Need help organizing my sorority
 

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http://theithacan.org/am/publish/new...f_campus.shtml

If there's an article in the campus paper, you're not "underground." You are simply not recognized by the college.

GammaDelta,

According to the article in the school paper, your sorority used to have housing on campus. What are the school guidelines that led to GDP moving off campus in 1992? Did they have anything to do with drinking? The school paper makes a major point out of the fact that GDP allows alcohol at their functions, which makes me think that the fraternities that are still on campus don't.

I don't want to over simplify, but if the dry GLOs get campus recognition and campus housing (and presumably are thriving) maybe you should rethink your alcohol policy. Would you sisterhood be the same if you took alcohol out of the equation?

we could go dry and try to get ourselves school sponsoring like the other school sponsored "Greek life" but those frats aren't real Greek life. They're more like clubs - there's a one week pledge period and no ritual or anything, plus they're all co-ed. there are no parties, and all events are school regulated things like donuts and pizza - they aren't real greek life.

Define "real" Greek Life...?

So you're saying (and you know for a fact), that the groups on your campus have no ritual and only have meetings once a week, and don't have any other events? That's pretty hard to believe.

Ahhh...gotta love pretend Greeks! :rolleyes:

yeah thats what I'm saying. they have social events regulated by the school, and they have an advisor that oversees everything. Gamma Delta Pi does not want to become that - we want to keep our traditions, be allowed to socially drink, and not have administration down out throats. these groups are music fraternities - like clubs.

real greek life as in not being a club. not having administration monitoring all your activities with a critical eye. being allowed to socialize with alcohol. being student led and student run with no adviser.

Well I guess my Greek life experience wasn't "real" then.

My chapter followed rules set down by the school, had strict policies regarding alcohol (dry rush; alcohol allowed at events with a 3rd party vendor) and we had advisors up the wazoo when it came to finance, scholarship, recruitment, and operations. It was because of these advisors that helped keep us functioning and afloat. The advise. They do not govern.

I'm going to be frank here and say that your perceptions of Greek life are very way out there and ridiculous. It's a possibility that your current situation may get worse if you really think y'all can do it all by yourselves.

How's that workin' for ya?

Here you are pleading for help and advice... advice... adv-ISER! *gasp* What do you know? Maybe they exist in every SUCCESSFUL greek sorority for a reason!

Sorry. We aren't trying to gang up on you, but it's clear that there is a definite need for change in your group if you want to survive. I know you've been going it alone for more than 15 years, but almost every sorority across the country (social and multicultural and service and religious and what-not) are most successful when they align with the campus and work within the guidelines of the administration.

This does not mean you can't enjoy a beer or glass of wine or even that nasty trash can punch that was popular when I was an undergrad. It just means that you don't do that as part of a sorority event... at least, if that's what the campus rules dictate.

Look, I'm not trying to offend anyone.
Gamma Delta Pi has existed for over 30 years, and it just the past 2 that we've been struggling with organization, not the past 15 since we've been unaffiliated with the school. I'm not saying anyone's Greek experience is any more real than anyone else's. All I'm trying to say is that the type of Greek life my school affiliates itself with is not the same experience the sisters of GDPi want. We just want to remain the same, without affiliating ourselves with the school. I'm just looking for advice on how to draw new sisters in without having a house, and how to best uphold our traditions.

I guess I'm just confused as to what they are looking for, then. The only people who pledge the other school sponsored frats are music majors - they're music fraternities.

I go to a school where everyone is pretty big on partying on the weekend, but at the same time, it's a very liberal campus so most students are interested in bettering humanity. so it just is strange that there is so little interest in GDPi, when we share the same values as the students on campus.

They can party without joining your group, so if they think that's all you offer, why should they bother pledging and paying for the privilege? You have to show them there are additional benefits.

Are there other unrecognized groups still operating? How are they doing?

For everyone else - her college definitely does not have a typical Greek system.

