Rushing a Colony after Resigning from Local Sorority
 

I've been searching GC for hours trying to find a similar situation, but since mine is pretty unusual, I thought I'd pose it to y'all. I am a member of a local sorority at my school, but I have never stopped believing that it was the wrong fit for me, so I resigned this semester. Before that, I was the president of the chapter and served on the board for Greek life, basically I was hyper-involved. Now, there is a new NPC chapter that will be colonizing. I was wondering what this would look like to the National representatives running the colonization process, and if it would kill my chances. I'd be thankful for all your thoughts!

First of all, no one here can say what your chances are.

I was pledging a local before joining my sorority. I depledged because I refused to be hazed. I met women from the Alpha Gam chapter on campus, went through Frat Ed, and initiated the following semester.

Your heavy involvement with your local and campus Greek Life will likely come up because no matter how big your campus is, girls will talk. This information will make it to the colonization team.

My situation is different from yours. I wasn't yet Greek. You already are and was very involved despite feeling that "it wasn't the right fit for you." You were PRESIDENT of the chapter, for goodness sake. If there wasn't a new NPC sorority colonizing, would you have resigned from your sorority? Or did you resign just because you saw a better opportunity ahead?

If I were a colonization decision maker, I'd question your dedication and integrity. I don't know what they'll think, but I'll be blunt and honest and say that if I were in their shoes, I would not extend you a bid to the colony.

Correct me if I'm wrong, those in the know, but isn't it pretty common for colonies to take (absorb) all or part of local sororities? I would think it's no big deal at all, and could be a selling point - already involved on campus, etc. I say give it a shot. The worst that can happen is they turn you down, but I don't see any particular reason why they wouldn't accept you based on your previous local sorority membership. However, that doesn't mean they WILL, just that what you've said doesn't seem to be a disqualifier as far as I can tell.

DubaiSis, I would not say that it is common at the present time, although that may have been a fairly common practice in the past. To my knowledge, with only one "exception", all the colonizations I've read of or learned about have been "from the ground up" with the national chapter coming in and recruiting an entire new class/group of members.

My opinion tends to run along the same lines as Always AlphaGam's opinion, but the OP certainly is welcome to try, as you also suggested. I do see many negatives coming from the OP's previous involvement in a local sorority, and not many positives. That's just my opinion.

:eek:

I would have a hard time extending a bid to someone who's been in a chapter for at least a couple of years, local or not, especially since this wouldn't be a situation in which a local chapter was being absorbed.

That isn't the situation we are talking about. This is ONE WOMAN who resigned from her local group, which is apparently still going strong and has no desire to go national.

darjeeling - when colonizing teams come in they have to be very very careful of whom they choose because they want to start off on the right foot. The fact that you were "hyper-involved" and that everyone in the Greek system knows your name might not make the colony look good if they took you - especially if, as it seems, the local group rushes and is on the same council with the national groups. People would look at the colony as poaching members from other groups, or taking people who have broken their pledges to their groups, and their name would be mud before they even got started.

You can go to the colonizing meetings and check it out, but I would honestly be shocked if the colony took you.

Point taken.

Certainly try it. There's absolutely no harm in seeing what could come of it. But I would think long and hard about why you quit your sorority. Surely there is more to it than "I wasn't a good fit", since you took the position of President. Then if you get a chance, explain to the colonization team why you quit. I would think having a concrete reason would be much more palatable than "I wasn't a good fit". They are going to want people who can be motivated, yes, but also dedicated, and quitting after being so involved will probably be a red flag.

OP - If you quit your current sorority, go through recruitment for the colony, and are not offered a bid, what, then?

I agree with the others that you are going to have a difficult time gaining an invitation to colonize another GLO.

You bring to the table a lot of experience and the ways of your previous sorority. Alumni will provide the experience to get the colony going, and they will have a vision for how to go about it. The fact you have a lot of experience being a leader in another group works against you here. Your practical experience- while in and of itself valuable to you in many future leadership endeavors- is not helpful in this particular situation. The fear is quite logical that you would- intentionally or subconsciously- work to build the colony in the way you led your former sorority, and not in the way desired by the alumni overseeing the colonization.

I do not know you, so please forgive me if I overreach, but it is a bit troubling that you express the feeling you never fit in with your previous chapter and yet you did so much for them.

Based on the facts you present, I get the impression you joined your local with the intention of taking it somewhere bigger and greater. And when that did not happen now you want to try another route to that sort of achievement.

I have no idea if that is accurate, but if I am thinking it (and others here are too I gather by the posts), then this perception is likely a strong obstacle you will face in your new quest.

As for whether to do it or not- you may as well try now. You have already left your local sorority- so you have nothing to lose. My only suggestion would be to seriously consider your own motives inwardly and move forward on that basis. This is going to be a very exciting time for a group of young women and their mentors. If you cannot surrender your own personal goals to contributing to that greater good, then it is best not to proceed. If you meet with them and find a real connection and things move forward- then there you go and you have done a good thing for you and them. At this point, given your previous experience- I think you will only really know once you go through the rush process with that colony and see how it goes.

She already quit. So regardless of what happens with the colony she is not an active member of her sorority anymore.

The colony taking her would be kind of like them spitting on the whole campus culture - I would hope national officers and volunteers aren't dumb enough to make that mistake. NPC vows aren't the only vows that matter, and at a school where the locals and nationals operate within the same framework (which it sounds like this place is, otherwise she wouldn't have been on the Greek life board) leaving a local and going to a national, although not technically prohibited by NPC rules, would be looked on with as much disdain as going from one NPC to another.

I'm still trying to figure out how someone who doesn't think she fits in ends up as president and repping her chapter to the greek council.

Well, Steve Perry said once that he never felt like he fit in with the rest of Journey. Maybe this is like that.