Where would you like to see AGD?
 

I have been seeing all these expansion plans on the General Board and was wondering if AGD had any plans to expand? I know that it would be announced at Convention, but I was just wondering where would you like to see the next chapter of AGD?

I will get this one out of the way... Alpha reinstalled.
Give reasons why you think we would be good there...

I think that University of Louisville and Midway College would be great places for AGD.

UL has a large greek group, but it is in the intercity of Louisville and it seems like we are better on the smaller campuses.... but there are 5 AGD chapters in KY already so support would be there.

Midway is a small private women's college, that doesn't currently have a greek life. I think we would be good there again because of the local support and it is a small campus. Only problem is that Georgetown is less than 5 years old so taking support away from it would be bad.

LSU-Lafayette... because my neice is in Lafayette and I would like to see an established chapter at every school she could possible go to in 15 years :).

Alpha... just because it's Alpha

Boston University.. so that way I have a chapter within walking distance to me! yes, i'm selfish

Alpha, for obvious reasons. I believe that we'll be back there soon enough!

I'd like to see AGD in Southern California again. UCSB, UCLA (Delta Epsilon), USC (Delta Alpha), and SDSU. True, these campuses are large ones with reputable Greek life, so I'm guessing it'll be hard. But with baby steps I think it'll happen...look at the wonderful chapter at Chapman--it's a start!

austin peay state university in clarksville, tn - with the new lottery scholarships there will be a TON of new freshman women over the next few years, plus the school needs it already

alpha - duh?

michigan state

vanderbilt

and clemson!

- marissa

I have a quite a few of them. I'm interested in seeing recolonizations right now. I think it would be wonderful to see a closed chapter reopen. It would be a very joyful event.

Obviously, I would love to see Syracuse recolonize. Michigan State is another biggie. I would be thrilled to see USC and UCLA recolonize, as would our numerous alumnae in the area. Since I was so close by to Berkeley when I was a collegian, I'd like to see them return to campus too.

Of course, all of this depends on which campuses are open to extension, what the campus is looking for, and what resources the Fraternity can give to the colony...lots of what ifs. But since this is a wish list, a girl can dream, right? ;)

Alpha as said is the obvious....

University of Rochester (I do believe I heard they want to expand their Panhel)

Rochester Institute of Technology

Brockport State University (SUNY)

Geneseo State University (SUNY)

Michigan State also.... :)

my $.02 Canadian
 

Alpha, natch.

I think we should spread our dominion over Canada! I doubt it'll ever happen, but...you never know :D

I heard at IRD that we have enough alumnae in the Ottawa area that they had their own IRD celebration. So a chapter at U of Ottawa or Carleton University would be feasible.

I'd also love to see AGD recolonize at McGill University in Montreal. I LOVE the city (honestly, who doesn't?) and that would give me another excuse to visit :)

University of Alaska
Recolonize at Beta - UW-Madison
Somewhere in Washington, DC--Georgetown or GW or American U. (selfishly, 'cause that's where I want to go for law school and want to have a chapter nearby ;))

Alpha, of course.

Like laureagd said, re-colonization at McGill and a new chapter in Ottawa U or Carelton. I'd also like to see some Ivies with AGD, namely Harvard or Yale (and recolonization at Cornell). My cousin is going to either one of them next year, and it would be great if they can colonize before she graduates in 2008.

i know this is prolly a little cheesey on my part - but i'd like to see a chapter in every state!

marissa

My chapter (1922-1975) recolonized (1981) and then closed (1990?). The sorority that took over the house announced that it's closing that chapter. Wish AGD would return, but I think the alumnae there aren't ready. And I don't know who still owns the house. It's an extremely competitive Greek system with chapter size now 200+.

If I had a magic wand and wishes could be granted we'd recolonize everywhere we have had a chapter. (Scratch Beta Zeta, though--the college no longer exists! Was Parsons.)

Furthermore, I wish we had chapters at every "U of" and every "State U" (the big ones) and at the major "society" school in each state--those provide exposure statewide. Reality is that most of these are campuses with big chapter houses which would be an enormous investment.

But my really big wish is that EVERY chapter of EVERY NPC group would be at chapter total and achieve quota! Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Re: my $.02 Canadian
 

A sister from my chapter is at American Law right now—she's graduating next month. Another sister from my chapter is in film school at American, and she is currently the assistant Greek advisor there. She got the job specifically because there isn't an AGD chapter there, so she could be non-biased, but I know she would love to be able to bring AGD on campus. I'm not sure how feasible it is, though (I've heard that their Greek community needs a loooot of work, but it will be expanding soon).

