Spring Recruitment at University of Alabama?
 

I have seen some signs around campus for spring recruitment. I have e-mailed the Greek Life office, but haven't gotten a response yet. Anybody know which chapters may be participating?

I am a freshman at Bama and will be going through fall recruitment in August. I also went through this past time and ended up dropping out because I was totally unprepared. This time I hope to know a little more what to expect. A friend of mine that is still a high school senior has been invited to a tea sponsored by one of the sororities. How do they get the names of PNMs?

Thanks for any help/advice. :)

Have you thought about physically visiting the Greek Life office on campus and getting your information there?

hey my cousins go to bama. if an active knows a girl that went to their high school/family/ what have you, (and they like you) they will invite you to a tea so their sorority sisters can meet you. you also get info about rush and their sorority. if you can get an invite ,it would be very beneficial for the upcoming recruitment. but i do not know if its only open to incoming freshman, or if all the sororities do it. i know that DZ does.

it would be better to ask a bama active on GC.

Or an advisor (two immediately pop into my head). They'll know too.

It's funny talking to J about FR - he went to UGA (very competitive) and I went to a pretty non-competitive school. And the differences are just ginormous!!! I honestly don't think I would have gotten a bid in that kind of FR (may have even dropped or not gone through all together). I don't know how all these women do it every year (the actives and the PNMs).

/end hijack.

Only Chapters below Chapter Total (currently 180) could participate in Spring Recruitment. Usually Chapters have until sometime at the end of January to submit their updated active lists to Panhellenic. (Sorry, I don't know what the exact date was off the top of my head.) This would factor in any December grads, anyone who transferred to another college, didn't return to school, etc. I don't believe they have issued the current Chapter Totals list yet, so I have no idea who may be looking to hold Open Recruitment this Spring.

My best advice is to keep checking with the Panhellenic Office. Also, do it either in person or by the phone. Emails can easily get overlooked, forgotten about, ignored, deleted by mistake, etc.

I know Gamma Phi has had some spring recruitment events, and I know of one other sorority doing it, but it's only open to friends of the girls.

what other sorority will be doing spring rush that you know of besides gamma phi beta?

I think the poster didn't realize how old the post above her/his was. I'm pretty sure you are right, OTW, that with that pledge class, they are probably above 180.

You are correct!:D

Wait..this thread is from last Spring correct?

Yes it is.

At the conclusion of 2009 Formal Recruitment in August all Chapters* at Bama were at/above Chapter Total of 180.

(The idea of raising Total has been thrown out there, but as yet it is nothing more than talk.)

* Except SDT which is does not participate in Formal Recruitment.

I know this is a hot button issue, but is there plans for expansion? This seems like a HUGE number for chapter total, especially when recruitment is as competitive as it is. A big house is great, but I'm just thinking of the logistics of fitting that many girls in 1 room!

Alpha Phi just chartered and another NPC already selected will have the opportunity to go on in either 2010 or 2011.

Why doesnt SDT do FR?

out of curiosity, how long has SDT only COB'd?

Not a whole lot of new info here, and not necessarily accurate - I think 13 was the number they pledged last year, not their total number. But hey, publicity is GOOD!
http://www.cw.ua.edu/sigma-delta-tau...mpus-1.1874087

Practically everyone agrees Bama could easily expand strictly from a numbers standpoint. However, on this campus it is not as simple as throwing open the doors. In order for any new Chapter to be successful it would require a comparable physical house. That's big bucks (several million) in a lousy economy where credit is tight and donating alumnae have tightened their purse strings. The University is converting an area behind the Chi O house (for those who know the campus) to lots for houses, but there have been delays.

Back in spring 2008, 2 GLO's were selected to recolonize with staggered start dates. Alpha Phi came in fall 2008 and Delta Gamma was scheduled for fall 2010. However, we (the other sororities) have been informed that DG has requested a delay until 2011. The common assumption is that the building delays with those new lots is the primary reason.

I haven't even heard any rumors. Hopefully once the fall Chapter Rosters are turned into Panhellenic (I believe they are due this week) we will hear.

Thanks for the explanation Zillini. Not having seen the campus it seems CRAZY that you wouldn't double your number of chapters, but you're right that if you had a new chapter that had to go into a house that could hold 40 girls and is a mile off campus, there would be no point. I actually think the financial issue wouldn't be as big a deal. The various nationals have pretty good resources and with chapters total like this, they'd recoup their investment in no time.... less than 20 years being no time in my book. But if you have to have a house before you start the process (and it sounds like you do) then the development issue is a sound one. I'm sure DG agrees. Does A Phi have a house and is it (the structure, not the girls) good enough? I'm sure the girls are great, and yes, I know the house doesn't make the chapter. But it's really hard to tell a wide-eyed 18 year old girl that. But I find this whole thing very interesting. I'd love to participate in a recruitment in the south some day. Maybe I'll end up living in the vicinity at some point and can be an advisor.

