Loyalty
 

Members of GLOs,

I have always wondered how it is that you can continue to get loyal members of your orgainizations when the rushees are 1) allowed to choose a house (I hope I'm saying this right) in their first semester, before they see anything about the orgainzation, 2) May have always wanted to be something else, and due to whatever reason, didn't get in (or turned a bid down), and now are a member of your orgainization and 3)(and please correct me if I'm wrong) the resources aren't out their to do research.

I'm not trying to put down your system, I'm just trying to understand.


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If you can't raise conciousness, at least raise hell!--Rita Mae Brown

Gina Lynn,
[*]The resources are certainly out there for those who are interested in GLOS: www.npcwomen.org and www.nicindy.org are links to the governing bodies for sororities and fraternities, respectively. In addition, most schools have a Panhellenic or Greek Council website, in addition to individual chapters. Even if someone does not have access to the internet, there are ways to research your organization. I know during my senior year in high school, the teachers who were members of NPC sororities, along with the president of local Panhellenic, came to talk with the senior girls about Rush (of course, this was in Florida, with two of the nation's largest Greek systems, so this probably doesn't happen everywhere). In many colleges and universities, the Panhellenic or Greek Council will send freshmen information regarding Rush over the summer.
[*]In regards to your first question, yes...some schools hold Rush in the first two or three weeks of the semester, and in some cases, before school even starts (I have friends who moved into their dorms two weeks prior to the start of their freshman year in order to be there for Rush). Not all schools, however, do this. The purpose of an early Rush is to get the girls in a house they like before they're in school too long, before certain reputations (i.e., "they're all snobs/sluts/nerds") can taint a girl's opinion of a group. It is, in this case, up to the girl to learn basics about the sororities on campus (especially if she's a legacy--although, supposedly, it does nothing to influence the sorority's decision) before she gets on campus, either from the Internet, local Panhellenic, or from friends who attend that school.
[*]Your second question...the way Rush works, a girl often doesn't get an invite back from a group she has had her eyes set on. I know we were constantly told (this is before I started college, my college has a very informal Rush) to concentrate on the houses that have invited you back, and you will be sure to find a house with which you are happy, and in which you feel as if you could find a home. Usually, if a girl doesn't want to be a member of a certain sorority at all, she won't pledge.

Ok, now I'm confused. It's a "bad" thing to have a preference? I may be looking at this wrong, so please help me out. Let's say a I have done my research and I like AXO and I also like and feel at home with the chapter of AXO on my campus. I'm not going to be invited back just because I has a preference?

It's not that you won't get invited back because you have a preference. But if the girls you meet happen to not like you or you didn't make an impression, there's a possibilty of getting dropped.

Since you were now dropped by your first choice, you should now focus on the girls that did ask you back.

It's the "They didn't want me, well screw them!" philosphy.

Not at all! There is a possibility that you won't get invited back, the way Rush works (but there's no guarantee you'll be invited back to any house, regardless of whether or not you like them--it all depends on how the computer makes its random decisions). Unlike BGLOs, NPC groups don't demand discretion in the dealings of prospectives or interests (hence, why the girls are going through a formal Rush).

I'm sure there's someone on this board who can clarify what I'm saying. My school doesn't have Formal Rush, and so, by reading/talking to friends who have gone through a Formal Rush, that's how I learned.

AlphaChigirl,

--it all depends on how the computer makes its random decisions).


If this is true, then my original question really stands, how does this ever lead to loyalty in the house that eventually takes you in?

PS. What does the computer do?

Hey Gina!

We do have formal rush at my school and let me tell you those computers are there to drive us all insane! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

In all seriousness the computers are intended to make everything fair. This is how it works at my school.

Night 1- Rushees visit all eight houses for a half hour each. At the end the rushees rank the houses in order of preference. The sororities do the same with the girls.

All lists get handed over to Panhellenic and it's all inputed into the computer. The computer then matches up houses and rushees that mutually liked each other. A party list is then generated for night two based on these mutual selections.

