"Why Did You Decide to Join ...That?"
 

This is for anyone that is part of an independent BGLO, MCGLO etc.

And if this topic has been discussed, forgive me, but I cannot take the time to dig thru 100s of older posts to pull this up.

On a slight tangent from the "Why do multicultural GLOs/organizations exist?" thread, my comments and question is this:

Within the past 20 plus years, many people have opted to not join the traditional orgs that have have historical roots on collge campuses for many reasons:

Chapters may not have been active or what the person was looking for vs what they saw were incompatible or many other reasons.

Thus for any of a number of reasons, newer GLOs were created.

For those of you here, why did you decide to create or join a new GLO as opposed to what was already in place and be a part of tradition?

My story:

I took a long hard look at fraternities when I was an undergrad at Morgan State Univ. in the early 90's. This was a time when at that point anyone would see the last above ground lines for the NPHC were being pledged on campus because at that point new rules for intake were being set in place. This was also a time where just about all of the BGLOs on the yard were very active in community service and their presence was felt.

My issue was finding something the I liked where I could give and get something back. The problem however was after really researching the two orgs I wanted to join, I wasn't comfortable with what I was getting back.

In one of the orgs, the brothers that I met I wasn't very comfortable around and let's face it, if you and the people that you hope to call 'frat' one day aren't seeing eye to eye on the level, can only get worse after you become a member.

The other org, I felt very comfortable around the members and in fact 3 of them we are all very tight to this very day. However, right when I was about to try to be a part of the intake class, I found out that they were suspended.

Funny thing tho, they still wanted me to go thru the process because my qualifications and recommendations were on point and they made all kinds of guarantees that once the line crossed they would get it straightened out with nationals.....common sense says that guarantees are never that so I decided not to. My room mate continued on and after he was done, he found out it was all for naught. Nationals found out about the line and 4 of the guys involved didn't have the right credentials to be a part, thus a suspension was handed down....so I woulda took part went thru all that madness and for what....?

At that point, I simply decided that it just wasn't meant for me to be a part, until a year or so later, I met a brother from the frat I became a part of. One of the things that I was given to opportunity to do was, not only to become a brother in something new (only 7 years old at that point) but to be a focal point to branching out in MD.

It was a chance to create something new and trust...it's never been easy.
The challenge wasn't going thru intake, but AFTER.

People are not used to seeing something new and I have many first hand accounts...and after some get over the inital shock of seeing something new, they begin to realize there is more to who I am than just my letters.

We have had more than my fair shakes of ribbing, and arguments and funny stares.

We have had more than enough people who have tried to figure out 'just exactly who am I' because I was in a different org.

We have been told 'no' more than enough times that we can't partake in certain events because 'your org isn't part of the older tradition'

We have in many ways have earned respect

We have in many ways have bonded with others in other frats and sororities because they have looked past the colors and letters see that we all are working our way towards the same goals.

People believe that if you join a 'newer GLO' you weren't good enough to join the older more established orgs. That is not the case. A lot of us that have started / joined newer orgs prefer the alternative vs the obvious.

Prefer to create unique traditions rather that be another name in an ever evolving one.

Some of us are just happy to be around like minded folk who are simply looking to making thier corner of world a better place......

So...what is your story?

yup, it has been asked before, no biggy!

my sorority is about 150 strong. it was founded in 2003 in Tennessee. my family consists of a bunch of Zetas, a few Deltas, one AKA, and numerous Ques. my parents always saw it as "following the crowd" and allowing people to degrade you just to say you were in a group. keep in mind, my parents came thru college in the 70's, so their idea of hazing was nowhere near what happens today...:)

i still wanted to be part of a group, specifically because i like to do charity work, etc, and it is hard to do alone. while helping my sister do research for a paper, i ran across Sigma Beta Xi. i was surprised at the fact that it is a motherhood-based sorority. i was intrigued, so i emailed the national president, who PERSONALLY called me and had a lengthy conversation with me about the org. and invited me to come to an interest meeting. the chapter was over an hour away from where i live, but i went anyway, loved them, pledged, and crossed a month ago!

i have never been the type to be like everyone else. i dont judge those who chose d9, most went into it with the right mind and reason, while i know a few who did just because their mother was/liked the colors/thought they were pretty enough, etc. i think by considering one that isnt known/isnt "popular" you get the true effect of a sorority/fraternity. you get to be part of the beginning. i dont fade into the background...

so thats my story. hope thats what you wanted!

Congrats!!!

In the end we have to not only be true to ourselves...we have to ask WHY DID WE do this and what is this giving ME and be happy with the answer....I know I am....I woouldn't trade this for anything else.

yo true story...i'ma be blunt about this...alot of these newer BGLOs were started by pplz who was online for the D9 orgs and dropped. i'm not sayin all, but a good amount, probably had at least one founder of the org that was online for an NPHC org. I mean, it is what it is, but lets not kid ourselves and say that most of these orgs were started because they couldnt find the ideals they sought in the D9 orgs. even some of the Latin orgs have founders that are pancakes too. same as wit some of these charter members for some of the chapters in the newer orgs. hell thats even happened in the D9...

