Zeta Tau Alpha at Tulane
 

National Council of Zeta Tau Alpha has regretfully decided to discontinue our efforts to recolonize our Beta Kappa Chapter at Tulane University.

The Tulane women who expressed an interest in joining ZTA were outstanding; however, the number of women interested would not have provided our new members with the quality experience a colony should have. We had hoped to bring these impressive students a unique opportunity to recolonize a chapter, and we regret that we cannot do so at this time. We wish them all the best and hope they will find excellent ways to stay involved at Tulane.

National Council thanks the members of the Greater New Orleans Alumnae Chapter and collegians from Delta Kappa Chapter at Louisiana State University and Delta Nu Chapter at The University of New Orleans for their help at Tulane We are also grateful for our dedicated Traveling Leadership Consultants who worked so hard to find potential new members and for our Extension Team who conducted infoviews for five days.

We appreciate the efforts of the Tulane Panhellenic Council, the office of Fraternity and Sorority Programs and the Division of Student Affairs for their help and hospitality. Tulane is a very special place and Zeta Tau Alpha hopes to be able to restore our Beta Kappa Chapter in the future.

---------------

It's a shame. All of us at Tulane were very excited for ZTA to come. I know that there was interest, but ultimately the numbers just were not high enough.

We are all disappointed that things did not work out at this time. Hopefully we will have another chance to recolonize at Tulane. Thank you for your kind words.

Zeta was only 30 women short of their 180 goal but perhaps felt they were not a good fit for Tulane. With 150 very upset PNMs, I don't think a recolonization chance is very likely anytime soon.

What a shame for the ladies who wanted to colonize, ZTA, and Tulane. It's got to be a disappointment.

Many factors, including numbers, contribute to the decision to colonize or not. I can promise you that the decision to not continue the colonization process was not made in haste. A lot of time, effort, and expense is dedicated to a colonization effort. In addition, no one wants to disappoint the prospective members. It is not a happy time for anyone.

I know this must have been a very difficult decision and I hope that there will be an eventual colonization at Tulane. My aunt and cousin (in-laws) are LSU ZTA alumnae so we are all rooting for them.

Way, way, WAY better to do this than to have the colony never be 100% where they need to be for national AND campus success, and charter just for the sake of chartering. ZTA is to be commended for having the guts to make this decision.

Absolutely. Those 150 women are much better off having this tiny heart break rather than struggling for years and failing to be successful in the end. ZTA knows what it takes to start a successful new chapter. Those 150 women can go through recruitment and join the existing chapters. Starting a colony of this size is a hugely expensive endeavor and the prospect of not having a successful colonization is problematic on many fronts. The heartache for the PNMs is a very small consideration, IMHO. I'm sure ZTA considered them quite a bit in their decision, but in the end, the organization is the risk taker here. I think we are hitting the tipping point of our expansion boom.

Tiny heartbreak? It kinda feels like a giant hole blown into the chest, after Zeta spent 10 days getting hopes and dreams up and telling the girls to identify as Zetas. The girls were encouraged to spend that time growing close and building bonds, which are now tainted with bad memories. The 150 are not better off with nothing when they could have had a cause to fight for. They would rather fight than be abandoned the way that they were.
"Those 150 women can go through recruitment and join the existing chapters"? NO, THEY CAN'T. Many freshmen girls decided not to do formal recruitment so that they could do Zeta, and most of the 150 are sophomores and juniors who cannot rush again. Recruitment isn't an option for most.
"The heartache for the PNMs is a very small consideration." Actually, true. The decision not to colonize was made by a group of women who had never even met the PNMs, who knew nothing of what they were capable of. They never asked the PNMs how they felt about it all; they never asked for an opinion or sought out how strong they were as a group. They never listened to them, and never even gave them a chance.
ZTA wasn't being a risk taker- it was playing it safe as a business that thought that it could come onto Tulane's campus and start out as a top-tier sorority. ZTA's quota of 180 was set to reflect current chapter sizes at Tulane, which have grown by about 50-60 girls in the last two years. If ZTA had come two years ago, they would have had no problem with 150. Ask anyone on campus, and 180 girls was an unrealistic number to expect for any colonizing sorority, especially right after formal recruitment. Tulane is pretty miffed at Zeta for pulling out without observing how strong and dedicated the PNMs that it had gathered were.
ZTA also failed to listen to anything that Tulane told them- ZTA thought that it would receive a reception at Tulane akin to Vanderbilt, not realizing that Tulane and other large southern schools are nothing alike. Tulane TOLD Zeta that 150 was IDEAL from the start, as Tulane is trying to get the existing chapter sizes to come down and predicted 150 to be the number Zeta would get all along. 150 would have been more than enough to start a chapter; ZTA just didn't want to give the chapter time to build up.
Zeta was selective enough (rejecting about 100 girls who rushed) that it wouldn't have started out as another Phi Mu, which had almost half of the number of girls that Zeta did when it colonized three years ago. While it's understandable for Zeta to want to be the best, it was unreasonable and unrealistic for them to expect to start off as the best. Zeta didn't take a risk; it gave up.

