Alumnae at Initiation
 

Ths came up at a collegiate/alumnae brunch today. Since our chapter recently had initiation, of course, that was one of the topics.

Someone mentioned that one of the NPC sororities on campus makes it a point to NOT invite alumnae to initiation. My first thought was how sad!! Knowing that this is an national org with deep traditions, I was surprised at this.

We are working on trying to make the initiation time/day more feasible for alumnae but with late classes and members not wanting to be in town on weekends, it's hard.


Is this common. or does it seem to be a local chapter's decision not to invite alumnae to initiation?

Maybe it's a space issue? I know if a lot of alums showed up to initiation at my chapter, we'd be spilling into the rafters.

Oye, alumnae are STRONGLY encouraged to take part in our initiation, they're part of the ritual.

It's recently become a space issue for the chapter I advise. The only alumnae who are usually present are the CA and the alumnae chapter president if there's a candidate for alumnae initiation present.

Really?? How sad. Way to alienate your alums. :( Once a sister, always a sister!

When my chapter's alumnae relationship person does her job properly (some are better than others), she keeps us alums informed by email (and sometimes, snail mail) about the dates for rush and initiation. I've never made the trip myself, but we're always welcome.

Edit: The place where my chapter holds initiation has plenty of room, so space isn't an issue. I can understand where a chapter would not explicitly invite alums if space is tight. But I can't imagine a chapter deliberately turning alums away. It's so rare to find alums who have remained involved - why alienate them?

For UPS, it kind of depends on how on the ball the alumnae relations person is. It's usually more forgetting to tell us than anything else. That and the chapter is an hour away (no traffic) from the majority of our alumnae chapter members and they insist on having it on a week night (and usually starting around 7:00). So most alumnae just don't want to deal with the hassle of attending.

Being that we do not have a chapter house, we are very flexible as far as Initiation location. Luckily, our room that we use for Initiation is very spacious and can accomodate all the novitiates, collegians, and alums who decide to attend...times two!

I can imagine chapter rooms in houses that are very limited in space though...so I can see how the Initiation invite might not be extended to all alumnae who want to attend.

When I was a collegian, I only remember us inviting alums that had legacies that were being initiated. I think it would be awesome if they made an effort to invite all alums that would be interested in attending, but as far as I know that has not been the case.

Your alums should always be invited. They know that they will be in the background, especially if space is limited. They know what they would have to do to be there----such as travel, standing, being in tight spaces, etc. But how awful not to include them in the one hing that binds everyone together. How can you tell people that membership is for a llfetime if you don't show it too?

There are times when you may bemoan how the alums aren't involved or assiting with things. How can they want to if you don't include them in the most important occasion?

What if the chapter has a good reason for not inviting alums? Some I can think of:

1) At some point in time, the chapter incorporated their own "ritual" which is now considered hazing. Bringing the alumnae back will cause them to inquire why this ritual was done away with, and potentially they will throw a hissyfit.

2) Minor changes in the ritual since the alumnae have initiated are not acceptable to them (or they've just forgotten about it!) and thus they may say/do something incorrect during the ceremony.

My chapter makes a point of inviting all alums, but most live at least an hour away and initiation is not at a convenient time for us. Also, with our new New Member program, initiation is later in the semester than before, and thus weather comes into play.

Our chapter has only recently started doing this. We've typically had bad alumae relations chairs who didn't really think to invite alumnae to recruitment/initiation. I think one of the advisors basically took over that role and now lets us know (thanks, Tammy!)

My Chapter has an open door policy for Alums returning for Initation.

I and many of My Brothers do attend Initiation when possible.

Space issues are just a poor excuse. There are many places where Ritual can be done. We do ours at a Church as many Chapters have been doing this for years and is suggested by National because of the meanings and feelings.

For those who alinate Alums, remeber, We are Brothers and Sisters who have been there before and who many times become a back bone when a Chapter is in trouble.

I know one Chapter who used a space in the Student Center.

So to put it on the line, go ahead and piss off Alums. But then dont go to them to ask for Help! If they say NO, dont ask why not!

Alum should be invited to every initiation for Sigma Kappa. I've been to many as an alum to several local chapters.

I think that all chapters should invite their alums. Personally I feel it is a big part of alumnae relations because like someone said, it's the main thing that binds us all together. Small gestures like inviting them to initation (even if they don't think the alumnae could make it to the event) go a long way in making them feel included. These can build strong ties w/ alumnae and these ties could be very beneficial when the chapter needs help in the future (i.e. finances, help with recruitment, etc)