I agree with you, OTW. :)

OP,
I'd say focus on the philanthropic aspects of your sorority. Betting humanity is always a good thing. I did a lot of service in college, so I can help you come up with catchy service projects. Either way, good luck with your sorority!

As a memeber of one of those "clubs" you're speaking of--let me give you a little info.

-Sigma Alpha Iota is a single sexed women organization. We were granted exemption to Title IX when our membership criteria was broadened to one music class. We pay dues, had to pay an initiation & pledging fee. Oh, and our nationals is hosting something like 20 leadership conferences this summer for sisters around the country (one of which I am attending!)
-We have a pledging ceremony and a six week pledge (MiT) process. At the end of that process there's this little ceremony called INITIATION where the MiTs learn the secret meanings of all of our symbols, the secret meaning behind the greek letters SAI, and many other things which I do not speak of in public out of respect for my ritual.
-We have more than 100 years of history and some 210 active chapters.

And, you also speak of Mu Phi Epsilon and Phi Mu Alpha. We also have those chapters on my campus. They also have a pledging and initiation ritual along with a 6-10 week pledge process.

On many campuses we are not recognized by the social greek system because of our focus on music but that does not take away from our rich histories, rituals, and all the work the members do to keep our chapters running. And, my chapter is currently in search of someone to fill two vacancies we've had recently on our advisory committee.

How about you go do some more research, k.

I'm not saying anything about your particular chapter. Everyone's greek experience is different. I have friends in the music fraternities that I'm talking about, and they do not have the same type of tradition and ritual that my sorority does. In addition, in order to be recognized by the campus, we have to have school advisers (which we do not want because there is such a tight reign over them), go dry and state a special interest in our constitution, like music, or biology; however, we want to be open to any student who wants to join, so long as they are interested in service. So please refrain from attacking me when I am not attacking you or your fraternity; clearly, your fraternity is essentially different from the fraternity that I'm talking about in this post. k?

Of the three requirements for being recognized by your campus, one of them is not really an issue. You already require a special interest in your members -- a commitment to service. Just put that in your constitution, and you can check that requirement off.

The school requires you to have an advisor because they need to protect themselves from liability. But as long as you have the ability to select your advisor, you should be able to find one that will provide guidance and oversight without stifling your individualism. Will they intervene if you try to do something that will put the sorority and university at risk? Absolutely! That's what they're supposed to do. Don't do risky things and you should be alright. You'll probably even benefit from the impartial advice of a non-member in sorting out sorority issues.

About going dry.... Apparently that's non-negotiable at your school. But I'm concerned that you are so adament in resisting this change. Would your sisterhood crumble without alcohol to lubricate it? If so, you've got serious problems. Omega Phi Alpha went dry nationally about 15 years ago. Although the national leaders were concerned about the policy's acceptance among the active sisters, it turned out to be less of an issue than they had anticipated.

I guess I misworded our feelings about having an adviser. We're not against having an adviser at all - it would be great to have an adviser. However, we don't get to pick our adviser. The school will assign us one who they think will be good for the job, and we're afraid that our adviser will be too uptight and controlling, as many of the school assigned advisers are.

Our sisterhood is keen on drinking, I'm not going to lie. I think the general consensus is that it would be a great idea in theory to go dry. It would attract a lot of people who are solely interested in service, which would be awesome. But my sisters do like to drink. and since we're all best friends, who better to drink and have a good time with then your best friends? it would be easy to have an alcohol free rush, and we already have alcohol free pledging, but once those girls who are completely opposed to drinking are active members, then what? No one can stop people from drinking socially, because sometimes its hard to draw a definitive line between sorority time and friends time. I'm just afraid the line will get blurred if we declare ourselves a dry sorority, and then the new actives will feel who pledged a dry sorority will feel uncomfortable when there is social drinking among sorority sisters at what may or may not be a sorority event. does that make sense?

I may be the only one who thinks this way, but it just has to be said.

You come on here pleading for help, and people are giving you suggestions that just might actually help you increase your membership. These people share these things because they've experienced that it works in their own organizations.

