Should Legacies omit That Fact on Recruitment Applications?
 

Here's something else that appears to be a trend with the new release figures: legacies who get widely cut because the other sororities figure they'll go their legacy sorority, This is okay if that's where they want to go and they get a bid but other times, the legacy sorority and the other sororities release them. These are women who would be snapped up otherwise.

What do you think? Should legacies leave that information off their applications? And just make sure that the legacy chapter finds out by way of recs?

I have known of too many outstanding legacies who were cut down to 1 or 2 parties after first invitationals and it's getting worse every year.

We have a legacy introduction form which is to be completed on legacies, so we don't need to find out the information from a Panhellenic recruitment application. I've also heard that some Panhellenics black out that section, except for the sorority to which it applies. That makes sense to me, especially at schools where so many PNMs are legacies.

I would not recommend that a PNM just leave her legacies off of her recruitment app. Simply because the sororities most likely will find out anyway, and it may be seen as dishonest. Also, some chapters might be offended that a PNM would not list them as her legacy.

Good point. Maybe Panhellenic should stop asking.

That's what we do, and I think it works pretty well. The only times we know that a girl is a legacy to another house are when (1) She tells us or (2) She has a sister who is currently an XYZ. News about in house legacies spreads pretty fast.

I don't know about other schools, but at UGA being a legacy doesn't really mean that much. We don't cut girls that are legacies to other groups because we know that she is not absolutely going there. Plus, nothing is more fun than getting someone else's legacy...especially when she's in house. ;)

This is probably a stupid question, but is this literally blacked out? Because if so, the other sororities would know she is a legacy, but just wouldn't know to which org or orgs. The damage would still be done (so to speak.) Actually, why does PH ask if a PNM is a legacy? It seems that this is information that is really between the PNM and the GLO. If a PNM is really a legacy, then the appropriate parties will know how to get that information to the chapter.

I am a volleyball coach, and a few years back when I was working with high school girls, I helped some with their rush apps. Some were embarrassed that they left the legacy section blank - thinking this made them look less desireable, as not being a Greek blue blood, I guess. They didn't understand that not being a legacy could help them during recruitment.

Also, my biological little sisters went to a school that didn't have my GLO (but it does now! :D ). Anyway, the first to rush got a fair rush, because her status as an AOII legacy did nothing to hurt her, since we weren't on campus. My second sister though - totally different story. In my opinion, she is the girl every chapter would want. After first stage no one dropped her, second stage, every chapter dropped her except her legacy chapter and the smallest group on campus. She is fantastic and went on to be Top 10 freshman, Greek Woman of the Year, Summa cum Laude, the list goes on and on. With all that, everybody dropped her because she is a legacy! It makes for an unfair rush because the GLOs basically make the choice for her. The basic unspoken rule at that campus is, if you are sure you don't want your legacy house, cut it immediately or everyone else will cut you, assuming you are going to the legacy chapter. So, the PNM has to make that choice so early on that she can't be making an informed decision.

ETA: It seems that legacy status is part of a campus culture thing. At some campuses it is unbelievably important, and at others it doesn't seem to matter at all.

ETA some more: I said that she was dropped because she was a legacy. Of course I don't actually know that is true. :)

How about a simple box to check - Are you a legacy to any GLO? Do you think that would be more fair?

But what difference does it make? I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just don't know why PH asks. Is there some reason?

For one, someone who's a legacy is more familiar with the social and financial obligations of a GLO as compared to someone who is not. Secondly, it usually means that there won't be parental stress to NOT join.

But shouldn't the social and financial obligations of GLO membership be made clear to ALL PNMs -- I don't think it's safe for anyone to assume that because someone is a legacy, she knows much about sorority membership and responsibilities. That information should be available to everyone going through recruitment, right?

I agree with irishpipes -- if you're a legacy, it's really nobody's business but you and the organization of which you are a legacy. Period. I think it is beyond ridiculous for women to be cut because they are legacies. It's kind of a wacky assumption to think that because someone's mom was an XYZ at the University of Outer Mongolia in the 1970s that Susie Rushee will want to go XYZ at Big 10 U in 2005.

In an ideal world, yes. But again and again, we see that it doesn't really happen that way.

And I agree with this part - to an extent. Most of the pregnant sorority women I've seen post talk about whether they're having a boy or a legacy. So, obviously it's important to quite a few people.

LOL, true. It's another of those things that I imagine differs greatly in the South.

I think it totally depends on the school. When my younger sister went through recruitment at Ole Miss she put AOII and everyone knew me be/c I was a 5th year and they thought she would want AOII. Anyway, she still ended up having a great recruitment and in the end she went AOII. I do know that at some houses at Ole Miss they see that your older sister was a member of ABC sorority and they will automatically release you because they assume you will join that group. I think it is good to put on your recs at least so the chapter knows and I know that one year a legacy didn't put on her recruitment registration form that she was a legacy and that upset the members in the chapter. So, you need to weigh the pro's and con's.

UCF does this on the rush applications. The only way we would know what house the girl was a legacy to was if she told us during recruitment or if her sister was a current member at our school. It eliminated the whole, "Oh, she's an XYZ legacy? She'll probably join XYZ so let's not keep her."