Who Has Removed Preferential Treatment for Legacies?
 

I’ll update/correct as needed:

**denotes legacy will be given no special consideration

Policies vary amongst the rest from 1st Invitational Round invite, appearing on first bid list if attending Pref, needing approval to release.



Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Gamma Delta
**Alpha Omicron Pi
https://www.alphaomicronpi.org/news/...1ysKwp_QI6lRaA
**Alpha Phi
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Sigma Tau (no info found)
Alpha Xi Delta
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta (no official policy - up to chapter)
**Delta Gamma
[URL="https://s3.amazonaws.com/dg-library/Membership-Selection-Process-Changes-FAQ.pdf"]
Delta Phi Epsilon
Delta Zeta
Gamma Phi Beta
**Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta*? Unconfirmed change
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Phi Mu (recognizes legacies but policy not found)
**Phi Sigma Sigma
https://www.onephisigmasigma.org/pos...ip-recruitment
Pi Beta Phi
Sigma Delta Tau
Sigma Kappa
**Sigma Sigma Sigma
Theta Phi Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha

Listing all 26 NPC sororities is misleading. Perhaps you should put a legend on your chart that ** mean legacies get no special treatment.

Yeah— I will. Need to research more, too.

The cover story and another article in the latest issue of The Crescent were focused on heart-warming legacy stories, so I'm guessing there won't be a similar announcement from Gamma Phi Beta anytime soon!

I hope not!

Alpha Gamma Delta has not removed special consideration.

***I would recommend you indicate those fraternities who have not changed their policy to avoid confusion, as mentioned above ***

FYI: Alpha Sigma Tau's legacy policy is still in effect.

***The OP might not be able to change her post, as it's been up more than 24 hours.***

You can’t edit after 24 hours?
Well, someone may as well delete then, because it won’t stay up to date.

I PMed you.

I've not heard anything official from Alpha Xi Delta. In my chapter, we treated all PNMs equal, but of course who doesn't want the fam tradition to continue? We had legacies from other sororities.

Tri Sigma announced yesterday that they are eliminating their legacy policy effective immediately.

Posted on their National Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/sigmasigmasigma/

Sororities were founded during a time in our country’s history when women’s rights were limited—being allowed to attend colleges and universities provided exciting opportunities. Being a part of a sorority enabled women to build friendships and offer support to one another, especially as they navigated the fortuitous changes. Even though doors were opening to women, historical information reveals that the sorority experience was limited to those who were White. The world has since evolved, and Tri Sigma is evolving as well. It is vital to offer a welcoming environment and provide the opportunity for all women to find a home in Tri Sigma.
Realizing the importance of equitable consideration for all women seeking membership in Tri Sigma, and after recommendation by both departments of Chapter Services and Growth Initiatives, on July 6, Executive Council voted in favor of eliminating the current legacy policy. We are confident this change will allow for more significant membership opportunities and empower our collegiate members to have the autonomy to make their own membership selection decisions. This change means that chapters are no longer required to invite a legacy to the first invitational round during recruitment, nor are they required to place legacies at the top of the bid list submitted after the final round of recruitment. Chapters also are no longer required to receive approval from National Headquarters before releasing a legacy.
Tri Sigma will continue to recognize and celebrate Tri Sigma legacies, but potential new members who are legacies will no longer receive preferential treatment during the recruitment process.

:rolleyes:

This just came in to my email. Add Kappa Alpha Theta to the list. An excerpt from the email:

Today, we share with you that, effective immediately, Kappa Alpha Theta has eliminated all preferential treatment given to legacies during the recruitment process. This means that there will no longer be an automatic invitation following the first round of recruitment or an automatic placement on the chapter’s bid list. We acknowledge that many women are not legacies because their mothers, sisters, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers simply did not have the same access to higher education or the means to join Kappa Alpha Theta. By eliminating preferential treatment for legacies, Theta ensures that PNMs are not receiving additional credit for things beyond their control, such as hometown, race, family connections, etc.

I’m so glad you can edit, AZTheta. Thanks-

Wow. The new Theta policy affects a Theta legacy in my extended family this school year. Will keep eyes/ears open to eventually discover/share which NPC group the young student joins.

I support elimination of preferential treatment for legacies. There are so many legacies that chapters at schools like Ole Miss could fill an entire pledge class - which means bringing back girls they have no interest in, yet they have to - which means those legacies take the place of girls they have interest in. I've seen the argument that chapters will "find a way" to bring back those non-legacies they really want. Yes, but bringing back legacies of no interest prevents bringing back more girls of real interest. If legacies are truly a match, they'll get through; they shouldn't need the special treatment.

