Recruitment ideas for a sorority on probation-
 

How long are you on probation until? What does the probation entail? What did you do - I mean is it something the majority of college students find repugnant (like hazing) or something they find relatively benign (like drinking in the sorority house)?

It's hard to tell you how to present yourselves without knowing a little bit more detail.

It is such a bummer to be on probation during recruitment. It is even worse that you do deferred recruitment because I'm sure all the PNM's will know too. I only have experience with this for formal Fall recruitment. We have one time been on social probation during formal recruitment. We instructed our women not to talk about it unless asked. If they were asked they were to answer the question honestly. We actually told them exactly what to say in case they were asked. If another Chapter is on social probation and a PNM asked about it in one of our parties our women are instructed to tell the PNM that they do not know any of the specifics about it and they need to ask ABC about it. I'm hoping your other Chapters will offer you that same courtesy. IMO, you need to sell the things you still can do. Sisterhood events, philanthropy events would be 2 I would really talk about assuming those you are still able to do.

Good luck!

^^^good advice here. You should all be on the same page as to how to answer difficult questions. Perhaps your advisors and national liaisons can help with this. If it is bad behavior that the whole campus and larger community knows about, all you can do is hold your heads high and show that you have learned from mistakes and are emerging with a stronger and wiser sisterhood. Again, agree with above, emphasize your philanthropy, scholarship, leadership training and sisterhood.

If there are sisters who don't want to take responsibility for actions, don't acknowledge that the chapter's actions led to probation and want to blame the school, others, etc; or who continue in the behavior that led to the probation, then my advice would be to play hardball with them prior to turning them loose on PNM's. They won't help matters.

Perhaps your chapter could bring in a motivational speaker for a retreat/sisterhood event prior to recruitment that could help you re-connect with all of the amazing things your national org and your chapter have to offer so that you enter recruitment strong and energized. Good luck!

frankly, I'd advice you to face the "elephant in the room" and talk about it to the rushees the first day, honestly. If you explain how the sanctions will effect the house in the future (what they really want to know) it is probably less "bad" than they think it is. You know they have heard something about it, and you have no control over what they have heard, BUT you have one chance to tell them what you want them to know: the truth. It doesn't have to be a long explanation, or in depth. It can be light in tone too: last year a few of our members screwed up, and now we are facing the consequences. We admit our problems, and have solved them. Our sisterhood is strong, problems happen in all families but we support each other and move on, blah, blah, blah. A jailhouse rock skit is probably too much :)- but I would suggest you handle this strait on. Can you tell I was a PR major?
If you handle it right away, then any girl who comes back really respects you and "gets" it. You have nothing to lose by being honest.

darn, mixed up advice and advise again...

I agree that you should be honest, if I accepted a bid to a chapter and then found out they were in trouble, even for something that otherwise wouldn't be a big deal, I would feel very manipulated. I'd probably at least consider dropping. And that is NOT what you want.
I also agree that we probably need to know more about the nature of the probation to help you.