However sororities are limited to how many girls that they can invite back, so you could end up getting cut from a house that you like eventhough they liked you. Like say they can invite 200 girls, if your 201 on the list of mutual selection then you're cut. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

Night 2- Girls visit 6 houses for 45 mins each. Unfortunately, not all girls will get 6 parties. At times girls managed to be cut from all of them. After the parties the rushees and sororities once again rank their preferences. The magical computer then spits out more party lists.

Night 3- Rushees visit up to 4 houses for 50 mins. At the end of this night the ranking is the most important. This is because night four is pref. Panhellenic rules state that if you invite a girl to pref you should be willing to give a girl a bid. But unfortunately it's still not a guarantee.

Night 4- Up to 2 Pref parties that last an hour. Afterwards rushees rank #1 and #2 and sign a bid card. The signed bid card means that she'll accept a bid from either chapter. Sororities turn in their final Bid Lists. The computer will match up choices and generate the bid lists.

Unfortunately computers have bugs and that's where the nightmare lays. Girls end up with out bids and are devasted. What pisses me off is girls who sign the card and then depledge because they got their #2. If you know that you're not going to stick around you should just suicide. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif Other girls get screwed by people who do this.

K Gina back to your orginal question. How it is that you can continue to get loyal members of your orgainizations?

It's all about showing love and respect. It's in the little things that we do. Even when we know we were'nt a girls first choice, or evan if she was a snap bid, we treat her like she's #1 to us. We do our best to treat her like our own blood sister and like she's been our best friend for life. We try to always be there in good and bad times. We listen to her needs, her concerns, etc. Like someone posted on another thread it's a lot like marriage.

I guess let me ask you this. Why are your close friends, the ones who aren't your sorority sisters, loyal to you? That's why our girls are loyal to us. The ritual we do ties all that together and makes us sorority sisters; but even without it we'd be close.

Sorority rush is still a mystery to me. In Fraternity rush, you go to rush events, can get however many first formals as you want. Then, the houses can invite you back for second formals. You go through those, which can be the same number as first formals, then a couple weeks later is bid tuesday. You can get up to 8 bids, the number of houses on campus. One house could take 150 guys, and nobody else gets any, tough luck, that's how it works. The houses pick who they want, and you get to pick from who wants you. That seems the fair way to do it. You don't get penalized for "suiciding", and there's no quota, so one house can't take more than another. Last year, one house took over 30 guys, and we took 10, the second lowest. The year before, we took 30, the highest!

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Zeta Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

Okay, now I have a beter understanding of what happens during rush, and SoCal girl I do understand about the marriage aspect and treating every girl like she is number one. That's what you do. What I'm talking about is what the girls do. For example: After I had done all of my research and decided to pledge Delta, I had to 1)get to know Deltas on my campus 2)Find out when the informational would be and what to wear 3) Attend 4)Get all of my letters, 5)send my transcript 6) Wait FOREVER for a call 7) Go to an interview 8)Wait FOREVER for a call and then things went from there. At each one of those stages I had to ask myself if DELTA was worth all of the hastle. Obviously I thought it was. Now unless I've really missed the point, rushees go through a whole long process, and at the end they could end up with their second, third, or fourth choice? That's like me going through all of those steps and in the end becoming a AKA, Zeta or SGRho (in no particular order). I don't care how sweetly they could have treated me, had I ended up a Zeta, I would have always known that I didn't get my first choice. When the Deltas did something, I would have been envious, they they won awards or went on trips I would have wanted to go or take part ect. And more often than not, I would not have affiliated with an Alumnae chapter. This isn't to say that there aren't members of BGLOs that "settled" for less than their first choice, but it is certainly harder, and it is a more deliberate act. Consiquently Delta has (far more) Alumnae chapters than collegiate chapters, and we have fairly common 50 and even 75 year Deltas.