I hope Gamma Phi Beta follows suit. It would forward our mission which is: We build confident women of character who celebrate sisterhood and make a difference in the world around us (bold is my emphasis).

Women rocking the world are from all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, upbringing or otherwise. I want them to have an opportunity in our organizations and not be deterred by a lack of Greek organization understanding, being the first generation to go to college or go through recruitment, or being intimated by a policy that means girls have a leg up simply due to a family connection. Compare this to the workplace: I dare say we all want to hire the best employee, not the one with special connections unless they were truly the best fit.

Time for an equal playing field.

And if not yet totally equal, then at least better today than yesterday.

I'd be willing to bet that the elimination of the legacy policy affects only 10% of all schools (you mention Ole Miss). Outside of that 10%, this policy elimination does absolutely nothing to support inclusion. So if we're going to govern our organizations based upon the 10%, well, we're missing the boat.

Exactly!

I don't disagree that there's much more to be done to foster a diverse membership, but I still think legacy preferential treatment is unfair. Even if a chapter just has 5 legacies to return and they know that 2 aren't a fit, then that's 2 seats taken away from girls they really like. I went to a competitive school, not SEC, back when there were fewer legacies, but still there were girls we knew from the get-go we didn't want to pledge yet they had to be brought back and took away seats from those we wanted.

I truly don't get why my Gamma Phi Beta membership should mean a daughter gets special treatment. I'm the member, I was given the opportunity to contribute and be part of a rich sisterhood, both in my chapter and on an international level, something I've taken advantage of, both as a collegiate member and an alumnae. I honestly don't believe it should mean special treatment during rush.

As I said, if my dad founded a company, I wouldn't want to be hired due to being a family member. I'd want the job because I was the best fit for the job. One can argue that that's very different from Greek membership, but the principle is the same. And by the way, we see this in politics all. the. time and it's really unfair when big money simply backs up another member of a 'legacy' family and prevents a newer candidate from having a chance. Same with those who donate huge amounts of money to get their child, sometimes with sub-par grades, into an elite school.

We'll have to agree to disagree!

I'm with NYCMS on this issue, Panhellenic sisters. shadocat, I would have to see data/statistics/numbers to support your hypothesis/opinion. Seems to me that alumnae from all over the US are upset when their legacy is released. This definitely interests me, however I doubt we'll ever get any quantifiable information to investigate. Too bad. Decisions that are made based on emotion often lead to undesirable outcomes, which is my take on the legacy response by some NPC member organizations.

Many years ago I stated that (a) I have no legacies other than my sister and yes, she is a Theta; but we think she'd have been happier as a DG. She succumbed to my mother's pressure, not mine, as I was encouraging her to give very serious consideration to DG at the time, even though technically I wasn't supposed to talk to her because I knew that chapter & its members & knew they were a much better fit for her than my chapter & she really really loved them sigh (TMI?oh well) (b) I have said that I think that legacy status is not something that should be given extra weight in recruitment. (c) I was not a legacy.

The pendulum is swinging, and I'm watching this with interest. Somehow it feels like this response (eliminating legacy status) is an amputation when perhaps a judicious pruning would have been a better move. *shrug*

I hope that on the very competitive campuses, this trend/movement is recognized and acknowledged. For many strong recruiting chapters an easy release is the release of
a legacy to another strong recruiting chapter. on the assumption that the legacy will chose to go to her legacy. It will be a shame if chapters continue to release legacies thinking that they have an "in" elsewhere when their legacy chapter has dropped them early on.

This part I get. If a chapter does not see a fit at all, better to release a legacy after first round and let her find another home. The part I can't justify is the elimination of the spot on the first bid list. I know this was discussed on another thread.

I just can't understand why a legacy would not be given a spot on the first list if she were carried to Prefs. If they kept her that long, they do love her. I have seen numerous alumnae re-engage when their legacies were given a bid. The excitement for the mothers/grandmothers and their daughter at Initiation is so special and a beautiful thing to watch.

I don't know that collegians have the maturity to understand all this. By retaining the provision to keep legacies at the top of the bid list we are preserving more than we are forfeiting in terms of diversity.

Yes, yes, and yes!

This is what I worry about.

Yes to this too!

AZTheta, I was not a legacy, and having no kids, I don't have a legacy. The rub here for me is that people are acting as if eliminating a legacy policy changes the landscape of inclusion. It doesn't, outside of maybe 10% of schools, which is an arbitrary number that I'm guesstimating have this huge field of legacies going through recruitment. I don't have concrete evidence of that number, sorry.