So are you a woman who was offered a bid and is now dissapoonted, someone who didn't get a bid to start with, or another sorority member trying to cast shade on ZTA?

Either way, you weren't privy to the decision making process and shouldn't pretend to have the insider scoop. ZTA will move on, Tulane will move on, you should too.

You are purposely choosing to misread my post. I said tiny heartbreak COMPARED to struggling for years and failing to be successful in the end. I'm not going to get into a fight with you in the ZTA forum. ZTA has said all that needs to be said in this matter. They put a lot of thought into this decision. No group goes into a colonization looking to pull out.

I'm not pretending to know anything- I didn't say anything that Tulane and Zeta didn't tell the students themselves, or that was not conversed in many emails and discussions with both Tulane and ZTA. I was seeking to clarify the misconceptions that are being made here, as well as express my sadness that Zeta chose not to colonize on campus - the majority of those involved in Greek life at Tulane were very excited about Zeta coming, and were willing to do anything in their power to make it successful. I cast no "shade" on Zeta other than point out that their goals were unrealistic for the situation and that it was a very unfair outcome for the girls involved. I did not wish to sit by and read as all those hard-working girls were being called potential failures, when they would have been very likely to have succeeded.

I think it's really sad for everyone.

So what happens now? Did other sororities make presentations? Does Tulane offer a spot to one of them instead?

ADPi is the next in line for stacked expansion.

As a 100 year old organization, ZTA has earned the right to set their own goals without your help.

Formal rush was over by the time ZTA started trying to recolonize, so there really aren't any options for any of them at the moment. Several houses offer COB, but I think that the only house with any space available is Theta (and no one really wants to pay ~$1200 in dues for a semester that only has a month and a half left). For freshmen, there is the option of COB-ing in the fall or trying formal rush next spring, but sophomores are much less likely to be given bids than freshmen. Another sorority might try to colonize as early as next spring, but the juniors who rushed ZTA probably wouldn't find as much benefit in being in a chapter for half of a semester at the end of senior year. The current freshmen and sophomores would be able to take advantage of that, though. But, everyone would have to repeat the colonization-rush process, which many of the disenchanted zta-invited girls might be unwilling to do (and even then, there's no guarantee of a bid).
No one wins. :(

As an almost 200-year-old school, Tulane knows how its own Greek system works and therefore Zeta should have listened and not have been surprised when the turnout was exactly how the school said it would be. Please stop being so condescending toward me.

When is ADPi scheduled? Wonder if this will effect their plans to colonize?

The earliest they can come is next spring. Tulane contacted them on Friday, and has not released ADPi's decision on when to colonize, yet.

Look, you are a disappointed PNM. We get it. You need to step away from the computer. You as a student are not privy to the inner workings of a national sorority. There is much more to it than whether or not there were 150 strong women available. You don't know what was budgeted and what was needed from the sorority stand point. Tulane's point of view is only part of the story (how many failed chapters has Tulane had in it's 200 year history?), and obviously not the most important part in the end. Getting on Greek Chat and slamming ZTA for being unrealistic, wanting to be the "best" right out of the gate, etc is not fair and sounds like sour grapes. This is a terrible situation, but you are attributing a lot of your own skewed views onto ZTA when you have no knowledge as to their side of the story. I will stipulate that the women that ZTA chose were outstanding...there just weren't enough in ZTA's view to continue. Now there is no reason for you to stay here and talk about ZTA. No one is calling the PNMs failures. Stop.