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If you can't raise conciousness, at least raise hell!--Rita Mae Brown

at my college, matching is done in the same fashion as at localsorority's school. rush involves 4 rounds of parties which take place over 4 consecutive nights. each afternoon following the previous night's parties, rushees would meet individually with a rho chi and receive a scantron card listing the houses that had invited them back for that night's rounds. if you got more than the maximum allowed number of invites, you got to cut sororities, by marking "decline with interest". if you had the right number, or less, you would mark "accept" for all the invitations. instead of matching 2 lists simultaneously, the sororities get to say who they want to invite, then rushees get to look at all their invites & decide which houses they want to go back to. the only night where "matching" occurs is pref night.

Hi Gina!

I think maybe we don't have such a big problem because eventhough rush is time consuming and nerve racking; what you go through to join a BGLO is about 100 times more. (From my understanding of everything that I learn on these boards.) If I had to go through all that I certainly wouldn't want to accept 2nd choice either.

Most of the time when a girl has her heart set on a sorority; she's met only a tiny percent of the chapter during (admitedly) the most superficial time of the year. Yes girls get bummed that they don't get their top choice, but a lot of the time realize later that the house would have actually been a horrible match. I know plenty of girls that were gung ho XYZ before, during and after rush but ended up in ABC. Then you talk to them after they get used to sorority life and their like "Thank God I didn't end up XYZ. I would have been miserable there!"

It's hard to explain, but it somehow all works out in the end. There are times when unfortunately this isn't true but it's actually pretty rare.

I posted a thread about the same thing. IT's in the category "Rush" under the topic "Rushed for the wrong reasons?"

I just had a soror give me the word for the thought behind this thread. There is a feeling among many members of BGLOs that one of the worst reasons for becoming a member of one of the NPHC Orgs is to "JUST BE GREEK". For many of us this means more than not wanting to be bothered with the actual WORK involved with membership, but it also means being willing to be a t-shirt wearer in ANYONE's T-shirt.. anyone who'll take you. Around this part of the country we (in the general sense of course http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif ) have names for people who do that.. DAZ (tried Delta, then tried AKA, finally got into Zeta) ZAS ( Tried Zeta, then tried AKA finally got into SGRho) ect. Though these people are "respected" as members of BGLOs, everyone knows that they just wanted to be greek.

I'm not trying to be rude, but that is what your Rush system sounds like to me. I'm I missing something?

Gina_lynn,

The National Panhellenic Conference does try to promote (and promote thru the college panhellenics) to “Go Greek” rather than “Go XYZ.” What’s best for one person might not be best for the other, and so on, but they want as many women as possible to experience the opportunities that come with Greek life. They don’t want women to get their hearts set on one thing and then be disappointed. I would say in NPC that women mostly join because of the sisters they meet at that chapter at their school, rather than the national philanthropy or whatever. You develop your loyalty to your chapter and to your national sorority through the experiences you have.

I think I know what you are getting at….we had a woman who started pledging Sig Chi little sisters, quit, joined PSK little sisters, quit, started pledging Phi Sigma Sigma, quit, started pledging Tri-Sigma, quit. By that time she was a total joke.

With the amount of research and commitment that is put into deciding to join a BGLO – I can understand why someone who flip-flops from one to the other would be “looked down” on. But honestly, I think a lot of it is just because there are 26 NPC groups as opposed to 4 NPHC groups. If there were only 5 or 6 NPC groups I’m willing to bet the situation would be similar to that of NPHC.

I think rush in the first semester can be good or bad. Good in a sense that they haven't heard the stories/rumors or all of the stereotypes yet. It can be bad though because they really don't get to know the brothers, even though we have an extra long rush of 7 weeks (8 my freshman year!), with all of the rules and regs, it's hard to completely be yourself around the prospectives, and some chapters put on a major front. Then guys are dissapointed with their decision. By then it's too late because most of the chapters won't take someone who picked somebody else over them once already, mostly since it's such a small system of only 8 fraternities, 2 of which together are about the size of the biggest house on campus.

