Alpha Phi at Alabama!
 

So I thought I'd give my two cents on rushing A-Phi here at bama.


I went through formal rush but decided to drop because Alpha Phi just sounded more appealing to me. And so far, I'm glad I made the decision! We have had two parties so far- 1 more in the ice water tea type and then a recent one where we were at tables and the girls at the tables had to make up functions/parties for alpha phi. also included every girl needed to have an interview. this was the first cut and i'm very happy to say so far i made the cut to the next round which is philanthropy day. the girls rushing alpha phi seem like great girls. every girl i've talked to seemed to show leadership and wanting to make alpha phi the best it can be! so, i'll post more after philanthropy day.

and ROLL TIDE! we just beat clemson :)

If I may make a suggestion -- you might want to wait until AFTER bids are extended to post the rest of your story.

Alpha Phi's re-colonization is being closely watched on GC by many people, and judging by the heated (now-closed) Alabama Recruitment thread, it might be a good idea to postpone posting details to ensure you have the best (and fair) experience possible.

I am actually having one of those dense mornings, because the only identifying factor I saw in Bamagirl08's post was that she dropped out of formal recruitment . Most of the pnms for Alpha Phi are probably in the same situation. I actually like hearing about the process while it is ongoing (and fresh in the mind) because my sense is that as soon as the GC posters pledge, many are too busy to come back and fill us in.

how exciting bamagirl08! continued good wishes for a successful outcome for you.please keep us updated as you are able.

Good luck!!!!

While there was nothing identifying in the OP, you don't know if the same would ring true for her future posts.

It doesn't matter what we prefer. If the PNMs want to come back and update, they'll come back and update.

I would love to hear more about it (obviously I am a little invested in this colonization haha!). The thing I find a little frustrating (as a long time lurker) is how any PNM attempting to post a recruitment story this year is being told not to do it and being scared off. Most of them are using a significant amount of discretion...there were hundreds and hundreds of women signed up for Alpha Phi's colonization and she hasn't posted one identifyer besides dropping out of recruitment. In addition, she hasn't posted anything that is "negative" that would make a GC poster want to affect her recruitment. Are people so stalker-ish that they would go out of their way to make a PNM not get a bid simply because she posted on GreekChat? (Maybe they are, but that's a whole other rant). I feel that in 95% of the old recruitment stories the women were smart and used tact and discretion and see no reason why that would change now. [End hijack].

Some people on GC have actually called chapters regarding pnms.

OTW is right. I would rather not hear about the process until it is over than hear about it with some information that someone could identify a pnm and possibly cost her a shot at APhi.

No recruitment story is worth the tears that could be brought as a result of posting.

Co-sign!
This quote summarizes my thoughts on recruitment stories as they happen. Yes I too would like to know but for the part of a fair recruitment, I'd advice PNM's to wait until their recruitment is over before posting a story.

thanks for all the advice, I'll tell the rest of the story later.

Best of luck, Bamagirl08! Have a blast!

Good luck BamaGirl08!

I'm looking forward to it.....
 

Bamagirl08- I look forward to hearing the rest of your story. Best of luck.

Smiles:)

I too look forward to hearing your story once it is over. Good Luck maybe in the end we will be sisters.

Good luck Bamagirl! I know tomorrow is the first invitational party.... excited to hear how it goes/went since you are posting after the fact! Alpha Phi has an amazing pool of PNMs to choose from!

I SO WISH I were at Bama right now...and SOOO excited that we are colonizing in my beloved SEC!!!!

I know you are holding off on posting your thoughts until later, but I was just wondering what the physical house is like? I've only been to Bama twice, so I have no idea what the structure/interiors/exteriors look like! Any fun details to share about that?

I can tell you a tiny bit. The house is owned, of course, by Sigma Delta Tau. It's a brick house with a "New Orleans" look to it - wrought iron balconies all around. That's unusual at Alabama because it pre-dates the campus-wide architectural requirement that all buildings have columns (Kappa Alpha Theta's beautiful house also pre-dates this requirement).
It's on the corner of Colonial Drive and Paul Bryant Drive, right across Bryant Drive from Tutwiler Dorm, which is an all-girls dorm, and is next door to Phi Mu and backs up to Gamma Phi Beta. Bryant-Denny Stadium is across the street (Colonial Drive).

It's a rather small house - SDT has always been a smaller, more select group. It's a beautiful house. I've only been inside once, about 8 years ago. Two different fraternities have leased the house to use while their own houses were being built. I'm sure the SDTs are glad a sorority is now leasing it!

That reminds me...I wonder where the various sororities are having their chapter meetings now? Most of the houses' chapter rooms were only built to seat 100 or so. In fact, the only recently-built house is Pi Beta Phi's gorgeous structure. Many houses were built in the 1940s and 1950s.
Anybody know??:confused:

So far the inside is very nice but they aren't done yet with the remodeling. I may be able to give a few more details after tomorrow about the inside of the house since it's been over a week and they might have had some progress on it.

"That reminds me...I wonder where the various sororities are having their chapter meetings now? Most of the houses' chapter rooms were only built to seat 100 or so. In fact, the only recently-built house is Pi Beta Phi's gorgeous structure. Many houses were built in the 1940s and 1950s.
Anybody know??"