Investing several million dollars in a house is always a big deal, especially when there are outstanding loans on other houses and, over 20 years, loans to be made for new houses and new remodels. Most of the money would still be from local sources.

You don't have to have a house already built, but you do have to have some place to hold meetings, store records and equipment, and generally hang out. Actually the "future house" which exists in imagination is an easier sell than an actual house!

Alpha Phi is currently renting the SDT house, a lovely house on a corner of sorority row. SDT has rented out their house for a number of years now to various groups rebuilding or remodeling. It - and NONE of the houses - is big enough. Once the land for new houses is set aside and the houses start going up, there will be a fruit-basket-turnover of houses undergoing remodeling to accommodate members. Most chapters house 50 to 80 women, with the balance living away. Most were built with chapter rooms designed to hold 100 to 150 members.

You should! All chapters need more advisors! And it's loads of fun! :D

As most of you know Bama has enjoyed years of sorority growth. Despite the horrendous economy, numbers and interest in being Greek remain very strong. However Chapter Total hadn't changed in several years. That changed when recently Panhellenic voted to increase Chapter Total.

Therefore I am excited that for the first time in quite a while several Chapters will be participating in COR this spring. We won't know exactly how many until January when Chapter Rosters are turned in reflecting December grads, student transfers, students who withdrew from school, and possibly members who are unable to remain active due to financial problems (which is a sad, but harsh reality).

This just came about so details are yet to be determined. Still, anyone who is interested in participating should contact Greek Life. I hope PNMs will take advantage of this exciting (and pretty rare) opportunity!

Sorry, I never did hear. I promise I'll try to find out.

What was it and what is it now? Can groups only COB up to chapter total or can they COB up to average chapter size?

there will be spring rush. they have up quota to 225...there was an email sent out today and a sign up link in that email and on the website.

And it was 180? (I saw that earlier in this thread) Holy freaking crap.

33girl, that's been just about everybody's initial reaction -- mine too. But after seeing the number breakdowns it makes sense. We worked very closely with our NPC Area Advisor to arrive at this decision. To answer your earlier question, Chapters may recruit up to the new Total.

i believe that you mean total is now 225. it can be confusing!

South Carolina's total is now 252, so no big surprise there.

Buttonz: Give the Bama SDT Web site a try:

http://bama.ua.edu/~sigdelts

When I visited Bama, it didn't look like the houses were all that big...they seemed a lot smaller than the houses at other campuses with enormous membership numbers (I'm thinking of Oklahoma and to some extent Ole Miss). Even the biggest buildings, like Chi O, look like they'd be spilling people out the sides if you tried to smoosh 300 people in there. How do Phi Mu, Tri Delt, etc. fit 250+ members inside for meetings, rituals, and meals? And how in the world do they squeeze in the whole chapter plus dozens of guests at the rush rounds and on Bid Day?
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WIKI VAPORIZER

It's sort of organized chaos but the houses are bigger than they look - for the most part. However, they are cramped and that's why they added one group last year and have another in the wings.

Most houses only sleep between 40-60 I'd say. Everyone else lives out. Many of the Chapters have gone to 2 seatings for formal sit down dinners and/or buffet come 'n go style. Some hold meetings elsewhere such as a nearby church while others are still cramming everyone in.

During Recruitment houses are packed to the rafters due to both the quantity of actives and PMNs. This is why there are more parties per round than a PNM attends. For example this year there were 23 parties for the 1st round over 2 days. PNMs only attend 15 parties (each sorority), then have several off times.

As for Bid Day, well it's a zoo. Houses are bursting at the seams with people spilling out into the yards and street. We set up tables in our courtyard for people to sit and eat. We still have to encourage folks to get up when their done (trying not be rude) to give others a chance to eat.

I imagine a lot of the houses, cramped as they are, have dorm wings bolted on that aren't visible from the street.

Probably the most spacious house is Pi Phi, but then it was built in 1996.

At one point I saw on the Treanor Architects site that Tri Delta at UA was planning a reno/rebuild, but that info seems to have disappeared.

Wow. Well, clearly the crowding is not decreasing the appeal for freshman students. Some of the houses could even pass for very grand and spacious single-family homes, and you could never be confused about that at Oklahoma. Do they have basement space they use for kitchens and so on?

Does the increased number of first round parties enable the houses to have fewer actives on the floor? It is no joke to keep track of that many people. I am beginning to grasp what you've described about being up all night for days on end. Alumnae must find it easy to move into careers in corporate event planning and convention hospitality.
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HeavyWoman live

Or cattle herding. Sorry, had to let the snark free.