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Zeta Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

Gina_Lynn,
I'm not Greek, but the responses I keep hearing from the GLO members make me think of something that you may be able to relate to...GLO members tell me if I am wayyyy off base! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Say that when you were a little girl you had your heart set on following in your parents footsteps and attending State U. They took you to the homecoming football games, all of their friends were also alums of State U. You learned the fight song and all of the cheers. Why, you bedroom was even decorated in the colors of SU! Every one that you had ever come in contact with that was associated with State U was intelligent, fun to be around, hard working. You never hesitated to tell people that when you grew up, you were going to State U! Then, as you got older something happened. Maybe you found out that the thing you wanted to major in was not available at State. Maybe your parents couldn't afford the tuition. Maybe you didn't get accepted. Maybe you were following a best friend/boyfriend, whatever. Anyway, you don't go to State U, you go to NextStateOver U. At first, you maybe were disappointed and compare everything to SU and NextStateOver U. pales in comparison. Then, you meet some people, become friends, go to your classes, learn THEIR (now your) fight song, buy a really nice sweatshirt and HEY! whatdaya know, you actually LOVE NextStateOver U! You meet some increadible alums and are impressed with their intelligence, etc. One even agrees to mentor you. Your roommate lets you cry on her shoulder when something goes wrong in your life. Your classmate lets you borrow his/her notes when you missed class cause you were sick. At this point, you can't IMAGINE ever liking State U! Why, their mascot is really dorky! And the dorms! What you thought were quaint are really run down....and on and on.

Once you attended NextStateOver you realize that it is a great place and are glad you are there. I think this is what the GLO members have been trying to say. Of course there will be people who still wish they had gone to State U, just as people will wish they had pledged XYZ instead of what they did.

Boy! that got longer than I had planned...but I guess you get the picture! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Eclipse,

I think that's a very interesting analogy. There does seem to be a difference, in that many who are interested in NPHC organizations have grown up knowing about them and wanting to be in one particular group. There are also those who grow up knowing a particular NPC or IFC group who may want to join that organization, but there are probably many more who are just interested in becoming a member of a GLO for the overall experience.

This may have lot to do with the (this is my perception) much higher profile of NHPC alumni members.

Wow, that's very interesting!!!

[quote]I sense that this is different from BGLOs...if you are not accepted by the
BGLO that you've researched and committed to in your heart, then no other BGLO (or any
GLO, for that matter) is for you. I may be off on my POV, please feel free to clarify.[quote]

Nope, that's about the long and the short of it. Most members of BGLOs feel pretty confidant in saying that because we have several chapters, ways of getting in the orgainzation even if the chapter on your campus is not active, and whe take quite a few members thruough Alumnae chapters. If the chapter on your campus or in your area doesen't seem to agree that you would be an asset to them, you can just try again later. If you show up wearing someone elses letters next year, then the chapter that turned you down was right.. you weren't for them.

[Quote]but then I'm not sure what exactly what the resources are that BGLO prospects are expected to use in researching a GLO, and what exactly they're supposed to research. [Quote]

The internet has made life very easy for prospective members of BGLOs, they can look up the national website of the orginaizations they are interested in, they can look up their prospective chapter's site. I know that all of the sororities have books that you can buy in a bookstore or check out in the library about the history and purpose of the orgainizations. In Search of Sisterhood, by Paula Giddings is the "must read" for all prospective Deltas. In fact, I would suggest that you all read it. By necessity, it goes deep into the history of both Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sororities, and gives a very good context and rationale for why we stay so demonstative with our affiliations.

