Big Sis Reveal
 

I really want to change the way our chapter does Big Sis stuff. I'm the NM Ed for this semester and for Fall. In Fall I'm looking to make the changes. Can you guys tell me how your different chapters did/do this. Everything from picking Big/Lil's, evealing, Poem Passing, etc.
Thanks for the help!
Alpha Love
Ashley

I went to Georgia Southern and this is how we did it:

We gave panda pals for like 3 weeks each NM would have a different one every week who took them to lunch, hung out with them.... Whoever there panda pal was the week of pinning would do the pinning ceremony.

After the 3 weeks we would have each of the NMs write down on a piece of paper there top 3 choices for bigs. Then the sisters who wanted littles would write down who they wanted. We had a committee(big/lil, VPNM, VPE, and a couple of others I can't remember) who decided who got who from the lists - we obviously tried to match them with there top choices but lots of things were factors...If the big was a senior and the lil was a freshman we didn't like to do it b/c the big would leave...If the big already had several lils we would see if there was someone who didn't, that kind of thing.

After we made the decisions we would notify the bigs. This woulds begin big/lil week. Everyday the bigs would send anonymous clues, presents...to there lils. At the end of the week we would have something like a scavenger hunt for revealing the lils would get like 5 clues have to go to different places...and in the last place (same place for everyone) the bigs would be hiding. Oh yeah the lils would wear a costume that matched their bigs and that's how they would know they had the right one :D

The semester I pledged revealing was also the kickoff for our NM retreat.

If you have other questions feel free to PM me

-Brandi

Ashley,

This was a long time ago (1983) so hopefully I can remember :) After formal rush we were assigned a Rosebuddy to help us adjust to AOII. After a few weeks, we had a big/little week where our big sisters left us notes and clues (usually in someone else's handwriting to keep us confused) ending up with the revealing at the end of the week with presents and such.

Later on I became the CA for my collegiate chapter, and they did a few things differently. Change is good! There was dollar limit in place for each day (I think) so no one was spending a fortune. There was a big emphasis on personal, handmade gifts then (93-98 or so), like totes, tee shirts and picture frames, stuff like that. At revealing they had everyone in the chapter together in a friendship circle. The little read the parts of a poem that their big had been leaving for them during the week and then the big finished the verse. There was always someone with a camera ready to take pics of the newly revealed big and little pair!

As for suggestions, I've got a few. First, contact your adviser if you have one, if not your CA for some help. Your advisers are great resources! Your adviser can also get in touch with your chapter's Network Specialist for suggestions. I'm sure there are other chapters in your area or on similar campuses that have already got a great NM program in place that you could modify for your chapter!

Having said that, make sure that your matching process takes everyone into consideration. If a new member has her heart set on Susie Q as a big, and Susie would love to be new member's big, that's great...but what if Susie is on co-op that semester and will only be around for chapter meetings? That's not fair to either of them. Make sense? Another suggestion is to try your best to see that all older initiates who do not already have a little--and want one--get matched. Last suggestion is to have some kind of meeting or workshop for all potential bigs, before formal recruitment if possible. Let them know up front what AOII and the chapter expects of sisters taking on the responsibility of being a big. Your chapter may already do something like this but it's always a good idea so there are no questions later.

Remember, it's all about helping educate and immerse our newest AOIIs about our Fraternity and that we believe in being AOIIs for a lifetime! The bigs will make your job as VPE/NME so much easier and more fun than any of you could ever imagine.

Good luck and keep us posted. I love reading about what the collegians are doing in their chapters!

Roses,
Christin

Tau Omega Chapter
 

Here at the Tau Omega Chapter we reveal big/lil sisters by giving our littles a poem about a day before revelation, and then we read have of it and they respond with the other half. I heard of an interesting way to do it from our new chapter in Miami though, and that was to give each of the sisters a string that was connected to their big/lil, and then they had to find each other through the mess. So I don't know what will work for you, but there are some ideas. :D