[33girl]

OK, let me try AGAIN.

For what it's worth, I don't think ANYONE - whether they were active for 4 years as a collegian or AIed 2.5 seconds ago or is a 40 year old volunteering for the first time - should be an advisor to a brand new chapter if that's the first thing they've ever done. I've seen new chapters get off on the wrong foot and never recover because while the advisor had good intentions, she did things wrong. Better to have someone who's got some volunteer service under their belt and knows how the national org works who can be accessed by email and phone, than to have someone who might live down the street but doesn't know the first thing about volunteering. New chapters are so fragile, they need all the care they can get. That's my opinion.

On the other point, when I hear that someone's being initiated "because the local chapter needs an advisor" that just sends up all sorts of red flags IMO. To me, it sounds like giving a bid to the girl in rush that people didn't really like, but well, she's on the volleyball team and will help us do well in intramurals. And no, I don't mean the colonizing members who graduated or the women who have been advisors to the local sorority since Nixon was in office. I don't consider either of those situations "alumna initiation" as we've discussed it on here.

Everyone has different qualifications as to what advisors have to do when, and if your group requires a full advisory board at every meeting and are looking to colonize somewhere that you have to look under the trees to find a Greek let alone a member of your org, well, maybe you should rethink that opportunity. Or rethink your requirements for advisor attendance.

If we're having so much trouble getting women to serve as volunteers that we have to AI to fill the ranks, maybe we should take a look in the mirror and figure out why the alumnae we already have aren't stepping up in the first place.