And while that may be true to some degree, you never know unless you asked...and like u said it's the same for the D9 ...so let me ask you this...what lead u to Sigma? Was it your first choice? I know a lot of people who are in the D9 and thier org wasn't their first choice but came to a decision after doing their homework....we all end up where we are for a reason...do u agree?

In all fairness, if these individuals found the ideals they sought in the D9 orgs, the individuals involved would've been members of whatever NPHC org. But they couldn't find those ideals, so they dropped and started something else. Does this make sense?

What's a pancake? Does this have anything to do with Theta Phi Psi Fraternity (a BGLO founded in 2002 at Denny's) *lol* :p :D

dayum...can't even get an IHOP chapter?

I never went through rush.. I was simply recruited when Sigma Nu first came to our campus. I joined up a semester after they came on.

Why did I join? I don't think any fraternity in this state can boast more prominent members in business/government than Sigma Nu. Also, I guess it was a big deal to me that I could be a big part of starting something which was going to exist for a long time and touch many lives.

I was also philosophically against hazing -- something which at the time I would have rushed was featured in every other organization on campus.

You don't have to dig through old posts, you just have to run a search and it will dig through them for you.

Im lazy @ 8 in the morning...go figger....LOL

that is very tru Blue. i can be safe in saying that wasnt the case with us, one founder is married to a sigma, the other is an sgrho.

our sorority consists mostly of mothers, some single, some married, we even have a few grandmas, but that is our common bond. i have friends who were in d9 orgs and found them less accomodating because they were single parents.

son, you know why some ppl drop. you know exactly what i'm talkin about. and yes it does make sense...cuz i know of a newer org that was started and 2 of their founders was on for a NPHC org.

and a pancake is someone who was online for one org, but dropped and crossed another.


i mean i aint got no beef wit the new orgs...hey if they nphc aint ya cup of tea, no doubt, i aint knockin you...
and another thing...i think that we're almost gettin to the point of saturation. there's so many newer orgs out there, that its hard for them to expand. some orgs been around for near 30 years and they barely got 25 chapters. shit, it took PBS almost 20 years to get to Alpha Alpha...and i think we're just comin up on Beta Gamma Alpha chapter now, as far as undergrad chapters go.

Someone started a similar topic less than a month ago http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=86649

Daemon, you get much respect from me for having the courage to try something new.

I really like your comment about people assuming that if you aren't in the D9, then you must have tried to be and didn't make it. This has certainly not been the case in my experiences (and if I found out someone was seeking us out for this reason they would be shown the door with a quickness!).

For me, it was something I saw in my sorority that I did not see in anything else around me at the time. It was a close-knit, special bond and dedication to service and sisterhood. It was something that I wanted to be a part of and help disseminate in the future. The fact that it was also multicultural was icing on the cake!

It's not always easy being the new kid on the block. Growing up all I ever knew were NPHC orgs, so I understand the confusion. But for me, I enjoy educating people and showing that there are other alternatives out there. And to be honest I've gotten more love than hate for doing it.

So are you saying that when some new orgs history indicates that its founders "didn't find what they were looking for" in an NPHC org, it's merely smoke-and-mirrors for them being on line for an NPHC org and, well you know the deal....is that what you're alluding to? If so, I gotcha', no further explanation required.

About this newer org you know of...what was its name? I ask because I know of a ton of relatively new BGLOs, one of which died out within a year of its founding--Gamma Phi Eta (and its sister sorority, Xi Gamma Phi); it turned out after reading some context clues from its website (which is still up btw), that it was a knockoff of your frat and its founders were "Eternal Crescents".

Gotcha

(at bolded) Phi Eta Psi and Phi Delta Psi Fraternities come to mind. Heck, Beta Phi Pi and Delta Psi Chi fraternities (founded in 1986 and 1985, respecively) come to mind. Speaking of which, I remember when I was at Central State, there was a chapter of Delta Psi Chi on the yard, and I remember this one cat who was a member was trying to get me to join. I politely passed on the offer--I know what's it like to be in an underdog frat and while I got nothing but love for them, I didn't want to be in another org where the FAQ from folk who see my letters ask "What's that?" After a while that gets old and my answers began to have a smart-alecky slant to them. But I digress....

I think you should be able to join any organization that you choose, if for no other reason than because you want to, but when you try to mimic one of the NPHC orgs exactly, what does that tell everyone? Like the fraternity Kappa Psi Kappa. These guys have the diamond and the cane as their symbols...are you kidding me?????? How reject can you get? How disrespectful can you get?:eek: