"Official" Lil' Brother/Lil' Sister Organizations
 

Are there any organizations here that have "Official" (meaning approved my your national headquarters) lil' brother or lil' sister organzations? By that, I don't mean Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta. Yes, they are an "official brother-sister organization" but, I mean "NON GREEK" brothers and sisters who help with various events the GLO may have, etc. If so, what are they and for anyone else interested, besides myself, how do you go about becoming a member of it?

Howdy,

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. has several official auxilliaries. The Pearlettes (little girls 4-7), the Amicettes (girls 9-13), the Archonettes (high school girls), and the Amicae. The Amicae, are women who do not meet the requirements for membership into ZPhiB, but believe in the ideals of the sorority, and assist local chapters with activities. For more info check out http://www.zpb1920.org or consult your local chapter!

Some of the other NPHC orgs have these types of groups too. (I will let the members of those orgs speak about them, because I don't know the details http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif)

Now, if you are talking about collegiate based groups (like sweetheart organizations) the only organization that has an official group is Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.(if I'm not mistaken).

ZetaAce

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A FinerWoman since 1997...

Silver Spur, Iota Phi Theta is the only NPHC organization that has official sweethearts that are recognized by their national office. Other Bro./Sis. Organizations are banned from the rest of the Divine Nine. Why? Iota Phi Theta became a member of the NPHC in 1996. Their use of sweethearts was sort of grandfathered in. Do you see what I mean. They came in after the ruling came down so they were still allowed to have an official sweetheart organization. That's not to say that there aren't some underground lil bro/lil sis organizations still running around out there. I hope this was of some help to you.

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KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY, INC.
SPR 97
XI LAMBDA

In order to maintain our autonomy, ZTA chapters are not allowed to have little brother or similar organizations or men representing them in any official capacity. Most NPC organizations have similar rules.

Barb

Thanks for your reply, but I'm not speaking of sweethearts. I am speaking of lil'bro/lil'sis organizations like Zeta Ace mentioned.

Does Kappa Alpha Psi have any of that nature?

Thanks again for your reply.

Sillllllllvvvvver Spurrrrrrrrrrr



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"I like to do what I can do when I can do it"

Are DeltaGents and MiAKA's "official"? or are they considered sweethearts?

Sigma Gamma Rho has the Rhoers and the Philos.

The Rhoers are girls in junior and/or senior high school. And the Philos are friends of Sigma (our mothers, grandmothers, good friends...) that believe in our ideals and principles, but for whatever reason could not pursue membership into the sorority.

1922

The Greek Sytem is the downfall of a large percentage of our youth. Little rich mommy's boys and daddy's girls from north Jersey ride around the collective campus of America, with NY Yankees stickers and a brand new Lexus they got for graduation, after trading in the sub-par BMW they got for the big sixteen. Not to mention, the smug little attitudes most portay. A mini Hollywood is created from the Greek system, with the same results: booze, mind-erasing drug use, and the eventual spread of STD's, which is said to infect a whopping 29% of sorority girls. Don't get me wrong, there are many positive aspects, but there are many negative.

Speaking for Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. We do not have nor do we recognize any sweetheart organizations. There are still groups out like Kappa Diamonds or Pretty Girls Inc. These are girls who were once affiliated with Kappa through being a sweetheart but have since incoporated themselves into their own organization. Like I said earlier, there are still sweetheart organizations out there. They are illegal. And sadly enough there are some chapters of my org. that still have sweetheart. That goes for other NPHC fraternities as well. The only official group we recognize are our KAPPA SILOUHETTES. These are wifes of Kappa Men. That's it.

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KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY, INC.
SPR 97
XI LAMBDA

Would it be kosher to ask why they were outlawed? It seems to me that having sweethearts would be a good thing. BTW If it's secret, no problem.

Dewgirl, You had better be careful what you ask. People get offended easily around here.

Not you MN. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Dewgirl,

I suggest you visit the Delta Sigma Theta forum, Alpha Kappa Alpha forum, and I believe Kappa Alpha Psi's forum and perform a search. Enter Lil' brother/sister organizations and you'll find several threads on this topic. A lot of them were closed because the issue and comments got out of hand.

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Sisterhood, Scholarship, & Service
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
"Intelligence is the Torch of Wisdom"

Both groups, along with other "sweetheart" orgs were outlawed in 1990. Many of these groups (under slightly modified names) are now incorporated into their own entity.




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mccoyred

Dynamic
Salient
Temperate

As always, I'd like to further my understanding about various aspects of greek life. Can anyone suggest any links (outside of greekchat, too) where I might learn about Zeta Phi Beta, Inc. and Sigma Gamma Rho, Inc.'s official auxilliaries? Thanks in advance.

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

I've got some interesting perspective on "little" organizations - my own sisterhood grew out of such an organization to an IFC fraternity. I can't speak for all "little" organizations, but this group were strong in and of themselves, and were already functioning as a unified, distinct entity when the fraternity's national org. decided to phase out all little sister organizations.

