Improving Reputation
 

My chapter has had a turbulent past, and as a result, we have a poor reputation on campus; especially in relation to other sororities. After getting rid of the trouble makers and getting off probation, our house has definitely gotten better. However,our poor reputation still hovers over us. We have a house with great brothers who share an incredibly strong bond. There is no reason that our reputation should be this bad. How do we go about improving our campus reputation? How do we go about reaching out to other sororities? What are some ways to get a "top" tier sorority to party with our "mid/low" tier fraternity? (I think tiers are bs, but whatev). I really think that once we have parties with them, they will be asking us to party. We really just have to get our foot in the door. How can we accomplish this?

Think how you'd get people to parties outside the context of Greek Life. You'll find that people generally prefer to party with those who they're comfortable with.

With that in mind, start off with encouraging your brothers to just meet and know as many people as possible. They'll all make new friends, but some may be great potential new members while others might just happen to be in sororities. Also, try starting off with a few structured events that sound fun for even strangers (i.e. etiquette dinner).

It's basically just social dynamics.

My oddball solution: don't. Party with the sororities who want to party with you. As the poster above me suggested, reach out to as many people as you can, get to know people, meet girls in all sororities-regardless of "tier"-and begin connecting with them for mixers/exchanges/other events.

Personally, I don't know much about frat reputations, but I know who's a nice guy and who isn't. So I think you should just focus on getting to know girls from any sorority.

If that top tier sorority doesn't want anything to do with you, don't pursue them.

If you only want a sorority to party with you because of their "tier" (oh yeah, you think tiers are bs, but whatev) you'll be looked on as a bunch of social climbing assholes. You probably also won't have a good time because the girls won't want to be there and will act like they're doing you a favor - or will be downright resentful because they'll know they're being used to propel you up the social ladder.

News flash: girls from ALL different sororities are friends with each other. melindawarren is right, mix with who will mix with you. Be nice and fun and gentlemanly. If your old mixers were along the pimps and hos line, try something like a 1950s theme or karaoke. Quit trying to be cooler than cool all the time. It's not attractive. Be a goofball. It's way more fun.

Try just being nice to the sorority girls you meet on a daily basis in class, at jobs, etc. It's easier to make individual connections than to try to get everyone to love each other at once. (Duh, just like rush.)

Work with the mixers you've got, but make sure your guys are attending the philanthropy and other all-Greek social events. Make sure you are fully committed to Greek Week and Homecoming. You might not win the events, but if you make a positive (and fun!) representation, people will start to notice. This isn't something that can be resolved in 5 minutes but if you put the effort in, it will begin to pay off.

Get yourself a social schedule with those bottom tier sororities and make sure the parties are FUN. Word will get around.

As far as socials/mixers go, as stated above, pursue only those who would be pursued, otherwise, you're going to look like a bunch of social climbing assholes. That will serve to alienate the top tier and the lower tier groups. If you pursue that course of action, you'd better get used to having socials with only GDIs in attendance.

The only way to improve your standing is by improving your stock. Recruit quality and quantity. Recruit 24/7/365. Recruit brothers who are there for the brotherhood and for the experience, not for the booze and girls. Improving your stock will improve your standing. Shortcuts are going to have disastrous consequences.