Heavy decision to make
 

We learned last night that our chapter is closing after 40 years on May 10. I have NOT been initiated yet, but have been given the option to either go over and immediately become alum, or depledge and go thru rush again in the fall. I am very confused as to what to do. I wanted the sorority experence, but I am not sure I could ever join another.

Anyone have any advice for me?

TG

I'm so sorry to hear about your chapter!

I know that desire to have a full collegiate experience but there are a lot of things you can do when alum, like attend Convention, join an alum club...but it isn's quite the same, you're right.

What is recruitment like on your campus? Are there other groups that you would consider joining?

It is a very hard decision, but sounds like you're going to have to decide whether it's the fraternity or the experience you'd want most. I love Pi Phi and of course would love to have you as a sister, but it may be worthwhile to try again.

I think that fraternity life is ultimately what you make it...if you put in 100% you'll get it back three-fold. So figure out if you'll be able to do that for another organization. Once you figure that out, the other answers should follow.

Hope this helps a little!

In Pi Phi,
cherub

I am so sorry to hear about your chapter. I'm sure everyone was devastated by the announcement. I know I would be heart broken if my chapter closed for any reason. Was this completely out of the blue? What happened?

TrojanGirl, I've forgotten what school you attend. Which one is it? Oh, I hate to hear about one of our chapters closing. Thank goodness it doesn't happen frequently. You might want to check into whether your area has a strong alum club. If it does, then you might want to go ahead and go alum. Sometimes, a group takes a few years to rest and then recolonizes. You could help with that. If this had happened to me, I think I would have been so soured on Greek life, I couldn't bear going through rush again. Also, keep in mind that some girls ask to go alum as upperclasswomen. They want to stay Pi Phis, but they don't have the time to contribute to the chapter, what with internships, jobs, etc. If it were me, I'd go alum, but I can't tell you what to do. I'd love to welcome you as a fully initiated sister. Remember, Pi Phi has alum chapters all over the country (and Canada). If you think you might move after graduation, that might be another reason to go alum. You still could get involved with collegiate chapters. After all, you will spend most of your life as an alum, but only four years as an active. I guess I tend to look at the big picture in most situations.

To give everyone an update, I decided to go thru. I took the pledge test tonight and made a perfect score! My chapter is fighting the loss of the charter. Here is to hope!

TG

Congratulations on the pledge test! :D I hope everything works out for your chapter and you can experience life as an active!

Jess

Oh, TrojanGirl, I am so proud of you! Not many pledges make perfect scores (I just made a 98, which was still the highest in my chapter). I looked up which state your chapter is in, and I know Pi Phi is very strong in Arkansas. I am thrilled with your decision to be initiated -- you'll never regret it -- and I wish you the best of luck in fighting for your charter. If all the members are as devoted as you are, maybe it can be saved.

Thank you so much all for the encouragement. Not only did I make a perfect score, but my pledge sisters made 100, 98, and 96! We haved all worked very hard to learn everything we could.
We even knew some of the things that were not on the test, just in case. I am getting excited about this weekend. I know initiation is a special experence and one that I feel truly honnored to take place in.

TG

TG,
I'm proud of you. I'm reading this kind of late, so I hope that all is going well with your attempts to fight the closure. If it makes you feel any better, last year my chapter began with a minute 6 members, and after an excellent recruitment, we are now up to 15 and we have high hopes for the upcoming Rush. Nobody could tell us that we were shutting down. Don't let then tell you! I wish you the best,

pi phi love,
C.

That's awesome to hear of other chapters that are bringing up membership numbers! This year we lost four seniors but we gained 18 with my pledge class. We're still the smallest sorority on campus but we're really working on changing our image. :) Hopefully we will get another group of girls in the fall through COB. The size of Pi Phi on my campus was part of the draw though. I know everyone by name, not just by face and that's really impressive when some of my friends in other houses didn't even know who their seniors were! :eek: I know my pledge class really wants to turn our house around and make it awesome. So hopefully we'll get quality girls in the fall and then rock out in formal rush! :D

Jess

This is just an addition to jharb's post. BTW, for those of you who don't know, Jess and I are both IN Gamma's. :)

Our chapter is the smallest, but I really do love our numbers as well! I was proud of the fact that I knew almost everyone's name on my Bid Day! And another thing. I have a really good friend who is a member of one of the larger, more popular houses on my campus. When I first moved in last year I went over to her house to visit and see her room. We were standing in her doorway talking when another one of her sisters came in the door. She approached me and apologized for not knowing my name because she hadn't learned all the new actives' names yet! She thought I was a member of her house!!! (And the bad thing was I was wearing my Pi Phi lavaliere! :p ) That scenerio would never happen in our house.

I'm very impressed by what our house has done. We have finally reached the point where every room in our house is filled to the max, and we even have girls living out next year! That hasn't happened for awhile. Jess, I'm thrilled to hear you want to help our house succeed! Honestly, it just takes some excitement and dedication to help turn a house around. When rush comes around throw all of that energy into it! Rush is what you make of it. Good luck clothesgirl! We'd love to hear how your rush turns out. :)