As far as what they are supposed to be looking for well, I explain it this way:

If I were to ask a prospective member of Delta "Why Do you want to be a member" and what I hear is about what you can see by looking at this chapter alone.. they have missed the point! Things like colors, the popularity, niceness, intellegence, ect. of the members here, a project that we are involved with here (without being able to tell me about the national program behind it) are inconsequential (sp?). When we bring our girls out, they have soror who come from the 8 surrounding states to meet them and bring gifts and welcome them to the sisterhood. If they chose Delta because of this campus alone , they would miss the beauty of thay moment, and I would have set them up for it by allowing them to do it.

Here's my POV on the overall question: I sense that there's a fundamental difference between how the greek identity is viewed by those in BGLOs and those in GLOs, as well as what aspects of committment to one's GLO are given the most importance. Here's an example to illustrate the point:

On the OU campus, the theme for formal rush (both IFC and NPC, I believe) has been in the recent past "Go OU, then go greek." The theme's point is to emphasize that all greeks are Sooners, and pledging a particular house need not divide greeks in the effort to do well by both OU and the community. The intent is not to diminish a particular house's ideals, goals, philanthropies, or individuality, but to promote unity amongst greeks. This theme is not necessarily embraced by NPHC for rush (though I could be wrong, if there are any OU BGLO members out there, please let us know for sure). Does this imply that NPHC greeks aren't school or community oriented? To be sure, it doesn't! I think we all know that scholarship and service are important cornerstones of BGLOs.

It's not that there isn't a spirit of service (or loyalty, for that matter), it's just represented differently. My perspective on loyalty in particular:

Originally posted by Gina_lynn:
Members of GLOs, I have always wondered how it is that you can continue to get loyal members of your orgainizations when the rushees are
1) allowed to choose a house (I hope I'm saying this right) in their first semester, before they see anything about the orgainzation

From talking to friends and colleagues of mine, at some point of the process of formal rush, they simply know where they belong, it becomes a call from the heart, and that's how they choose their preference. From what I've learned about the NPC matching process during formal rush, the choices are mutual. However neither a house nor a young woman may get her 1st choice, and even when those choices are mutual, they aren't face-to-face until the very end of the process. A mutual committment can and generally does work out through this process - evidence the great numbers of women pledging and initiating various GLOs, and taking an active part in sorority life. To take the marriage analogy further, I guess this would be more like the traditionally arranged marriages - the committment is definitely there, you may be blind about some (minor) things going in, but you know you share the basic values with you future spouse...er, house. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif My personal opinion: I don't agree with the idea of arranged marriages, or the NPC formal rush process. I think back when I was researching sororities, if I had pursued my interest in a particular NPC house, I would have done informal rush, not formal, just because the format's more personal.

2) May have always wanted to be something else, and due to whatever reason, didn't get in (or turned a bid down), and now are a member of your orgainization and

If a young woman is already member of my sorority, then she has proved to our members' satisfaction that she is committed to our GLO. I would imagine that this holds true for all GLOs. No matter what the motivation for your committment, you have committed, and that is what's imortant. I sense that this is different from BGLOs...if you are not accepted by the BGLO that you've researched and committed to in your heart, then no other BGLO (or any GLO, for that matter) is for you. I may be off on my POV, please feel free to clarify.

3)(and please correct me if I'm wrong) the resources aren't out their to do research.

In the sense that BGLOs have resources for research, I'm guessing not, but then I'm not sure what exactly what the resources are that BGLO prospects are expected to use in researching a GLO, and what exactly they're supposed to research.

I'm not trying to put down your system, I'm just trying to understand.

http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif That's cool, and I'm glad you asked!



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equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

I also feel that the first semester should be focused on education. Many people come to college right out of high school and don't realize that college is not high school, that's why I like the second semester freshman rule

SoCalGirl,

Sorry the computers mess up bid matching. I don't know if it's possible for you because you may have too many sororities and too many rushees. But at my school there are only 4 sororities that participate in formal rush and the number of rushees, I think, never exceeds around 60, so we do it by hand (representative alumnas from each sorority). That way, we can add our personal touch and make sure things turn out right because we personally make every match.