I've not been in the Chapter Room... but my Kappa tells me it's on the second floor and everyone can fit.

That reminds me...I wonder where the various sororities are having their chapter meetings now? Most of the houses' chapter rooms were only built to seat 100 or so. In fact, the only recently-built house is Pi Beta Phi's gorgeous structure. Many houses were built in the 1940s and 1950s.
Anybody know??

Alpha Chi fits everyone in the chapter room, but it's quite tight! Over 200 girls in a room probably meant for half that, but that's why it's great the campus is opening up to expansion!

"It's a rather small house"

What does this mean at Bama? 40 beds? Ten?
________
Elvina

Several chapters have started holding chapter business meetings in alternate locations, such as near by churches, due to lack of a large enough room within their house. I believe more will need to do this. Lots of talk about major remodelling plans for many in order to accomodate the large numbers. There is also a lot of talk about some investigating rebuilding completely. Either way, we're talking big bucks for just about every chapter on campus. In the meantime, I predict that since there are a limited number of locations large enough and close by that the traditional Wednesday night = all sorority chapter meetings will need to change. My .02.

This makes me SOOO excited! I hope the PNMs have enjoyed the parties so far, I'm sure the ELC's+ colonization team have put many hours/days/weeks of hard work into this colonization/recruitment blitz and will see it come to fruition so soon!

Also, does anyone know (I'm SURE someone on here must know!) how long a colony remains a colony/until it is instated as a chapter? Is there a set time period, or does it depend on the specific colony? Or does it vary from one NPC member to another? If there is no rule or set period of time, what is the average period of time?

Again, sending positive thoughts your way, Bamagirl!

For my chapter (years before I was initiated), the colony began in September/October and the chapter was installed in mid-March. In addition to the collegiate pledges, there were about 50 or so women who AI-ed.

Yeah, but some of these Rush harpies have no lives and make it their business to find out who random message board people are.

For us it is the same length of time as the NM program....6 - 8 weeks depending on the campus. Auburn was colonized in Feb and installed in April....(or was it January and March???)

For anyone:

*Generally speaking*, is a colonization preference party similar to a "regular" (for lack of a better word) preference party? For example, in formal recruitment when a PNM is invited to a preference party, according to NPC rules the PNM *must* be somewhere on the chapter's bid lists. Does this apply to a colonization? Are there first and second lists? Or is all of this left up to the individual organization and/or specific to the campus?

Thanks.

Ditto for Theta.

In 2007-08 we colonized at three different universities. In each instance there was about 8 weeks from colonization to installation.

I don't know the specific dates for our Auburn colonization in Spring 2009, but my understanding is that both colonization and installation will occur next semester- just as with the three chapters last year.

The colonization is not being run by Panhel - it's being run by the individual sorority - therefore Panhel rules don't apply.

I would assume that the PNM is going to be somewhere on the Alpha Phi bid list. But with that said, no one knows exactly how many PNMs Alpha Phi will take. So all the PNMs might be ranked, but that doesn't mean all will get a bid. But I am just guessing, since i've never been apart of a colonization like this.

Tomorrow is the second (and last, from my understanding) invitation only party. On Saturday, they will be considered new members.

Well, the thing is, unlike in formal recruitment, if a PNM attends the Alpha Phi preference party, you have a pretty good idea that she's interested in joining the sorority. In formal recruitment, where you're going to 2-3 houses, you might be less interested or even not interested at all in one of the houses, for example. Whereas if you had gone to Alpha Phi events and decided it wasn't for you, you probably wouldn't go to preference at all. So is there really a need for multiple bid lists? I would guess they're going to bid the number of women they want in the colony, maybe plus a few. But I almost can't imagine that the women who go to the Alpha Phi preference night would then go on to reject a bid - unless there were extreme extenuating circumstances like their parents having a hissy or something.

Sooooo exciting! I can't wait to see pictures of the new colony! :)

February and April ;):)

Yes, that is what I meant. They'll bid however many they want, but that doesn't mean that EVERY PNM that went to preference will get a bid.

I too can't wait for pictures. I remember going to a presentation that Alpha Phi did a couple years ago, and it was soo exciting. I can't imagine how exciting the actual colonization is!!

I can't wait to see pictures either!

I do know some "scoop"...we interviewed over 400 woman, and saw more than that at our party rounds! Crazy.

Yay I am so excited that things seem to be going so well! I would LOVE to see Alpha Phi with more of a presence in the SEC and this colonization looks like it will be successful (knock on wood...hope I don't jinx it but I am just too excited!). I cannot wait to see pictures of the new pledge class...and I'd love to see some of the house interiors and exteriors!!

Interesting, how does that work then? I would have assumed the people that attended the party rounds were the ones being interviewed. What's the point in interviewing?

Interviews happened, then some open parties. Some people came to the first round of interviews before parties and then some women came to open parties and interviewed after, sorry if that wasn't clear.

Also some women came to open parties and did not pursue an interview, which I would expect (plus I honestly don't know how the team could have handled one more interview!!) I hope those women go on to pursue other groups which will be recruiting soon or perhaps DG when they colonize.