophie and I both have known Michelle for years....and after she met the rest of our sisters....we decided to extend a bid to her.

My ipad is about to die, so I will charge it and finish answering your questions once I am able to do so.

I am so proud of you!!

Good/True/Beautiful!

So you rejected about 50 applications, then none of the 33 you offered bids to showed up and then you were scrambling and praying to have seven so you could be a chapter? Is that what you are saying?

Yes. That's what happened.


Thanks AngelPhiSig!

So, to continue. The two big concerns were:

A. Have enough members to charter our chapter. (Where the story ended...when we reached that goal.)
B. Become recognized as a Greek Org by our school. Which may, or may not happen.

I'm open to questions on how Nevada Nu went about recruitment, but much of the details are Private member selection information. We are selective (as certain Beta Sigma Phi members on this board have seen) and intend to remain so.

Some orgs are suited for some....others are suited for others. All of our sisters have shown their commitment to the organization, exemplify our ideals and are fiercely proud of being a Beta Sigma Phi, and forever loyal to our sisters. If we simply welcomed any and all women who desired to go Greek, then...what would our sisterhood mean?

So, our chapter process goes as such.

Bid day is synonymous with pledging (for our chapter, at least)
Pledging is synonymous with initiation (which hasn't happened yet....)

While we do have a pledge process, we are focusing on gelling together through various means as a chapter and as sisters during the lead up to initiation. I will say that we've learned a tremendous amount about one another, and sometimes....I wonder how it is that we hadn't met all that long ago but are so intensely close to each other through common shared experiences and the rituals of our soon to be chartered chapter.

It's to the point where a sister can start saying something on a Facebook wall in code...and without knowing the exact code, another sister responds and a conversation ensues....how in tune we've become in such a short period of time.

Like, yesterday was a very hard day for me. This morning, one of my littles waltzed into the room I was in with my favorite dumplings and chocolate to cheer me up.

Friendships are one thing....but my sisters astound me daily and I treasure them more and more as time goes on.

You can add me to the confused group. :confused:

misscherrypie - are you working with an adviser, or chapter coordinator to help you all get started? It sounds like you all are taking this on without any clear guidance from BSP.

We have the assistance of advice and encouragement from my big and one other Beta Sigma Phi....otherwise, it's just us. Most of the time, it feels like we're flying blind and playing everything by ear....which is no way to charter a chapter, I'll admit.

The fact that Beta Sigma Phi International offers almost no guidance to those charting new chapters, other than sending the needed documents to fill out and send back to international is something that I know annoys the snot out of Beta Sigma Phi members in general. It's a major gripe among us Beta Sigma Phis across the planet and one that I personally think that International ignores.

The major reason why there are so few collegiate Beta Sigma Phi chapters is spelled out in this thread: No guidance, no set process to recruit younger members (International suggests that we invite women with which we are already familiar to a two event and things go in from there.) and while international is helpful in some ways....in many ways, they need to make changes....and while I've read thread after thread of my fellow sisters contacting International and offering their assistance in different ways....they are always rebuffed.

(End of vent)

So, basically....I can understand the confusion. It's a wonder that we aren't all confused ourselves here in Nevada Nu....because there have been more than enough instances of "What are we supposed to do now???" In the last two weeks. We've found ways to deal...but the utter lack of supportive guidance from our International has been a detriment.

Might I suggest befriending a faculty member and inviting her to become an adviser? Someone older and wiser to run things by? Even if there is no firm national guidance, sometimes it helps to have someone in such a role.

We do have a faculty advisor. She is not a Beta Sigma Phi....but has been supportive in the ways in which she is able to be. :D I'd personally appreciate her taking more of an advisory role....but since she's only been on board for less than a week, and has been observing how things have run....we believe that she will gradually come into her own.

WOW!! Thanks for letting us know. :)

Well, keep at it. You are very determined to make this work, and it seems like it will. ;)

Thanks SigmaDiva. Really. :D

We meet with ASUN tomorrow morning for a discussion in relation to becoming recognized by the University. All thoughts and prayers would be most welcome for a positive outcome.

Thank you!