Yet despite all these suggestions you seem like you're very resistant to change.

You're already worried about tomorrow when today hasn't even happened yet.

Don't even try to sell me on "and since we're all best friends, who better to drink and have a good time with then your best friends?". No need to justify. If drinking is that important to you, then I'm sorry. Y'all have bigger issues to worry about.

All that said, people here are trying to help. They're telling you what's worked for them. If you have no intention on being willing to listen without getting so defensive and implying that you want to keep things just the way it is, then quit wasting your time and ours. :)

C
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I love your candor. :)

I'm not quite following your logic here. Just because you reposition your org as a dry sorority, you assume your non-drinking members will pass judgement on your sisters who drink in a social situation? I think that's a flawed assumption. Drinkers and non-drinkers get along just fine in the post-collegiate world. :) Just explain to pnms that your no-alcohol policies are based on risk management decisions rather than a moral or religious opposition to alcohol. Then they shouldn't have any awkwardness if they run into a sister who is legally drinking at a non-sorority function down the road.

Interesting interpretation. In O Phi A, "dry" means there can be no alcohol at any sorority event -- ever. Not at mixers, not at formal, and not even to those who are over 21.

I suspect that her school's requirement is similar to O Phi A's interpretation..

Dry can mean different things to different orgs (different insurance policies, different campus definitions, etc.). This seems like a pretty liberal-leaning definition to me.

But under any definition I've ever heard, for any unofficial (read: does not have the sorority's name attached to it) gathering of sisters, drinking is no big deal. And as with most groups, some people will drink more, some less, and some not at all. Part of being a sisterhood is learning to accept those differences and get along together.

I'm sorry, my post was based on Tri Sigma's national policies about alcohol. We are only allowed to have alcohol at social events that have been approved by our advisors and HQ. In addition, the alcohol must be provided by the venue (3rd party vendor). Transportation to and from the event must be provided (i.e. charter buses). The event doesn't get approved if those 2 criteria aren't met. In addition, alcohol is only to be served to those who are 21+ with proper ID. Anyone who is drunk upon arrival at the event doesn't get in.

Other NPCs have similar guidelines concerning alcohol. I understand that other sororities like yours have different rules. I was just showing her that there ARE sororities who are allowed to have alcohol under some strict guidelines.

First of all, I am not being defensive. I, personally, agree with most of the things every one here has posted. I personally feel going dry would be a great idea; however, I am speaking on behalf of my sorority, and not myself, and I"m reflecting their voice. So, please, do not personally attack me. I take all posts to heart, and seriously contemplate them - please do not think I am disregarding anyone's statement.

Second, I feel this thread has strayed from the orginial purpose: how to help maintain my sorority and better organize it.
Now, can people please offer suggestions on those questions, and avoid telling me we need to consider going dry? Because I know we need to go dry. And please refrain from personally attacking me because I mean to offend no one.

Well, for our Fall 2007 pledge class we initiated 8 girls. Then we initiated 2 pledges in the spring. So right now we have about 14 members, but we're losing 4 seniors, and a freshman because she's transferring.

Let's see...we have meetings every Sunday. We have 2 frat parties during rush, then 1 to 2 more frat parties a semester. For service, how many events we have depends on what is available. This semester we had 3 service events - we attended Take Back the Night (a rally to raise awareness about domestic violence), we had a dinner to raise money for Tibetan women who are abused by their husbands, and we were supposed to have a tea party social at Longview home for the elderly, but that fell through because of difficulties communication between the service coordinator of GDPi and the social coordinator of Longview. We have lots of social events, too. We had sushi/Saki bombing night, had our pledge initiation dinner, had our senior picnic, and our traditional midnight at manos diner run so we can all be together one last time. All this in addition to the 4 rush events, and 4 frat parties. So basically, 6 events for Rush, 8 pledging events (which take place as an entire sorority, not just the pledge class), and 6-7 other events (service and socials).

