In the years I've been with my chapter I don't think we've ever had to deal with that kind of conflict, but I do recall my mom giving me a hard time when I showed interest in pledging.

My mom's an immigrant from the Philippines and AFAIK there were no sororities at her college then (The University of Santo Tomas). There were social clubs and honor societies, but that's about it. I was thankful that she had some kind of clue as to what a sorority was about, but I do realize that many children of immigrant parents are the first ones in their family to attend college, so not everyone is as lucky as I am.

Money was always the issue she had the biggest problem with. Not the time constraints...not the toll it might take on my studies...always the money. She couldn't understand why I had to pay so much in monthly dues to be "part of a club".

She came to a family event that semester, and once she got to meet my new sisters, and once she realized Alpha Gam wasn't just a local thing (she was impressed with how we are on a national/international level), she got some peace of mind and knew that I wasn't squandering my $$$ away.

sismadly, what kind of cultural traditions are they going against? Religious? Social?