I have to jump in here to clarify for non-members and maybe to help misscherrypie just a bit. I have participated in two Friendly Ventures, and International is actually quite supportive. They are "experts" in the kind of BSP chapters that USUALLY exist. Typical BSP chapters are 10-20 women meeting in a member's home or at a restaurant over coffee. They meet one or two times per month (depending if they are following the traditional or career format). They are NOT collegiate chapters. They do not operate like NPC chapters at all. Misscherrypie is right in saying that chapters are fairly autonomous. This has positives and negatives, but simply put, misscherrypie and other collegiate BSP chapters are basically molding their chapters as they wish. BSP allows for this as long as you are upholding tyour financial obligations, maintaining the values set forth in our rituals, and holding the required number of educational programs each year. You must also submit your meeting minutes to International. Otherwise, Nevada Nu and any other BSP chapter can operate as they choose. If misscherrypie feels like she is flying by the seat of her pants a bit, it's because she is treading new ground. There are very few collegiate BSP chapters, so it is completely expected for her to have to do new things. From what I've seen, I believe she is enjoying that aspect of the process!

International has designed a very simple, clearly-presented system for chartering new chapters--a process that we call Friendly Venturing. A Friendly Venture was designed to be a project organized by an existing chapter or a member-at-large who has moved to a new community. In the case where an existing chapter is nearby the Extension Officer and usually an extension committee would walk along side the new chapter until it is on its feet, usually about 6 months which is the length of Beta SIgma Phi's pledge period. The new chapter can select an Advisor from the chapter that is began the Friendly Venture. If a member-at-large Friendly Ventures, she is already experienced in the workings of the sorority, so she knows how to set up and operate a chapter.

Only recently has International allowed non-members to Friendly Venture. That was me 10 years ago!!:D It was a very exciting ride for me. A few months into the process, I joined an online chapter of BSP, and I learned a lot from the women in that chapter as I helped my new chapter thrive. Some of them had been members for over 40 years! I also connected with two chapters in my area, and they conducted our Ritual of Jewels after the 6 month pledge period. AngelPhiSig and I have made ourselves available to misscherrypie to help her have a successful experience.


As the founder of a new Friendly Venture, misscherrypie will receive everything she needs to complete the chartering process. Our two texts, The Book of Beta Sigma Phi and The Invitation to Life outline every aspect of chapter operation. But if misscherrypie just submitted her paperwork, she hasn't received those books yet. They include the rituals, all aspects of running a meeting and conducting pledge training.

Misscherrypie, I know what you mean about International's reaction to the suggestions of members, but I'm not sure "rebuffed" is quite the right word. As one of the sisters who has approached International on these issues, I have always found them to be amazingly friendly and passionate about the sorority. They are actually extremely prompt with e-mail and phone calls. They aren't always in touch with the needs of younger women, but I do believe that there is a true desire to expand in that way.

I, for one, am extremely proud of the progress you are making! Just remind yourself, this is not a collegiate sorority FOR A REASON. It was never meant to be. BSP can operate on a college campus, but it is not meant to be the same as your fellow Greeks on campus.

Hope this helps!

Maybe you can reach out to another collegiate chapter of your organization for support. Start a buddy/pen pal system where they can help mentor you and you can rely on one another to bounce ideas, try new things, get feedback on what may/not work, etc.

To be honest, from following misscherrypie's efforts, I think there are some disconnects.

1. Since she had an unsuccessful NPC recruitment, but still wants a sisterhood, I feel that she may be trying to make BSP fit the mold of NPC.

2. From what you said erica812, there does not seem to be a structure in place by BSP to have someone come to a FV chapter and help the chapter get started. I think that is what Nevada Nu needs - someone from BSP to physically be there or available to help them navigate their way.

I definitely hear what you are saying, sigmadiva. I've been following misscherrypie's story from the beginning.

On your first point:

It's not wrong for misscherrypie to follow an NPC-esque model. She just isn't going to get that kind of support from International because Beta Sigma Phi isn't built that way. I don't have a problem with Nevada Nu joining in with the Greeks on campus as long as they maintain our ritual and the other requirements. In fact, from what I've seen "behind the scenes" in my communications with misscherrypie, she is doing a fantastic job of being a positive supporter of all Greeks on her campus. She is keeping her soon-to-be-sisters informed about philanthropy events and fundraisers. Her spirit is inspiring! I do sometimes worry that she might be disappointed with BSP because she isn't going to find pointers on big-little ceremonies or pref night in her materials from International. What she will get is a book of beautiful rituals, ideas for Secret Sister traditions, Woman of the Year pointers, and thoughts on celebrating the annual Valentine Sweetheart. THESE things are Beta Sigma Phi through and through! And I believe that Nevada Nu will come to love these things even if they aren't like most collegiate sororities.

On your second point:

You are right. Nevada Nu would need to reach out to an area chapter to have a person physically present to support them. The process designed by International does not automatically provide face-to-face guidance. However, every chapter is assigned to a division, and each division has a Division Chairman. The Chairman is an excellent support person. I have had nothing but great experiences with mine. She would be more than happy to help misscherrypie by phone and e-mail.