[This message has been edited by mwedzi (edited July 21, 2000).]

Mwedzi,

I wish we could do matching by hand too. But it is difficult with 8 sororities and a few hundred rushees. The computer has its problems. But the girls get so catty during rush that I'd rather the computer jack everything up than have members "fiddling" with the lists.

Rush is right around the corner for some schools. So good luck to everyone!

Soror Gina,
Very good topic. I've been learned alot about NPC system so far and didn't realize how different it was from the NPHC system.
RedAngel
11-Spr'96

I think the way rush has been pictured in this thread does make it seem superficial. Speaking for my chapter, who participates in formal rush, we don't let just anyone in. EVERY girl that comes on bid day has at least one recomendation from an alumna, who has to actually know the potential member. The majority of the girls have shown previous interest in our organization and are hometown friends, roomates, college friends with a member. I think loyalty is directly tied to how much time and commitment you put into membership recruitment. We may cut a lot of girls but the girls we get are the ones we really want. Less girls during rush parties allows members to have deeper conversations and get to know the girls which is better than having tons of girls coming back every round. When new members are initiated and shown how rush works for our chapter they often think "How in the world did I get in!" and realize its because the members truly wanted them and took the extra time and effort to get to know them. We also have an extensive pledge education program. Your not going to sit in a seminar for hours a week. Take test. Recite creeds and other ritual if you dont realy want it. People do de-pledge. But the ones that stay that realize that the respect, devotion, and sincere caring of our house. All this comes together to makes people loyal.

Oddly enough, I think I do understand a bit about how someone could assess loyalty in a NPC group, based upon some of the NPC responses. Being in an NPHC organization, I totally understand where my sister-sorors and fraters are coming from, but now I think I do see where you can potentially develop a loyalty to a group that initially you didn't give serious consideration to.

It really depends on a person's mentally, and whether they follow-through and truly dedicate themselves to the oaths and committments they take. I would assume that if you accept a bid and pledge an oath from a group that wasn't your first choice in NPC, you've decided to make a committment to make that organization your own. If you cannot do that, then you shouldn't make the oath.

And once they've done that, maybe they do realize that what they loved about their first choice was superficial: the colors, the motto, the stereotypes, and not the essence of the organization, which you can only discover once you understand the organzation's history.

To be honest, I loved Zeta well enough based upon her motto, principles, the members I knew and the history I "thought" I knew about her. But having been in the organization and truly understanding her history, I honestly love her now. The "love" I had for her initially when I was interested was frankly, I now realize, superfical. What I've learned since then from her, about her and through her has been genuine and forever written upon my heart and mind. And that depth can only be learned from knowing her intimately, not just a name on a bid card or via a few parties anyway, I think.

-well, first of all, i want to say thanks to all the members of PHC orgs that posted here, because prior to reading these posts, i had my own ideas of what formal rush was. i thought i knew what it entailed, and i thought that the whole thing was at best a really stupid system. but now, i have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the process and the members of these differnet orgs.

-at my campus, there are a lot of PHC and IFC orgs., and i thought i was one of the more well versed members of a NPHC org; thinking that i had a pretty good handle on what they were about. i have a fair number of friends and associates that are in PHC and IFC orgs. i thought that BGLO's and GLO's were just too different, and that i'd never understand the rationale for GLO's method of initiation. this has really been enlightening.

-also, i want to say that i think that Gina_lynn was right on point when she said:

'"Why Do you want to be a member" and what I hear is about what you can see by looking at this chapter alone.. they have missed the point! Things like colors, the popularity, niceness, intellegence, ect. of the members here, a project that we are involved with here (without being able to tell me about the national program behind it) are inconsequential (sp?).'

-i love Sigma and all that it stands for. if some guy told me he was interested is Sigma because he thought the bruhs looked cool, or we stroll tight, or our colors are tight, or something superficial like that, i would seriously doubt his potential for membership in MY org.