Thank you for attempting to discredit and undermine my every word and point as sourness. Calling ZTA's expectations unreasonable isn't "slamming" ZTA. Saying that Zeta left behind a great many disappointed girls isn't "slamming" ZTA, nor is it "slamming" ZTA when they themselves can be quoted as saying that they wanted to come in as the best. I have nothing against ZTA itself; I just think that they approached Tulane University in the wrong way and realized it too late. You're right in that this argument (that you at one point said you would not continue) is pointless, for as I don't have all of ZTA's story, you have none of the story.
Also, you're wrong- I wasn't a Zeta PNM, my roommate was, and it was pretty heartbreaking to watch her throw away all her ZETA pins, buttons, and beads, especially after watching her fall so in love with them. After she had watched me craft everything for my little this semester, she was pretty thrilled at the prospect of having her own little someday. But thank you for trying to lecture and kick a young girl whom you perceived to be a heart-broken PNM when she was presumably down.
And while it does little to change a business-oriented organization's mind on colonization, I would say that the girls involved are the most important part of a sorority.

You are obviously going to read maliciousness into my posts where there is none. I do have the story.

"Part of healing is letting go of bitterness. If you weren't one of the PNMs, then you really have no business coming on GC pushing this any further. Go comfort your roommate. This attempt to explain things on the Internet does no one any good.

"That is a limited version of the story that says nothing more than "there weren't enough members, so we didn't colonize." And you seem to have missed the places where I answered the question on the current options for the PNMs, and when ADPi would colonize if they choose to do so. I've offered far more information on the subject that you have. I stated my reason for coming here earlier - these girls would not have been failures, and people were implying that they would have been. While ZTA might have had hidden reasons for not colonizing, I resent people saying that it was "good" that ZTA didn't colonize. And, as you are no more a part of Zeta than I am (and since this subject really relates to you in no way, shape, or form at all), you really have even less business here than me. I offered information; you offered condescending criticism of my mentality in an attempt to render my points as bearing no weight. Good night.

All of the existing chapters are at total or very close to total. Existing groups may be able to offer a few COB but the system cannot absorb 150 new members. The sorority houses are converted residential houses near campus not large live-in houses. Several groups cannot hold meetings in their houses. Recruitment is also impacted because the size of parties is limited by the physical constraints of the houses.

HonestTheia, your statement that "the girls involved are the most important part of a sorority" (and your other posts as well) illustrates your myopic view of the situation. No one implied that the "girls" would have been failures. Those were your words. There was no condescension or patronizing in anyone's posts in this thread. You missed the significant regret and loss being expressed.

No NPC sorority lightly reaches the decision to not proceed with an expansion effort, or to close a chapter. Expansion is more than a matter of warm bodies to reach a number. It is complex, and a significant undertaking on all levels. A new chapter needs a strong foundation. That is the bottom line here, and something that you are not grasping. We respect our Zeta Tau Alpha Panhellenic sisters; we have all been in that situation. You have not.

nolagreek, yes the system CAN absorb 150 new members. Many chapters at AZ (where total is 220 and many chapters are ABOVE that) hold chapter meetings in on-campus facilities. Recruitment has been restructured to accomodate the 1200+ PNMs each August. Total has been raised repeatedly in the past several years. Think outside the box!

I agree with AOII Angel's comment that we may well be reaching the tipping point of sorority expansion.

Total at Tulane is also 220 with about half of the houses over that. The University of Arizona is a large state school whose enrollment is two to three times that of Tulane. The houses are also much larger at Arizona and were built to be Greek houses. I don't think you can compare the two situations. With only seven groups, Tulane does need to expand its Greek system. It is unfortunate that Zeta could not be part of that expansion.

