New local sorority, any advice?
 

Hey everyone! I'm new here at greekchat.com, and I just wanted to see if you guys had some advice for our sorority. A friend of mine and I started a new local sorority at the University of Michigan called Phi Rho Alpha (http://phirhoalpha.org). We currently have six active members with about 20-25girls interested in rushing so far (our rush starts in September). We are planning to stay local for the next two years, and then apply to our universities Panhellenic Association in a couple of years.

Basically, do you guys have any advice for us? Do's and don'ts? What do you think the chances of us being accepted into Panhel are? Just really, any input that you guys have regarding this issue would be great!

Thanks so much!

Since you are brand new, I would suggest looking into affiliating with one of the many non-NPC sororities. There is probably a group out there with similar values and goals as your own, you just have to research.

Going with a non-NPC sorority would enable you to be national and have the support and sisterhood with many others across the nation. For example, Kappa Beta Gamma or a multi-cultural sorority like Theta Nu Xi may be happy to talk with you since they do not have a chapter at Michigan.

As to the chances of being accepted into Panhel at Michigan or seeing the Panhel open to expansion -- those chances depend on how the other Panhel sororities are doing in terms of size and rush. You need to talk to the Greek Life office to find out what your options are. Good luck!

I agree with Luis. If you choose to affilitate with a national group in approx. two years, then you should keep your options completely open. Look at multi-cultural groups, regional, national, NPC, etc (I would not count out NPC affiliation without researching as they have many resources available to them as well).

Truly take the time to educate yourself in all possible membership avenues. Talk to your Greek Life office and see what they say. They may or may not want another Greek org on campus (I'm referring to national...I'm sure you have already discussed your current venture with them).

Good luck!

Great web site:)

Good luck with rush.

Hello and welcome to the Michigan greek scene. If you are looking at going national, I would suggest looking now at organizations you are thinking about affiliating with. I just say that because you really want to make sure that the organization affiliates with an org that goes along with your principles and has similar philanthropies/bylaws, ect. Michigan has a LOT of sororities already, multicultural, NPC, national, ect., so be sure you are discounting affililating with them in the future if you are going to have a large local now. It may be harder for you to join a national organization if you started a local organization on a campus where that national already exists because members there will see that you didn't want to be in their organization before. Keep your options open. I'm sure before you started your local, you looked at all of the sororities at Michigan, but just make sure that you don't shoot yourself in the foot, persay.

On joining panhel - Michigan panhel has a LOT of requirements, including the fact you have to have a house, doing their rush, and following their social policy. I believe you have to be a member of the NPC to be a member of the Michigan panhel, but i'm not sure. In order to join NPC, you have to have 13 chapters, so you could not be a local and join NPC. Being a somewhat recent grad of Michigan, I'll tell you your best bet is to become a member of the Multicultural Greek Council because there is no national requirements and there is another local group in the council. I was on this council when I was in undergrad, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Side note...the Phi Sigma Rho's at Michigan call themselves Phi Rhos as well. That might get confusing some day.

Anyway good luck. If you have 25 girls interested already, you must be doing something right. Why affiliate with NPC if you are doing bad by yourself?


Other than

Thanks guys! Great advice :)

Are you sure that's correct? Because I got in touch with a Panhel representative and she directed me towards a document on their website containing all the requirements to join/apply to Panhel, and I don't think that was one of them...

To join your campus panhellenic, you only have to follow the regulations laid out by your school, and panhellenic.

To join the NPC, you would need to follow the 13 chapter rule mentioned above.

To join NPC NATIONALLY you have to have 13 chapters.

To join your college's Panhellenic you might be able to do so as a local...however, what rocketgirl was saying was that she thought you have to be a member of NPC nationally to be a member of Michigan's panhellenic.

Okay, thank you. I will reread all of their information, perhaps I missed it? Thanks!

Also, there is a difference between becoming an affiliate member of your campus Panhellenic and affiliating (aka becoming a colony or chapter of) an NPC fraternity.

So I checked U of M's Panhellenic Association bylaws, and I'm pretty sure that we're okay. There's a bunch of requirements, like minimum number of members, etc. but nothing about having to be national. I think that's just for the NATIONAL panhel. Does that make sense?

Hello!

I'm an alumnae member of a local sorority from the University of Michigan-Flint. :)

Are you guys doing any tailgating for the OSU/UM game in November? A bunch of us will all be down there! :)

Good luck with Phi Rho Alpha! :)

Yes, we definitely will be! Probably at Triangle fraternity. Let me know when the date get's closer, my e-mail is sedaniel[at]umich.edu, if you're interested. :) Thanks!

Just wondering...how is rush going?

CORRECTION!!!
We do have a colony Michigan (Alpha-Beta) at Wayne State University.

rocketgirl gave good advice when she said start researching now on the organizations you might be interested in affiliating with in regards to their mission, purpose, etc. And if you are interested in affiliating with a non-NPC sorority you need to speak with the appropriate representative of said organization to even know if that is an option because not all organizations function like NPC sororities with regards to "absorbing" another organization.

We are affiliate members of our NPC chapter at school. I believe our beta chapter is too... but it's on a smaller system.

Basically, our membership is/was (I haven't been at school in a while) a "voice, but no vote." Basically we could have an opinion on something, but couldn't actually participate in the vote... more often than not, it didn't apply to us. However we can still participate in Greek Week.

We can't do formal rush or hold major offices in NPC (unless approved by our Greed Advisor and voted on.)

Of course, every school is different.

LOVED the website. It gave me inspiration to redo ours.

We've had quite a few applications turned in, and we had a meeting yesterday to discuss the rushees. We're giving bids to eight of them so far, but we're still accepting applications for a few more days, so we'll see how it goes! I'm pretty pleased with our turnout, for just having started :)

(We're doing our rush differently than Panhels, we're going to do an application and an interview, along with the optional rush activities we've already had.)

Ch2tf - I think he meant that you guys do not have a chapter at the University of Michigan, not that you guys don't have a chapter in the state of Michigan. Most everyone calls the University of Michigan just Michigan. Goes along with being the biggest and baddest (sorry I'm an alum and I can't help myself!)!!

Emeril - All of the non-Panhel groups at Michigan do rush the way you are doing it (rush events and interviews). Personally I like it better because you get to know the girls pretty well before you bid them :) Anyway glad rush is going well! It's pretty hard to break onto the Michigan greek scene, so that definately says great things about you and the other women in your sorority.

If you affiliate with Panhel, do you get to keep your same rush format or have to do theirs?

Nope, we're not required to participate in their Fall Formal Rush.

I feel you, I went to a large state school and I recognize the biggest and baddest mentality.

That being said, your intial advice to Emeril12 is the best with regards to researching and finding the right organization to affiliate with. And I don't want her to be mislead with regards to Theta Nu Xi, or any other organization for that matter, because not having a chapter at a particular University is not a the most important aspect of an expansion project, but instead the quality of the women that seek to join our (speaking for TNX now), their ideals, etc.

YES, YES, YES!

I wish i had a little icon of a little smilie holding a co-sign, lol. But seriously...that's the truth for ANY organization. Quality over quantity rules any day.....and why Greek bidding is a mutual selection...not just a one way thing.