Two year colleges
 

I found another thread on two year colleges and why they don't have chapters of sororities. However, it didn't answer all of my questions, because it seemed to be geared towards NPHC sororities.

What I'm wondering is, would it be feasible for my sorority (service), to start colonies at Junior Colleges? Scholarship is not specifically one of our principles, and we do not have a required minimum GPA at this point. Since we're service, our viewpoint is more of a desire to get a greater amount of people out there doing good things for their community. In the poll that I sent around at our last meeting asking various questions about going national, one of the questions pertained to friends at other universities who would want to be a part of us. One girl answered that she had five friends at a JC about an hour from here who would be interested.

Basically, I know the time arguments about not being able to support an org that members only stay in for two years. But our chapter has lots of girls that only stay in for two years now that have contributed immensely! (We take a lot of sophmores and some juniors, and we have the possibility of gaining alumna status within two semesters of graduation.)

Does anyone think that this would work for an organization like mine?

The NPC sororities also are limited to 4-year institutions.

My opinion is that you would have a hard time maintaining leadership and consistency at a 2-year junior college. At 4-year institutions you have 1-2 years to evaluate and train up future leaders. At a 2-year institution, if you have one or two years with poor leadership, the chapter will fail very quickly. My advice is to stick to 4-year institutions.

Barbara

I started at a two-year college, SUNY Delhi, in Delhi, NY. We had several sororities, none are national...only a couple have chapters at other two-year schools. I think if you have the interest, go for it! My organization has one other chapter so far at Berkeley College in White Plains, NY and we're doing great. Communication is the biggest obstacle but we live in the age of the internet & email now so use it to it's fullest advantage! Sure, mistakes will be made, but think of the rewards!

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Amy Gallaher
KernyL S'97
Gamma Class

Well I think there is a big difference between the NPC/NPHC/IFC organizations and local/up & coming GLOs. Not so much in structure, but in goals.

I am currently attending a 2 year school and while I rushed my org while I was still a member of a 4-year school, I haven't been there while an initiated sister. The purpose of sororites/fraternities at my current school is more casual, intimate, and focused. We don't have nor expect the 'group' time commitments from our members but then again, we don't have a house to manage/run, a 'Greek Council' of some sorts to answer to, or a complicated infrastructure.

As for the leadership issue, other sisters - in-school, graduated, at another chapter, etc. are always willing to help and lend advice. Most good leaders aren't 'trained' anyways...they just see the path and have the drive to take it (helping others along the way).

So in our day to day operations, yes, we run a bit differently than our sisters at 4-year institutions. Do we contribute any less? Most definitely NO! Just in different ways.

But ultimately, it's up to the organization. It's a trade off...opening up the pool of members vs. a slightly disjointed org. So far, my GLO is handling it fine...but we also have some VERY dedicated women in our ranks.

Good luck!

Our sorority is Multicultural and we do allow people to join from 2 year institutions because we are an Up and Coming national organization. That might be your best bet, find one that is already established and allows members from 2 year schools. We all keep in touch via the internet. I am really impressed that your focus is service because a lot of people forget about the service aspect and just want to wear letters. Email me if you want some info. Or check out my chapter website www.deltagammapiez.freeservers.com

Maybe its different where I am from, but the majority of students at our 2 year colleges go on to continue their education at 4 years schools. It is a popular choice to take the basic classes like maths and sciences at a community college for financial reasons and then transfer and finish up at the university. I guess someone who takes this route, misses out because by the time they get to university, they are almost 21?

well, I believe that branching out to two year students, allows them to have the same benefits as a 4yr student would have. I don't feel as though they should be excluded because they happen to attend a 2yr school. I also agree with my soror who stated that alot of people go to stwo year colleges to get simple classes or other issues out of the way, and just because they make that decision, doesn't mean they should not have the benefits of going greek.
Just my two cents
DGP-Honey~

Members at 2-year schools
 

I think the main reason why men and women in community/junior college should not join organizations before transfer is because this membership may preclude them from joining a fraternity/sorority once they are at the university. For example, I heard about a Latina sorority at a community college that is local to me, but if one of these ladies ever transferred and tried to join my organization, she would not be allowed to do so. Many organizations do not accept fully pledged members of another group, even if it is a community college organization.

Further, if an organization does have a community college segement of its membership, there is no guarantee that these members will even transfer to a 4-year institution where the organization is present.

Finally, I work in higher education, and very few community college students finish their transfer requirements within two years and go straight to a university. Many community college students attend classes intermittenly, primarily because of work and family committments. If you allow community college students to join, you may have to deal with members "coming and going." There is also the possibility of members never transferring at all, as in some parts of the country, less than 10% of community college students ever transfer to a university. I suppose an organization considering allowing community college students to join would have to consider the committment level it expects from its members, and what it will do should it start to encounter problems.