PNM's: Beware of Thefacebook
 

PNM's... please be VERY careful if you choose to register on Thefacebook before Recruitment.

As soon as a student is accepted at Clemson, he or she is given an email account through the university, so the student is eligible to subscribe to Thefacebook with his or her university email address. I'm sure that other universities have the same policy. With the popularity of Thefacebook increasing so much over the last year, high school graduates are making Facebook accounts prior to even arriving at the university. Many are even joining groups called "People who actually aren't at Clemson yet... No, you aren't the only one!" and "Class of 2009." Joining these groups makes a PNM very easily searchable. If a member of a GLO accesses the profile of a PNM and sees that her interests are "drinking tequila, staying out all night, etc etc" and has joined groups like "People Who Pre-game Everything," "M.I.L.F. in Training," and "I drink wine any day of the week and with anyone...biatch,"... or worse, I promise, the PNM will be remembered and probably not thought highly of during Recruitment.

GLOs want THE BEST new members possible... so in other words, don't post anything on Thefacebook that you would not tell one of the sisters or brothers of a GLO in person. Thefacebook is fun, and yes, I'm a member. But, if joining it means that you may possibly not get a bid because of something on your profile... it's not worth it at all.

Just be careful! :)

Hmm, I kinda find it interesting however that PNMs are being told that joining those groups on facebook could potentially hurt your chances in recruitment when there are TONS of members already in houses that are in groups like that! Kind of a double standard that it's not okay for PNMs but it's okay for members.

Does anybody get what I'm saying? Haha, I feel like I'm not explaining it well...

You beat me to posting it. Great minds think alike.

Teehee I hear you loud and clear

I definitely agree. We've been told to carefully watch what our profiles say about us, too. The PNMs are researching us as well. It does go both ways!

You have to take things like the facebook with a grain of salt. A lot of people take it as a joke and just do it to have fun (myself included), and don't mean to be judged by their profile. If a person puts that his or her hobbies are "drinking tequilla all night long" and belongs to the "MILF in training group" I'm SURE that most of the people who read that person's profile will (hopefully) understand that it's a joke. It's only facebook.

Yes, hopefully those kinds of things are a joke. Thefacebook is fun and people have extremely creative and funny profiles. But, Recruitment is a huge, tedious, extremely selective process at my school. We have to take everything into consideration when it comes to how we present ourselves to PNMs and how the PNMs present themselves to us. If either one of us has a "racy" (for lack of a better word) profile on Thefacebook, it puts forth a bad image and can be detrimental to the process.

So if a girl has recs, is a legacy, does community service, high GPA, and has a great personality, she won't get a bid because she's a MILF in training?

Hahahaha, "M.I.L.F.-in-training?" That's the funniest thing I've seen all day.

Ok, I'm too old. What's MILF? :D

Mom I'd Like to F*ck

A MILF is a Mother I'd Like to have relations with (F---.)

I always thought shit like FaceBook was a bad idea to begin with, anyway.

But that's just the old fogey in me.

But members have also been warned (and in some cases, punished) for the groups that they've joined on the facebook, or pictures they've posted. I don't think it's a double standard at all.

Sandy -- many smaller schools have had offline facebooks for years, with pictures and information about all new students. The facebook.com has just taken it to a new, more personal level. I'm not sure what's inherently "a bad idea" about it -- like many things, it can be either good or bad. I'm sure that some PNMs may get looked up by the sororities of their choice and the sororities may find out information from the facebook that may make them want this girl more. I think that any form of information that can help sororities find out more information about how a girl presents herself and how she wants other people to see her can only be a good thing. It certainly makes more sense to me than asking alumnae from her area what her high school rep was -- and people have been doing that for years.

Perhaps it wouldn't be a double standard if ALL members everywhere were facing consequences for it, but they're not.

Some schools and some chapters have taken action to prevent the association of their organization with whatever might be on their members' profiles on facebook (or myspace, wherever!), but far from all of them have. Yet ALL PNMs, regardless of what school they're going through recruitment at, will be looked at under a microscope... I do think it's a double standard.

from what i have seen, there are quite a few people who don't know what is socially acceptable(or morally) and don't exercise any constraint with the pictures and information that they publicly post on the internet. pictures showing someone with a beer bottle in one hand, wearing a lamp shade on their head indicates to me a hardy partier, and while that might be an isolated incident, if that is the photograph they choose to share on facebook, or if they list their favorite past times as beer chugging, sleeping in different fraternity houses every night and pushing people in wheelchairs down steep slopes,then i will just have to believe that that is what they want people to know about them and that is what they are proud to share with strangers. whether it is a double standard or not,i think that camellia's advice is very prudent and should be heeded. being silly, posting outrageous things about yourself could just come back to bite you in the butt. and it is equal opportunity. sorority members should also exercise constraint in what they share on facebook.

I agree with you, that's why I said that we ALL need to maybe use more discernment and caution when we post things about ourselves on the interent.

10,000
 

A lot of this depends on the school...

If it's a very small school and everyone knows everyone, there are lots of "inside jokes" that might be misconstrued by outsiders or freshmen who don't understand them yet.

And while everyone is worrying about putting things in facebook that make you appear too loose or whatever, it can also go the other way...there are some schools where if you come across as too much of a prude you can kiss a bid goodbye. That doesn't mean the women at that school are any different than the ones at a school where you have to worry endlessly about your reputation...maybe they're just a little more honest.