I say kudos to little or auxilliary groups...as long as they are being productive as an organization. My biggest pet peeve is the groupie mentality - why associate yourself with something if it's doing nothing for you, and you nothing for it (or perhaps you are, and the experience is one-sided?). Saying that, I must also express that little groups probably needed to be phased out, if they were detracting from the purpose of the "big" organizations they were connected to, and not serving any real purpose for the "little's" members.

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

With all due respect to my good Kappa Frater, NUPE4 LIFE http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/cool.gif, Iota Phi Theta does have a recognized Sweetheart Auxiliary - and it the fact that we continue to have them has nothing to do with being "Grandfathered in."


It's important to note that the NPHC does not and cannot legislate policy for any member organization. In some instances, the NPHC groups will make collaborative decisions in the interest of unity and the greater good but each of the nine groups retains its own governance and autonomy regarding its business and operational affairs. The NPHC is a collaborative organization - not an umbrella organization.


"Iota Sweethearts" are definitely recognized as a legitimate auxiliary to our Fraternity. This has its roots in the early days of the Fraternity. Before the present days of our being NPHC members, life on many campuses for Iota chapters was brutal. If not for our Hearts, we literally didn't have anyone who "had our backs." The Sweethearts have been there for us time after time after time.

We feel so strongly about our Sweethearts that we actually have a woman who holds the title "Eternal Sweetheart." Her name is Miss Audrey Brooks and she is in her late 80's (She will never tell us her exact age - when asked, she always tells us she is 99 years old! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif)

As background, Miss Brooks was an administrator at Morgan State University in the early 1960s and she did many "behind the scenes" things for Iota to protect us from those individuals in the power structure who were trying to do serious harm to the organization.

Miss Brooks actually attended our recent Conclave (Oakland, CA, August 1999) and participated in a workshop for Iota Wives and Sweethearts. She is revered by all Brothers and Sweethearts of Iota and has a special place in our history. (Her son was actually a member of the first pledge line of Iota Phi Theta in 1964!)

With that in mind, there is an important point that should be made here: Unlike Diamonds, Pearls, Angels, et al., Iota Sweethearts never "pledged." They were always there to help and support Brothers and Chapters of Iota Phi Theta. This was always a mainstay of the concept of Sweethearts ... men cannot and do not pledge women.

In the Sweetheart Workshop at Conclave, Miss Brooks made the statement, "The Purpose of Iota Sweethearts is to smile and be gracious on behalf of Iota. Anything else is inappropriate." I like that - I like it a lot. It goes to the heart of the matter and it sets the tone for our involvement with young women who choose to support us. Sweethearts are not Brothers, they are not members of a fraternal organization -- they are an auxiliary.


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IotaNet
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
3AH80

Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity
Zeta Nu Chapter, Spring, 1979

[This message has been edited by IotaNet (edited October 28, 2000).]

Iota, how dare you give up some info on your org?

Is not everything a secret?

Forgive him MN :=)

Very well said Iota.

Equeen- for more information on Zeta Phi Beta's auxilliaries. Check out our website- http://www.zpb1920.org . There is a good amount of info there http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

ZetaAce

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A FinerWoman since 1997...

Dewgirl:

I can't speak for the NPHC orgs, but 4 of the IFC fraternities on my campus had little sisters. When our campus outlawed them, these were the reasons:

1. They took away time from the brothers focusing on each other and the fraternity.
2. Their pledging practices were not able to be regulated by IFC or Panhel, as they were not part of either org.
3. Some of the sororities resented them...I for one did not, but I seemed to be in the minority on that opinion.

that's the skinny from my corner of the world..

equeen You can find out more about the Philos and Rhoers of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. through our national website www.sgr1922.org

For the most part (and I am speaking generally), the auxillary groups like sweethearts, angels, gents, yada yada....not only helped the sorority/fraternity with regards to putting on programs, fundraisers, and the like, but played a large part in assisting pledges during their process. And since pledging was outlawed in the early 90's, so were these groups.

and equeen, if you do a search on "philo club" or "rhoer club" you should be able to pull up various chapters of each.....hope that helps!

And for my divine niners...I was under the impression that the following were considered "Official Auxillaries" to our organizations: Sigma Beta Club (Phi Beta Sigma), AKAteens (AKA), Kappa League (KAPsi)... I thought these were the groups that the OG question was looking for, not sweetheart orgs?

Thank you, ZetaAce, HU1922, and prettypoodle6. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

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

Soror, What is the Kappa League? I have not heard of it.

I think that the Kappa Leaque is a youth initiative. One of my Kappa friends in Cali was telling me about it some months ago...maybe 7 months ago!

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Director #2
LMAC, Spr 99
Galveston Council of Greeks NPHC, President