-on a different note...
i have a question for the GLO folks. i have come to understand from the people that i've talked to and things i've picked up that MOST GLO members don't have any affiliation with their fraternity or sorority outside of the four/five years of undergraduate college. why is that? i know that there are people who do continue service with the org., like house moms/dads. but why do most people consider themselves alumni and say 'i WAS an xyz in college'?

-i'm out

NPC chapters are vastly different from school to school. I think that is one reason alumni involvement is different. Many alumni remain involved with their particular chapter. There are numerous alumni groups throughout the US for my sorority and alumni participation is growing.

Shelacious: you pretty much hit the nail on the head. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif


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equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

Hey all,

Just a reply in general we hold deferred rush at my school. It has been a hard adjustment, but has created more dedicated rushees.

Wow, I finally read this thread. Now that the prospect of becoming greek is coming near, I've been pondering my decision much more lately.

I actually had thought, maybe it would be easier to just go through the NPC rush and just get a house and live with it. But I just don't see what I want in an NPC sorority. Please, I hope I don't offend anyone, this is just my own personal viewpoint.

In all honesty, I see more of what I want out of the greek experience in the BGLOs. Let me explain. I see Shaq in is Q shirt. I saw a woman drive past me in the parking lot the other day. She was VERY old (could barely see over the steering wheel) and proudly wearing a Delta cap. I see how vehemently members defend, promote, and display their affiliation to their greek organization. They truly love the organization and all that she stands for. I just don't get that feeling from the NPC sorority members I know. I see how much the IG's look forward to becoming a Delta or an AKA or a SGRho -- not just becoming greek (well, most of them anyway).

I want to be part of a system that breeds such loyalty. I look forward to being an active member of the sorority long after I graduate. I hope to help with it's expansion, the shape of the chapter as she grows, and many other things. I don't look upon my joining a sorority as something to do in college. I am looking at this as a life long committment.

I know a SigEp. He is still in college, a senior, and he could really care less about the frat. His attitude is: Hey, it was something to help me adjust to my new surroundings, meet chicks, go to great parties -- but I am passed that now.

I know I don't want to take an easy out. I want to continue to work hard and earn these letters I dream about.

Asia

Selacious, beautifully written. Your post lead me to think about something else. Just curious for some feedback on these thoughts.

Like you said, your love for Zeta was initially superficial. I see a lot of IG's saying, ignorantly, "I want to be a member because I love what the letters stand for." I understand we can't honestly understand what the letters stand for until we are initiated members and get to know Her (the soroity) intimately, as you described.

Maybe, being that I am not greek, this question is COMPLETELY off base, but I just wondered:

what if, after you get to know your sorority intimately, you find that her principles, the true meaning of her symbols and letters, are not what you had in mind and not what you wanted to be a part of. What then? In a BGLO, I know you can't just drop out and decide oh, I'll go be a SGRho, Delta, whatever instead.

Just curious on what you guys think of this? Is it totally off base?

Honestly, I do think that continued participation after graduation is something NPC GLOs need to work on (and I'm a member of one). This isn't to say that all of us just forget our organizations once we graduated. Current count for AST is at 65 active collegiate chapters and 39 alumnae chapters and associations. And as so many alumnae from my chapter still do things with the collegiate chapter, we are thinking of starting up an alumnae chapter in our area.

Of course most alumnae on this board haven't forgotten their orgs, otherwise, we wouldn't be here talking about them all the time! Despite the fact that many GLO members do participate after graduation, the participation rate is just not as high as I would like to see it.

[This message has been edited by mwedzi (edited August 06, 2000).]

First I have to preface my remarks by noting that I am speaking as an outsider (not IFC or NPC member but rather more a local sorority noticing trends) and any "insider" is very welcome to correct me.