Being a member of a Greek organization is exclusive. Despite what we all believe, we exclude people for any number of reasons. And it might not even be US excluding them, but it could be economics, grades, "fit" or whatever, but it excludes women from joining. Unless we change the way we extend membership, we will always be exclusive.

NYCMS, I agree to disagree, but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop saying I think it's all a PR stunt by sororities to remain relevant during this time in our histories. The whole thing feels disingenuous to me.

Found this on al.com - which is a news site in Alabama:

"In 2015, the average sorority at Auburn had 95 legacies in recruitment. A legacy is someone who has a relative in a sorority. While the majority of potential new members last year were legacies, most of them chose to join a sorority they were not a legacy to."

I’m still over here in the “alumnae recommendations are mandatory to receive a bid” camp being WAY more inclusive inhibiting than a legacy policy. Can we please eliminate that instead of legacies (or at least as well)?

A very general example of why legacies might not be required to be at the top of the two bid lists.
1500 PNMs
100 on first bid list are legacies.
101- 200 are also legacies at the top of the second bid list.
201-1500 are also on second list.
Some legacies had graciously indicated they found their home elsewhere but legacy at the top of the first and if necessary second bid list had dictated this placement.
201 was the first available spot for a non legacy.
The chapter might have wanted 201 to 1500 more than 101 to 200 but had to follow legacies at the top of the bid list policy.
I know this doesn't happen everywhere.
As much as it pains me, no special treatment might be better.

If the legacies indicated they wanted another chapter by ranking them first, that is where they would be matched, they would be removed from the first bid list of their legacy chapter, and those on the 2nd would move up. Far from "not happening everywhere", I'd be willing to be it hardly ever happens. Also, you are not accounting for legacies which were dropped after first invitational round. Read enough recruitment stories, be active in recruitment, talk to your former students who are pnms, and you'll quickly discover that even with preferential treatment, plenty of legacies are dropped before preference. It's setting up a strawman to say that for lo these many years, legacies were never cut and thus were depriving some other deserving pnm of a spot. If anything, the preferential treatment meant that legacies were more closely scrutinized after the one courtesy invitational, as they needed to be cut before pref.

My whole thing about the Theta decision is that it came from Grand Council without a fraternity wide vote.

YES YES YES!!!!!

Exactamente!

But what do the bylaws say?

Boards of directors are entitled to make decisions for membership organizations in between national conventions.

Additionally, if the rules governing legacies are policies and not bylaws, it's doubly in their purview to make the decision.

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear that I was giving a very general example of a fictional sorority's fictional legacies at the top of the bid list policy.

Legacies would be at the top of the two bid lists that are submitted even if they had indicated they found a home elsewhere. We all know NPC doesn't get into membership selection.
In the ficticious example no legacies are dropped because of a ficticious policy that legacies are at the top of the bid list.

In real life I know the kindest thing to do is drop a legacy after the first round if she has no chance of a bid. This was a very general example of why it might not be a good idea to have a legacies go to the top of the bid list policy.
Moving on.

This makes absolutely no sense. The bid list only includes the women that attended preference round, which is roughly double quota. The legacies that the chapter has decided are not a match have been dropped well before this point, as have the legacies that decided the chapter wasn't a match for them. In reality, if a chapter has a new member class of 60, you might have 10 that are legacies. Let's say one or two of those would have made the second bid list instead of the first without the legacy status. It is a very small number that this guarantee would actually help. Furthermore, with quota additions the women on the second list are often matched anyway.

I just think what is potentially lost for the sorority, the pnms and their family members over a lifetime is far more damaging than what is potentially gained.

I don't think you know how RFM works, or you would have understood why your ficticious (sic) example is not accurate. It's more than fictitious - it's absolutely wrong. You want to move on, so I'll just suggest looking up RFM.

I feel like we're all watching the alternative endings of "Clue". At any rate, if you want an example for the sake of discussion, let's have a fictitious run down of how it could go.

Quota is 100
Sororities will have 2 bid lists, of 50 pnms each.
Let us say 10 are legacies.
First bid list - 10 legacies, 40 non-legacies.
Of that first bid list, 5 put their legacy chapter as their first choice. They are matched.
5 on the second bid list then move to the first bid list.
The remaining 5 legacies will either match with their first choice, or go through RFM process until they match.
While it is possible they end up with a bid from the legacy chapter which they had not put first, it is not assured.

I realize there are a handful of chapters which could fill a pledge class with legacies. They are the exception, not the rule, and all that means is that the legacies will be scrutinized far more thoroughly earlier in the process in order to either fully commit to them, or to release them.

I feel there are better ways of addressing the need to make sure membership is open and accepting.