I'd like to see more chapters in souther states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Epsilon Zeta (my chapter) at Arkansas State is the only AGD chapter in AR and there are none in MS or LA.

Jonesboro's pretty close to Gamma Zeta & Theta Pi, but they're TN.

If AGD IHQ announces where a new chapter or reopening will be...could you post it please?

(although something tells me you all will!)

It's been almost a year since I posted on greekchat but I'm still very interested in AGD and I'm still thinking I will end up at MSU sometime in the near future.

Keeping my ears perked.....
Millie

I certainly never meant to ask for anything to be divulged that wasn't mean to be. I SO SORRY if it came across that way. I just thought that you all as members may hear about it when it's announced wheras I wouldn't hear about it until I was actually on a campus or involved in an org. I really did not mean to be offensive or intrusive in any way. I'm so sorry for any confusion.

While most people have no problem proclaiming to the world where AGD is presenting or extending, it's safe to say that no one (and I repeat NO ONE) should say ANYTHING until after official word has been given out by IHQ. Just like Chapman.

Some sisters were angry at those "in the know", but they just couldn't say anything.

It's a crucial time where discussion on a MB can make or break a presentation..and we all want to see AGD at more campuses...so I think we could all respect that. :)

Millie, no offense is taken at all! We are just very protective of Alpha Gamma Delta and her good name. We don't want to "jump the gun" and make announcements before our International Council does so.

Please don't feel badly because you didn't do anything wrong; but please be aware that the GC Alpha Gams will not publicly discuss anything to do with extension presentations or invitations until International Council has given its permission first. :)

Co-sign what Maria said.

I also apologize if my post gave you the indication that I was jumping down your throat. You certainly did not do anything wrong! :) You're very proud to be in this organization as are we, and you can't help but feel pride when you hear about AGD extending. I know I do.

I hope this clears things up!

Alpha Gam Chapter Wish List

1. Michigan State University
2. University of Maryland
3. Alpha Chapter
4. At least one Alpha Gam Chapter at every land grant college in the country
5. One Alpha Gam Chapter, Alumnae Club, Junior Circle in every major metropolitan area

Selfishly, I want a chapter at Maryland b/c I live here now. I was on the team that closed Chi (Michigan State) and it was the toughest thing I've ever done. As for the rest... you all know why.

:)

I want to see recolinization in Texas. We used to have chapters at University of Texas in Austin and Texas Tech, I'm not sure about if we had one at A&M or not. I know UT closed in the 80's. I think that there are only 4 active chapters currently in Texas now. And of course reopen Alpha.

actually...I'm not a member
just an interested (and slightly nosy) hopeful!

i know this may not be public knowledge, but if it is could someone PLEASE tell me why MSU's chapter closed? I tried to find out last summer and only ended up with one person emailing me her phone number saying she had the answer. I have to say, the idea of calling a complete stranger wasn't something i was completely comfortable with. again, i understand if you *can't* tell me...i'm just slightly confused. that chapter had been around for so long! and every AGD girl i've met (limited number) and all of you guys are so nice, intelligent...etc it's hard to imagine it was something like low numbers. but i don't know too much about msu's numbers. anyway, i'm rambling.


Millie

So many people ask "why did XYZ Chapter close?" and the answers are difficult and rarely give the full picture.

Whenever the Fraternity closes a chapter, there are many reasons. It can be financial (those huge houses cost a fortune to keep up), a really competitive Greek system on campus, a college administration that's opposed to Greeks - the list goes on.

I cannot (and will not) discuss the reasons that Chi closed except to say that it was done with the full expectation that in due time, we would recolonize. Alpha Beta (University of Michigan) did the same thing and they have been a tremendous success.

As a (former) East Lansing townie, closing a chapter in my hometown was one of the hardest things I've ever done but I know that in the long run it was the best possible outcome.

Not the answer I suspect that you were hoping for... but it's the only one you will ever get from a member of our Fraternity who wishes to remain in good standing.

I kinda knew I couldn't expect details...Thanks for telling me what you could. That whole call me and I'll spill thing sounded awfuly sketchy...probably would have been rubbish anyway.