I have noticed (in at least one fraternity) that the alumni chapters are not strictly related to their active chapters. For example, graduating from OU does not mean that you will be in the OU alumni group (if there is such a thing). Their alumni groups tend to be determined by the number of alumni in regional areas. They do try to have events, but it is the frequent, if not constant, interaction that creates the bonds of brotherhood, and those chapters are not always found in the same region as their active chapter. Maybe this disconnection and lack of involvement in their fraternity is caused by this geographical distance and new subgrouping of the membership.

I know that I will always be heavily involved in my sorority. But I realize that it is impossible for all of my sisters to do the same. Most have scattered across the US, from New York, California, Texas, Indiana, and Florida. And my chapter only has about fifteen graduates at this time! Regular involvement from the alumni requires a certain amount of proximity and if our graduates are mostly from out-of-state (which at least 75% are) the occassions for which they can come back to campus are severely limited. In addition, I know that I am only as heavily involved as I am because we are so young and really need the leadership in all levels of the organization, local active, local alumnae, national, national expansion, etc.

Other than what I have said above, I don't know what else contributes to the problem.

Sorry I could be of more help.

Again, I have to preface my remarks by mentioning that I belong to a non-NPC or NPHC sorority.

I know that for my organization, almost everything is covered in candidate (what most others call pledge) education. However, we strongly advise our candidates to wait to initiate if they have any questions about who we are.

This is probably done because our founding chapter almost became a chapter of another national sorority before they became aware of "significant differences". Since I am not a founder or a member of that chapter at that time, I don't know what those differences were. But I would imagine that is the reason we give all initiates a specific opportunity to leave before initiating.

Our governing policies (and the spirit of our organization) does not limit a non-member (whether deactivated or depledged) from pursuing another sorority. However, I understand that this is not the norm for NPC sororities. I believe that once a member has initiated, they are not allowed under any circumstances (such as deactivating) to pledge another sorority.

[This message has been edited by Gizmo (edited August 09, 2000).]

I've read this thread two times now, just in case I missed something.

I am a member of a NPC sorority, but I have a best friend who's in a NPHC Frat. Him and I have argued over this same issue sooo many times. The truth is that simply put, GLO's and BGLO's just do things like Recruitement differently.


From everything my friend and I have discussed NPC has stricter rules and enforcement of said rules for Rush then most (not all) BGLO's. We (NPC) are basically told how to do things. So, we work with the system the best we can. I'm sure that in both BGLO's and GLO's there are sooo many things which go on behind closed doors concerning potential pledges/new members. These things are particular to that house/organization. Hence they cannot be discussed.

All I have to say is that after going through both sides of Rush...a rushee and as a sister I wondered how the h#ll I got in. The thing is that more goes on then meets the eye. NPC organizations are particular about who they let in. We want rushees who have the desire to diversify, build, uphold, and ensure our sisterhood. Not, everyone is meant to be XYZ, not everyone is meant to be ABC.

At my school, as I said above, we hold deferred Rush in the Spring semester. So, we know these girls, because those who want to join have made themselves known to us. It isn't quite the guessing game or game of chance which I feel has been portrayed here of the NPC system.

Thanks,

Kymberleigh

[This message has been edited by Kymberleigh (edited August 08, 2000).]

We have found something that is in common then, but this sounds like what I hear everyone say about our membership intake process

And believe me, both Gizmo and I have seen that waiting and deciding makes truly strong sisters out of those who care, and prevents those who don't identify with our goals and ideals from causing strife for themselves and the sisterhood by taking the ultimate and final steps.

"Slow & steady wins the race."
--from the Rabbit and the Hare, Aesop's Fables.


Good to see you here, Sister Gizmo! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif
------------------
equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

[This message has been edited by equeen (edited August 09, 2000).]

I went through rush last year and went to 2 houses on pref night. I bid one and put the other second but did not get a bid. What are my chances of getting one of those two sororities if I go through this year. Will anyone hold it against me for not getting a bid last year? I am a little uneasy about the whole thing. Do you have any advice?