Less popular sororities
 

A question...does it seem that there is a less popular sorority on other campuses? On my campus, there are 12 sororities, and when I (recently) went through recruitment, there was one house that no one in my rush group (or other rush groups) wanted to revisit. When I went I knew it wasn't right for me, and I knew that based on how my conversations with the girls were forced. Don't get me wrong, they were nice girls, and there was nothing at all wrong with them, but you know when you don't click.

However, while I didn't go back after the third round, many people did, often crying over it or complaining. Sadly, out of the 26 bids this house offered, only 8 girls accepted. Is this common? I've always wondered why people say so much sh*t about this house, and I was wondering if it was a common occurence on other campuses.

Happens everywhere. Sucks.

Every campus has a most popular house, and a least popular house. Unfortunately, those designations are often gleaned from things that have nothing to do with reality.

However, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy....if you get used to only having a third of your bids accepted, you go into rush with the attitude that you will fail, and you probably will.

this is so true. i think when girls hear "no one wants that house" they start to think well there must be something wrong with them and it makes girls more likely to decline a bid.

its so sad how much reputation matters.

On some campuses, the reputation is never overcome, and national ends up pulling that chapter off campus. I have seen that happen to at least three sororities on one campus within a 20 year span. At my campus, where over 800 girls go through rush for just 8 sororities, it seems impossible to imagine that anyone can't make quota. However, there is a sorority that has been there for years and years yet rarely makes quota. Two other newer houses are doing much better than this old, established one. I guess the lesson is that reputation IS important and it is crucial that actives conduct themselves appropiately, as well as pledge girls, who can carry on and maintain the high standards set forth by their founders. Because once you have tipped the scales the wrong way, it is very difficult to straighten them up - not impossible, just difficult.

When I was in school, there was one house that fit the bill. Chapter total was 105, and most houses were at total. A couple years after I graduated, Unpopular Chapter reorganized. Today, they are one of the most "in demand" houses on campus. Unpopular Chapter is always top of the Greek GPA list, the members are always involved in campus activities and often hold officer titles, they are great in intermurals, are sweethearts, and most girls are highly attractive.

Chapters can turn around over night, as other chapters can go down-hill with one bad recruitment.

I agree with your post, except for the implication that the cause of the Unpopular Sorority syndrome is that there were girls acting inappropriately with less than high standards. I think it is important to do this anyway, but it isn't necessarily the source or even the most common source of starting the cycle. The time I witnessed a group dive in popularity (from #2 on campus with the highest sorority GPA to nearly dying) wasn't due to any conduct of the members themselves but because of inter-greek politics among the fraternities, not sororities. I've tried to type a more detailed description a couple times in composing this post, but I think that any more than this would be TMI for a public forum. The bottom line was that a majority of men from one fraternity consciously did some things to hurt the soon-to-be-unpopular sorority because they were trying to buddy up to a different sorority that their leadership had connections with.

So... I don't think it is ever safe to assume that a group became unpopular because of admitting certain members that had lesser standards. I would doubt that this is true even a majority of the time.

I haven't known any friends at schools that didn't have this happen!

But reputation can change... it can even change at schools like mine that have strongly established stereotypes. I'm watching it happen right now.

It's so sad that only 8 girls accepted that house. They're probably missing out on a great experience, and if every girl that got a bid would accept, that chapter would become stronger, which would make recruitment easier for them the next year, and so on.

Reputations can take longer to change at some campuses, but I think your top point is an especially good one.

I think there's a perception that if that one chapter would fold, then the system would be stronger. Actually, I think people underestimate how much that one weak chapter (or maybe even group of chapters) is doing for everyone else in terms of propping up their reputations. Everyone else can say "oh, poor XYZ, I'm glad I got QRS" without every having to think about how the girls in QRS aren't much different girl for girl than XYZ; XYZ just has fewer of them. And if XYZ goes away, QRS is going to look a little less attractive compared to the rest of the system without XYZ to outshine.

A major thing that's helping overcome this is the new release figures. I can think of several chapters that were on the verge of dying that have come up to total or almost so in the last 5 years.

I can remember how Erik Conard used to say--bluntly but truthfully-- that we all ought to help the "weenie" chapters because if they died, any one of our groups could be the next weenie.

Yep; it's kind of funny that we went so long without them, considering how much they seem to do beneficially with relatively few differences in bad outcome, as near as I can tell.

I agree that the new release figures are definitely helping the overall system.

The PNMs also don't realize that if they all went to that chapter together, they could potentially completely change the chapter around. Becuase of a rough summer, my chapter returned with 15 members the semester after I was initiated. We took 19 women through formal recruitment that year though. The personality of the chapter changed completely.

Though I agree with your point in theory, PNMs just don't think that way. They're blinded by tent talk and reputations and those things can stigmatize a chapter. All they want is a top tier and they'll feel like they're lowering their standards to take a bottom tier group. It's only after they've been in the NPC arena for a bit do they realize the error of their ways and by then it's too late.