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MY COMMENTS IN ALL CAPS TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN YOUR QUESTIONS AND MY RECOMMENDATIONS. (I'm not "yelling" in all caps, that is!)

The first obstacle is that we are not officially affliated with the unviersity - we missed the deadline to join the multicultural greek council at the school. You MUST be under a greek counil to be a GLO at this university...

BEGIN TO GATHER INTEREST IN MEMBERS, OPERATE UNDER A NON GREEK NAME FOR NOW, PLAN EVENTS, AND DON'T MISS THIS DEADLINE FOR NEXT YEAR. KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE MULTI-CULTURAL COUNCIL TO SEE IF YOU CAN BE INVITED TO THEIR EVENTS AS AN INTEREST GROUP. IN THE MEANTIME, YOU CAN OPERATE AS A WOMEN'S GROUP AND WHEN YOU GET RECOGNITION, MOVE TO GREEK LETTERS AND HAVE A BIG CELEBRATION.

Second, we were told we could basically still do community service activities and gather a founding group of ladies, but couldn't do anything on campus.

THAT'S FINE. THERE ARE PLENTY OF WAYS TO BE SOCIAL AND HAVE SERVICE EVENTS. YOU CAN HAVE OUTINGS WITH ONE ANOTHER, START A YAHOO! GROUP AND MORE.

THE SCHOOL DOES RECOGNIZE YOU THEN IF THEY TOLD YOU THIS. YOU ARE JUST NOT YET A GLO OR AFFILIATED WITH A GREEK COUNCIL AT THE SCHOOL.

YOU CAN HOLD RECRUITMENT SESSIONS, BUT FOR NOW, YOU MAY WANT TO HAVE OPEN MEMBERSHIP. DON'T BEGIN ANY RITUALS OR GREEK LETTERS UNTIL YOU HAVE PERMISSION. AS LONG AS PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS ARE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WHO ARE IN GOOD ACADEMIC STANDING WITH THE SCHOOL, ACCEPT THEM AS YOUR MEMBERS AND SPREAD THE WORD. YOU CAN PUT FLIERS UP IN THE COMMUNITY AROUND THE SCHOOL, IN THE DORMS, MASS EMAILS, ETC. SET UP A WEB SITE. PROMOTE IT AS CAMPUS MINISTRY MEETINGS AND AREA CHURCHES. SET AN EVENT CALENDAR.

Third, we have a LOT of competition ahead with other GLOs on this campus...there are many GLOs here. This may not be too much of a problem since the purpose of this sorority is unlike any other we know about on this campus or elsewhere.

IS THERE NOT A NEED ALREADY FULFILLED BY THOSE GLOS, THEN? AND IF YOUR PURPOSE IS TO PROMOTE CHRISTIAN VALUES AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN, THEN HOLD BIBLE STUDIES AND SERVE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY THROUGH VARIOUS SOCIAL AND SERVICE FUNCTIONS. YOU HAVE ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR BEFORE YOU WILL BE RECOGNIZED AS A GLO, SO YOU HAVE THIS YEAR TO DEVELOP YOURSELF.

Fourth is a question: if we aren't allowed to be noticeably present on campus right now, how do we recruit more ladies so that when next year comes and we are official with the school, we will have a healthy presence?

YOU RECRUIT THEM INTO AN ALL WOMEN'S AFRICAN AMERICAN CHRISTIAN SERVICE GROUP. STAY TRUE TO THIS PURPOSE AND GET YOUR GREEK AFFILIATION NEXT YEAR. YOU CAN STILL PROMOTE YOUR GROUP ON CAMPUS AS A NON GREEK WOMEN'S GROUP.

Fifth is also a question: should we try and affiliate with a fraternity (we have one in mind...) to get ourselves out? And if so, how do we approach them?

NO. THEN YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO BE A CO-ED GROUP. INSTEAD, PLAN SOME COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS TOGETHER. INVITE THEM TO AN END OF THE YEAR FORMAL BANQUET.

If someone can't answer any of the bove questions, any and all advice would be appreciated.