Ever Been Inactive??
 

Have you ever been inactive from your organization?

Yes, I am currently inactive because I didn't attend classes last semester.

i might have to go inactive next spring because I may be going to Northern Ireland.

Why do you have to go inactive to go abroad?

So you don't have to pay all your dues. At least that's how it is in my chapter, on inactive status you only pay partial dues.

yep. Except in my chapter going inactive means you dont pay dues at all. It's mostly used when a girl goes abroad. My big was inactive this quarter because she was in Austrailia. It also is so that she is not counted towards quorum (sp?) or counted against our grades (because grades abroad are not added until she returns, which is typically a few weeks into the next quarter/break).

We have similar statuses:

We have girls who pay a small fraction of dues, can still wear letters, attend informal meetings and fun bonding nights, but can't participate in rituals, mixers, and typical events. Generally it's because of circumstances beyond their control: leaving the county to study abroad, getting grades up, taking care of family stuff. Girls can return unquestioned up to one year.

Innactive status basically happens when a sister transfers, drops out of school, or well... just quits. If there is no intention of returning to active status and don't request alumna status, this is what happens.

We do not have an "inactive" status, but when I withdrew from school after a car accident I also went off the chapter roll until I returned as a full-time student the following year.

In my chapter, we have an inactive status. Inactive members are sisters who either go abroad, leave the school or need to take a semester off from the sorority because of work or other reasons. (Usually seniors who are doing internships in the city and need to commute go inactive.) Inactive members have to pay half of dues, they only have to come to formal meetings, can't vote, can't take a little sister, and can't be actively involved in the NM period. If an inactive member wants to go to any social events, then she has to pay full price for them.

Umm not yet but then again I just crossed last year. Check with me when the twins (that I'm not pregnant with yet) want to go to Fisk and Howard and I'm making too much to send them on financial aid.

I was not, but my diamond sister did for a semester. Because of personal reasons it was going to be next to impossible for her to afford dues or be active in the chapter that semester. What she did have to do though was write a formal letter to the exec board and advisors, and they had to decide on it and have it approved by district advisors. It was a very hard decission for her, but it did work out better that way in the end. After, she was able to come back and be very active with the chapter.

Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

In NPC land, the textbook answer to your question is a member is never "inactive": you are either a New Member (pledge in the olden days), a Collegian (active, I guess, though the term "active' is not "officially" not to be embraced) or an Alumna. That's it.

New Member, Collegian or Alumna.

Of course people do use the term "active" but in the higher echelons of Greekdom, it's frowned upon.

Re: Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

I've never heard of any sister referred to as an "active" so I'd assume that "inactive" would never be used as a noun or status of membership.

BUT -- in the ECs I've sat on, a sister wishing to take this special status was still claimed on the roster as a collegian, but she paid "inactive dues". I've never heard of any other way to describe this special status other than "inactive".

Does the NPC frown upon the term "collegian currently on inactive status"?

Re: Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

Phi Sig's Technical terms...

Chapter Status: For a sister who needs to take time off for maybe an internship, to concentrate on school final semester, etc, but will still be at school.

Limited Status: For a sister who will be abroad, leaving campus family emergency, basically not anywhere near close enough to the chapter to participate at all.

Both have decreased dues.

i went inactive the semester after i was kicked out of school for bad grades. was one of the worst times of my life =(

Re: Re: Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

The reason "active" isn't supposed to be used is because people used to say "pledges" and "actives." It is kind of a misnomer, because who's more active than pledges? ;) I guess the distaste for "inactive" comes out of that.

There used to be LOTS AND LOTS of women who would take "inactive" status for REALLY lame reasons. Most groups now feel that unless it's a special situation like unanticipated financial or family hardship (hence the term special status) you're either in, or you're out. If you're going inactive because "I just don't feel like going to things" then you should terminate your membership.

Re: Re: Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

Seriously? Maybe it was our school, but if you were a collegiate member, you were an active.


I was inactive for one term. I had complications from surgery, and couldn't return for the rest of the year. I had to pay International dues, and a Chapter stipend, both of which insured that I could return the following term in good standing.

I agree with 33girl that, if you don't feel like attending functions, you should terminate your membership, not go inactive.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

I pledged/initiated Fall 99/Spring 2000, and around that time, my chapter was going through the transition of saying Recruitment instead of Rush, collegian not undergrad, Member Development and not Frat Ed, etc.

They could have easily called the undergrads "actives" prior to this time, but it was never used while I was in school.

The 3 local sororities on campus still use active and inactive, though.

I took a "Leave of Absence" the fall of my senior year for finanical and sanity reasons since I was applying for Graduate School. I had to write a letter to Exec explaining why and they and our advisor had to approve it. I was able to attend rituals and one meeting (basically had alumnae status) and had to pay national dues but thats it.

I'm more than likely going to go inactive this semester...I simply don't have the time for it...nor the patience to deal with petty bs. I'll help out the girls when I can, but I'm just not dealing with it this semester.

nope but i know a couple girls that the year after i graduated went alumni on campus so they wouldnt have to turn in their letters.

You have to turn in your letters in you go inactive?

the way they had it with my girls when i was active before graduating to go inactive was to turn your letters in, but if you were still in school and went alumni you still had your letters. so it might varry per organization. one of the girls that pledged after i did turned her letters in so she is now inactive and no longer part of the sorority. so i guess it varries where you go and how it is worded in your constitution.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

Same here. Your school sounds a lot like my school, Honeychile! ;)

Thats why you join a fraternity that wont kick you out for shitty grades. My grades didnt start getting shitty until my fraternity was kicked off campus. :mad: I remember one semester I dropped 2 classes and made Cs and Ds on the other 3 classes. Had a lot of fun that semester but it was the worst as far as grades go.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Ever Been Inactive??
 

How coincidental, KR!! What are the chances? ;)

Now I'm kinda jealous.

We don't have inactive like y'all do. Inactive means you're initated but no longer in good standing (didn't pay dues, did something extreme) and don't have alumnae status. Once inactive, you can't become active.

Ours are similar, inactive means you didn't meet the standards of membership. You can petition to be readmitted, which requires a 2/3 vote from the membership. We also have it where you can request a Leave of Absence for a semester which is if people are having personal problems or go abroad, which allows you to come back after that semester without having to be voted back in. In cases of extreme actions, its in our constitution where we can Suspend a person. For that person to rejoin they'd have to go back through pledgeship after they got their act together.

Me again.

Delta Gamma has a glossary and this is what they say for "collegian".

"Collegian", a noun, refers to a Delta Gamma in college. NEVER "collegiate" or "actives".

So, active is a NO GO.