Truly, the Friendly Venture process and BSP chapter operations are so straightforward than anyone with a bit of leadership experience can handle it. The hard part is gathering enough members to charter, and it looks like misscherrypie is well on her way!

And I think this may be the source of some of her frustration.

I want her to be successful too.

I think if Nevada Nu had more physical assistance, then they would know how and what to do to specifically market BSP to the collegiate students. I am guessing that the reason so many bids were not accepted was because maybe some of the women realized BSP is not what they thought it might be (like a NPC org). But, if they (MCP and the female students) had a better understanding of what BSP is, then she may have had more to join.

True, but at some point everyone needs training about their org. That's why so many companies and schools have professional development training sessions for their employees. That employee may have leadership experience, but they will still need to be trained on the company structure and expectations.

Same is true for GLOs. I know that my GLO, SGR, is constantly offering leadership training. It is especially expected if you are planning on being an officer, or you are already an officer. Polices and procedures can change quickly to address the issues of RM, membership intake, and by-laws changes.

I feel like there could be learnings from other groups, here. Probably not NPC, but what other service orgs exist at UNR?

This just seems so tricky.

Beta Sigma Phi is non-collegiate.

It's a social sorority that seems to be exempt from Title IX but allows dual membership with other social sororities. It is not a service sorority, professional sorority, or honor society.

It is non-collegiate, but allows institutional chapters.

Even though one could very well be in a social sorority and BSP, chances are on most campuses one wouldn't do both unless the non-NPC org had a "hook" - like music (SAI), service (OPA), or another field of study.

I wish you luck. Expansion is tough. I wouldn't even know how to advise a student group like this, other than to advise them to intentionally be off-campus as a "mixed" chapter of collegians and women in the community.

Well, I have news.


Well, the verdict is in. Because of rule changes that predate my arrival to campus, Beta Sigma Phi isn't going to be able to be recognized by Greek Life as a sorority because our international doesn't fall under one of the recognized umbrella organizations of Greek Life.

We could be recognized as a club, but would be unable to use our actual name (So we'd have to use a name such as The Rose Society) and we'd have to modify our constitution to permit men to join to comply with title IX.

I knew that there was some reason why there are no Beta Sigma Phi chapters on Public University or College campuses. Never mind the fact that we don't have enough actual students to become recognized as a campus club or organization.

I'm more annoyed that I can say at the moment. My sisters all think that taking our time and not trying to push things (meaning....working gradually to become recognized as a campus club, and then seeing if things change.....and if it takes past the time that we graduate to become recognized as an org....then so be it.) will be the key to success. I believe that I'll warm up to the idea....but I'll be truthful in saying that with as feisty as I am....being taken down a peg is not something that I immediately accept....it takes a while for me. A flaw, but at least I'm honest about it.

I didn't appreciate being told that the sorority that I've given my time, finances and spirit to try to bring to campus doesn't measure up enough to be eligible for campus recognition. I think that is what got my goat the most.

A large part of me wants to give up the idea of even bothering to become recognized on campus. If its not going to happen....then why expend so much energy trying to recruit PNMs who want that Collegiate Greek experience who will see that we're not like other sororities and aren't what they're really seeking.

On the overwhelming positive....we have enough members to charter Nevada Nu and no matter what the school says.....we're going to be recognized as a full fledged chapter of Beta Sigma Phi in just a few weeks. So, my dream of having sisters who are my age and in college like me did come true. I was afraid that it never would.

"On the overwhelming positive....we have enough members to charter Nevada Nu and no matter what the school says.....we're going to be recognized as a full fledged chapter of Beta Sigma Phi in just a few weeks. So, my dream of having sisters who are my age and in college like me did come true. I was afraid that it never would." misscherrypie

Don't lose focus on that point, because that is what it ultimately is all about. What does not being recognized as a campus org. mean? You can still be a chapter of BSP. You can still wear letters. Is it that you won't be able to secure a meeting place on campus? That shouldn't stop you from meeting. Just meet at someone's apartment/house.

I remember that we have Circle K, which is national. Exclusive to this campus, there are (off the top of my head) Sisters on a Move, ABLE women, Student Ambassadors (which most of us are in now or were in before graduation.)

Mostly it's the fact that we wouldn't be allowed to recruit or fundraise on campus without paying a large amount of money (that we don't have) and other orgs wouldn't be able to partner with us in our activities.

We actually do meet on campus. The campus has a system where students can reserve rooms in specific places as "gatherings of students", which we take full advantage of....plus it's free which is a big plus as well as being centrally located.

We have some fundraising ideas....but we'll just need to find another way to make them happen.