If (when) you recolonize would you be looking to recruit girls of a larger age range than normal rush?

lol, I'm not even going to state yet, I might be putting school off for 10 months but I am so fascinated by all of this. sorry to be so nosy

Thanks again,
Millie

It is definitely a good thing to have a wide range of classes represented in a recolonization. It can be a real challenge to have a class of 50+ freshmen women start out together and, as a result, graduate together. Various levels of maturity can be helpful too.

No matter how nice and sweet a group of women may be, it doesn't mean that they are strong recruiters, have a good rep on campus, etc. There are so many factors that can lead to a chapter getting small. Additionally, in my experience (20 years as an AGD, on EC or as an advisor or member of the VST except for one year), on every campus I've worked with, the "strong" groups rotate around. We may be on top for several years and suddenly another group surpasses and stays on top for a while. There are also economic and cultural trends. When we are in a rough economy, less women go through recruitment. Some generations are more anti-establishment and tend to look down on Greek Life in general. We are in one of those periods now.. both a rough economy and a bit of an anti-establishment trend. It will cycle around again though.

Dee

Dee is absolutely right (I should have known!) about the cycle of Greek organizations on a campus. For a few years, Group A is the hottest/ strongest and then Group B takes over and so on. Sometimes during the shuffle, a group has a few unsuccessful recruitment seasons and then you're talking about closing a chapter.

Recolonization takes collegians, alumnae, community, NPC and campus support. Plus money. If I remember correctly, Alpha Gam is either #4 or #5 in the line up to recolonize at MSU. My guess is that it won't be for several years, perhaps even a decade.

If you are interested in Alpha Gam... and a great education, you might consider one of the other schools in the area that have chapters (Alma College, CMU, U of M, Wayne State, Eastern Michigan, MTU, Northern Michigan, Kettering or Northwood). As you can see, Michigan is a great place to be an Alpha Gam!

I'm an alumna of Alma College, so of course I'm biased, but if there are any other Michigan Alpha Gam sisters who want to offer their opinions to our guests, feel free!

Alpha- for the blatantly obvious reasons :

I would also like to see more chapters in Texas. Currently, there are only 4 chapters (I believe) in Texas. I am a member of Epsilon Psi, and I would personally LOVE to see more Alpha Gam chapters in Texas. I mean really ... who doesn't love a Southern Girl? ;)


Love and Loyalty!

Alpha - of course - but also:

University of Florida
Clemson
Duke
Ole Miss
UConn
LSU
RPI

If RPI is Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, that's Zeta Eta, and they are alive and well!

Actually that was an absolute brain fart.... I meant to say RIC (Rhode Island College)

hi!

im new to greekchat and this is my very first post ;) i would love to see agd in cali (USC, Pepperdine & more of the UC's) as well as on the east coast! (BU, GWU, Cornell, Hamilton). but i guess im a tad bit biased because i grew up on the east coast and was debating for the longest time between Hamilton, BU & USC! (im an alpha gam at UBC; how and why i am in canada is a really long story hehe ;)

love,
nikkie

I'm an Alpha Gam at Northwood and I can't agree more! Great state to be because almost any college you go to we're here!

Excuse the crash - TCU is going to be open for expansion soon, and they had an Alpha Gam chapter formerly. I hope they will be considered to recolonize. :)

i want to go to American for law school too!! ill be applying next fall......

Id love to see AGD at California Berkeley since i moved here after graduating. I know im selfish. :)

I too vote for Michigan State, because I initiated into Chi chapter. :)

It would also be nice to see a chapter at the University of Toledo too, since the campus is just a short 10 minute or so drive from my home. ;) (My biological sister actually pledged Alpha Chi Omega at the University of Toledo, but never initiated b/c she decided to transfer schools.)

Aside from those purely selfish reasons ( :) ), any campus where we have a reasonable chance of experiencing success sounds good to me. I love to hear about Alpha Gam growing and thriving.

I would love to see one at University of Texas in Austin

well, you prob. won't see it at UT but would you settle for UT-San Antonio?? =)

Since our Convention is in San Antonio in June 2008, I think we'd all love to see a new chapter there!

That would be awesome - imagine how thrilling it would be as a member of a new colony to have Convention come to town and get to share that experience with your new sisters!

I wouldn't mind seeing a new chapter at Case Western in Cleveland - they just opened for expansion, and we have a strong alumnae presence in that area (at least, that's my understanding). It would be great to have another Ohio chapter!

I tried to get info from the IVP-E at IRD yesterday too, but she was very vague!

Lovethedove... do you know something that you would like to share with the rest of us?