I think we all will agree on this.

I think AZTheta's point is that the sororities at Tulane could absorb the 150 if they wanted to get creative and think outside of how things are currently done. While the individual chapters may not individually have facilities to accommodate larger groups, the university surely does.

If the existing groups don't wish to do so, which I think is the case since they voted to expand, that's not the same thing as can't do so.

The problem is that total is recalculated each semester and keeps getting larger. A more likely sceanario is that the university is going to impose a limit on quota or total. The adminstration is alarmed at the size of the groups and that they are all larger than the fire marshall limits for thier houses. Some groups are already using university facilities for their meetings because of this.

I'm not privy to any inside knowledge anywhere but didn't I read on GC about something similar happening in Chicago last fall? And the potential colony went out and found more PNMs and ended up colonizing? Is this a possibility in this situation?

Administration can't actually do that. Read you NPC rules.

While having approximately 70 fewer members than total may not seem relevant - after all, 150 is a decent-sized chapter - the organization has to consider the practical effects on that campus. Someone mentioned that one group's dues are about $1,200 per semester. Multiply that by 70 members. That is $84,000 (obviously an approximation) that the new colony would NOT have that the existing groups do have. Compounding that issue is that the expenses for a new colony tend to be greater than an existing chapter. The colony has to secure housing, ritual materials, has greater PR and recruitment needs, more training, etc. The list goes on and on.

I know that the intangibles of sorority life are important - the people involved are the very reason for the organization's existence. However, without sound business decisions being made, the intangibles tend to be affected. Fewer members means that fees have to be increased to meet the budget. Higher fees in a fledgling group can make it difficult to recruit. These are all circumstances which the national organization can foresee that a heartbroken PNM may not.

I've been involved with colonies and budgeting, and being under-funded/under-sized can create painful drama.

I have read them. Tulane requires a minimum university GPA of 2.5 to go through recruitment which is also technically against NPC rules. The minimum was increased from 2.0 a few years ago as an attempt to reign in the growth of sororities on campus. Expansion is better solution than attempting to limit membership. That is why there was so much disappointment over the failure of Zeta to colonize. It impacts the entire Tulane community not just the disappointed PNMs.

A minimum GPA isn't against NPC rules. I also highly doubt a GPA minimum is related to growth but to improving academics. Please give supporting documentation for these types of claims. Rumors can start easily and need to be substantiated before being passed on GC.

I would think it could serve the 150 ladies well to research how Pi Phi ended up being successful at U of Chicago after all. It might not, but it certainly couldn't hurt. Certainly different campus cultures, but on the surface it appears that the issues (insufficient numbers up front) are similar.

Here is the supporting documentation:

From NPC MOI (2013), Unanimous agreement II, section C, item iiii:

A College Panhellenic Council shall take no action that infringes on the sovereignty, rights or privileges of the individual NPC fraternities. Infringements include the following:
iii. Requiring a scholastic grade point average as a condition for a woman’s participation in the membership recruitment process.

CPC may not, but a university can require their students to maintain a certain GPA to participate in any activity they deem proper. There are fine lines used by universities to mandate GPA requirements. The NPC does not have the standing to question them. The CPC and the university are two different entities. The CPC is a group of NPC chapters.

I'm not passing judgment on my Panhellenic sisters' leadership organizations. They closed for a REASON. It's not our business. PERIOD.

Where's the dead horse gif?

ETA: we don't know what the issues are/were, nor should we. Further, you want to argue about size, fine, let's all talk about Indiana. At Indiana, they actually thought outside the box; two "new" unhoused chapters are doing very well. Meeting in a room on campus is not the end of the world. The size of a facility should have no bearing whatsoever on the size of a given chapter.

...wait for it...

Exactly my point. The university and CPC are different entities. The university can have requirements that do not follow NPC rules.

The university, however, would have no way of limiting chapter numbers. Please give documentation of this. As previously stated, rumors are rampant but rarely useful. All women that go through recruitment are placed. There is no way to limit growth of chapter size, and honestly, I doubt Tulane's administration really gives a flying flip if your chapters have 300 members or not.