Can you describe the structure of your rush events? How do PNMs hear about you, since you are not recognized? Where have you been having events? How formal are they? Do all PNMs come to all events, or do you selectively invite only the ones you are most interested in having as members?

And, another track, what are your requirements of your members once they are in?

We advertise with flyers in all the dorm bathrooms on campus, and facebook events. anyone is welcome to come to any of the rush events - we keep these 6 open in case someone who is interested in pledging can't make it to some of them. Unfortunately, this allows for anyone to come to the events, which means we get alot of girls who just come for the alcohol. I am totally aware this is a good reason why our membership is down - alot of girls are driven away by the partiers that come to Rush, but most of my sisters are adamant about having alcohol - so any suggestions on how to avoid this would be great.
We structure our Rush over a period of 2 weeks, with 6 events, 3 events a week. Our events are generally just a social, like Cosmos and Sex and the City ( i know - we should not have alcohol at our rush events because it gives the wrong idea, but most of the sisters insist because they feel like no one will come if we don't have it.) Anyway, we have 2 wine and cheese meet and greets, two other events like cosmos and sex and the city, or champagne and charades, plus a frat party each week. This year, we had all our rush events in an apartment where 4 senior members lived. Our events are not too formal - their is a brief informational section in the beginning, and the rest if getting to know us. After Rush, we blackball/give bids, invite our bids to invitational where they fill our a questionnaire on why they want to join the sorority, and then we invite those girls who we feel want to pledge for the right reasons to Acceptance night. The pledging.

Unfortunately, as we're losing our house this year bc the seniors are graduating, we are running into a problem for rush. We are either going to try and co-rush with the (one) frat on campus, and if that doesn't work out, we're going to have off campus rush events like bowling. The co-rush with the frat could be a bad idea, though, because that's, again, drawing girls in may think our sorority is only about drinking.

OphiAginger:
I'm not sure what you mean by requirements. could you be more specific?

You said it yourself: providing alcohol at rush events motivates girls who aren't interested in GammaDelt to attend your events. And the presence of those party girls may deter the girls who you really want to attract. So you're paying good money to buy alcohol for people who may be driving away your real target demographic. Hmmm... Not a smart decision.

What's more, there is a HUGE risk management issue here. Assuming the majority of pnms are under the legal drinking age, you are breaking the law by serving them alcohol! If someone gets in an accident on the way home from a rush event where alcohol was served, every single one of your current active members could be sued for big bucks. Not only will this destroy the sorority, it would likely destroy yours lives on an individal basis. Go back to your sisters with that kind of cost benefit analysis, and there can only be one decision: drop the alcohol from rush. (I know you are already on board with this, but I'm giving you debate points to take back to your sisters so they can understand, too.)

I like the getting-to-know-you rush events you described. They sound like they really provide a great opportunity for the pnms to know the sisters and vice versa over an extended period of time. But one thing is missing: service. If this is central to your sorority's culture, you should incorporate it into the rush activities, too. So maybe you arrange to plant flowers at a local nursing home, or teach a Brownie troop how to make paper mache masks, or serve a meal at a soup kitchen. You do it as a group and you follow up with a casual dinner as a group. That sends a clear message about what is important to the sorority, and lets you see whether the pnms embrace that kind of thing. (Bonus -- you don't need a "house" for this kind of rush activity!)

For more social-based rush activities without a home base, you're on the right track by thinking of venues where you can all be together doing a common activity. Bowling is good. Ice skating or roller skating is also good. One of those paint-on pottery places would be fun for a group, but it can be pricey when you add up the cost of the materials for all the sisters and your pnm guests. If any of your sisters are in an apartment complex that has a clubhouse, you may be able to reserve that for little or no $$ and have a poker party or something similar.

KSUViolet06 was right in what I meant by requirements. What do your members need to do to ensure they remain in good status with the sorority? Are there clear expectations about meeting attendance, event participation, paying dues and meeting other financial obligations, etc? Do you ever have anyone drop out after they are initiated? If so, why do you think that is?