Re: 10,000
 

Thank you for saying this. My chapter has always highly encouraged sisters to go out together to parties, fraternity houses, etc. right before Recruitment because of this. There are lots of freshman girls (in fact, some of the most sought-after PNMs) who want to join a sorority for social reasons. Yes, my sisters are the ones I've shed tears with and done community service with, but they're also the ones I've taken shots with and stayed out all night with. Although you certainly don't want to turn off more conservative PNMs by making it seem like partying is all you have to offer, I don't want a girl to mark my sorority off her list because we make it seem like we never go out and have fun.

I volunteer as an advisor for 2 different campuses for my sorority. BOTH universities actively monitor the university facebook. Recently 2 greek organizations were sanctioned for underage drinking and hazing based on pictures posted on the "facebook". Hopefully more NHQ's are aware of this tool and have the ability to monitor it.

Also, other greek forums and on line picure photo albums (like webshots) are regularly monitored by numerous NHQ's (I have 4 friends from different GLO's in which that is their jobs) and will sanction their chapter if they see subjective pictures posted. So its not just PNM's being warned but all GLO's to be careful what they chose to share on line. My advice don't put up anything that is "scandelous" or identifying you with your chapter.

Then this opens up another kettle of worms.

Couldn't someone who has a grudge against a sorority and a bit of computer savvy 1) hack into someone else's webshots album and 2) photoshop some of the pics to make them look "incriminating" (i.e. putting beer bottles in people's hands).

I would hope no one is psycho enough to do this, but I wonder if it is possible.

Damn I feel like an ass because I just registered to facebook and I just graduated High School. Im almost there :(

same goes for rho chis...
 

I think after warning le chapter's recruitment counselors, it might be helpful to post this piece of advice here now that a whole lot of freshman PNM's are joining thefacebook: rho chis, for the love of bob, take out your chapter affiliation from your facebook/myspace/etc. profiles. PNMs look (I did last year, and figured out a few rho chis) and if you want to be a respected, unbiased confidant for rush week, don't neglect your profiles' "residences" and your memberships of "[insert sorority here]" and "ABC PC '05."

There's an easy way to avoid those incriminating pics of sorority members from getting in the wrong hands: don't drink/go to drinking parties in letters. Our chapter beats this one into our heads and it keeps us out of trouble on a dry campus. And, if they're taken, keep them off the internet if you know they could get you in trouble.

Just wanted to add a HUGE co-sign about the facebook. Greek or not, and whether you like it or not, what you write down in your profile will ALWAYS reflect you for most people. I.e. things like "wasted every thursday" when you're under 21 won't be held in high respect by myself personally-not only because it's illegal, but because it shows lack of self constraint and lack of discretion. Also Greek-shopping, as in being the sweetheart of every fraternity on the facebook just shows to me you're a groupie. There's so many things that can be taken the wrong way by people that it's just better to play it safe and keep a clean profile-college is a tabula rasa, you can start writing on the slate once you've established yourself.

That is fine. My Gamma Chi's just started a group to interact with girls called "Planning on Going through Sorority Recruitment?!?" They use it to answer questions about applications and different informationals.

damn.....folks getting uptight over the facebook? talk about petty....

see, this is where a process in making someone comes in handy.

little one-we are not saying the facebook is bad-just think very carefully about what you want strangers to know about you, and how that information might effect the opinion they form of you without having first met you in person. be discreet and smart!!

I can't imagine Facebook drinking groups causing anyone at my school to not get a bid.

And I do come from a school with a large and very competetitive rush.

This past recruitment, we had a girl go through who seemed nice but kind of shy. She was sweet but we didn't think she liked us very much or was interested in us and we were going to cut her. She became facebook friends with one of my sister's roommates, and would im her and send her messages on facebook about recruitment saying things like "oh I like KLP so much they're such sweet girls" and all that stuff. We never responded to that, but we decided to invite her for pref since she seemed so eager. The wierdest thing from all of this was that she didn't even end up pledging us.

I am by no means picking on you ADqtPiMel

But even having "Location: having a sit sit and a pink drink at the bar" can be crass in some places during rush.
I know of girls in sororities being brought up for membership for drinking in public in letters. It isn't a big deal in some places but in others it is. And that is no worse or better than what some people write on the internet.

Any of my scandalous stuff that I post I do without my greek affiliation. And believe me in the past (my younger days--- ah SIGH---) I was chastised by IHQ and other AGD members for some of my postings.

It can and does reflect on your org.

Ever notice that when someone adds a statement like that, they actually are picking on you?

I'm sorry my location offends your delicate sensibilities so much. I really don't think having a sit sit and a pink drink for someone who's over 21 is a dreadfully bad representation of my sorority.

Now if my location was something like: "at the bar getting schwasted," or something like that....I could understand. But please.

1. How is that crass?
2. How is that drinking in public in her letters?

Theoretically, her screen name contains her GLO so that would be an online version of "wearing your letters."

<---- does not pretend that she knows much about facebook.com, other than what she's read on GreekChat.

Is your facebook info deleted by your senior year, or upon graduation? If it isn't, please consider that employers could possibly use any information, too.

As someone who interviews applicants, I think I'd be more upset with poor spelling & grammar, or one of the silly photos that has been described - but I could be wrong. It certainly wouldn't be the first time!

So then how is this any different than any of the drunk threads that we have on GC where people who all have letters in their sns or signatures post in while drunk or talk about what they did while drunk?

I don't agree, just offering a possible explanation. :)

Oh ok.

I was also going to say something...I think the GLOs and non-GLOs alike need to take great care as to what they are posting on Facebook...Being an alum, I personally don't have access, but I've heard what gets posted. PNMs are watching us as closely as we're watching them...

Furthermore, what type of women/men do you want to attract to your organization? Your posts can have a large impact on that as well...

Good luck to everyone this Fall!!