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Ooooweee!!!
Oowee Soror 411, you went ALL THE WAY there.
Regarding the comments from our Founder:
"endless bickering, the pettiness, the selfish motives, and lack of cooperation"
UM...any organization, especially one as large as Delta AND full of WOMEN (altho men can be petty and selfish), is going to have these problems. Nothing we can do about that, because some people who become Deltas happen to be petty, selfish, uncooperative, and like to bicker.
"...to the detriment of any constructive program"
I ABSOLUTELY (but respectfully of course) disagree with this comment from our Founder. Yes, we have pettiness, etc. like most large organizations, but it is not to the "detriment of any constructive program". Delta has local, regional, and national programs that are a benefit to the community and extremely constructive. The Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy, Summit V, and Delta Teen Lift, to name a few, not to mention the THOUSANDS of scholarship dollars we give out, and our upcoming International Day of Service on March 9, where all Delta chapters WORLDWIDE will be sponsoring AIDS initiatives. WE DEFINITELY HAVE CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRAMS, in spite of the bickering and pettiness.
"What have we as an organization to show for the years?"
Over 900 chapters, 200,000 sorors, a house along Embassy Row in Washington DC, thousands of students who could not have made it through college without scholarships from Delta, um...I would continue, but I'm already going to be long with this.
NOW TO ADDRESS SOROR 411'S COMMENTS...
Phew, let me begin by saying that this is, of course, all in sisterly love...
I agree that arguments about "oo-oop" (I love it), the Coleman Bond (I'm all for it), and alumnae vs. collegiates (we have no choice as to how we were made) are petty.
But our organization NEEDS to discuss the definition of active.
While I'd rather have a non-financial member who will put in work, they are no better than the financial member who doesn't work. In my opinion, BOTH of them are not living up to their lifetime commitment to Delta. Yes, Delta is about public service, but Delta also has BILLS, which is what our dues help to pay. What good is it to have someone who is willing to wash the dishes in the house if we can't afford to pay the mortgage on the house? We need sorors who will perform public service, YES, but we also DESPERATELY need sorors who pay their dues. In other words, we gotta pay the bills AND do the housework.
And there are definitely songs that are inappropriate for use at a Step Show.
Sorry, but I don't want to see any of my sorors at a step show dancing to "B*tch Betta have my Money", no matter how funky the beat is.
While I don't "scorn" non-financial sorors, I don't think it's right.
I can't write a check for anyone - my money is tight. But I made a lifetime commitment that also includes a FINANCIAL commitment, and if it takes me scraping up $2 a week to save for an entire year, I am going to at the very minimum pay my national dues and go MAL. Sorors have a million excuses for not paying their dues...but when the time came and they were given X hours to come up with those EXORBITANT pledge fees, SORORS FOUND A WAY (AND ONE OF THE REASONS PLEDGE FEES ARE SO EXORBITANT IS BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH SORORS PAY THEIR DUES, SO NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS NEEDS THE MONEY). Even collegiates, who are a lot of times extremely broke, find a way to pay those pledge fees when they make line. I say, if you could find a way to scrape up $400+ dollars to pledge, then you ought to be able to find a way to go MAL.
To prospects out there, the commitment to Delta, in addition to public service, is also a FINANCIAL commitment. Yes, we are about sisterhood and public service, but without the dues paying members, we can't have sisterhood and public service. I was at a Rush this past weekend and Soror Boyd was there - she said, "if you're cheap, then Delta is not for you, because it's EXPENSIVE to be a Delta." AND to any non-financial sorors out there, I AM NOT CALLING YOU CHEAP BY ANY MEANS - like I said, I can't write a check for you. But you must realize that you aren't living up to the commitment you made to the sorority. It isn't nice to hear that, but it's the truth - and the majority of the sorority is non-financial.
As far as not attending alumnae meetings because of "people who are mean and rude", you have only two choices.
The first is to find another alumnae chapter in your area. If there is only one alumnae chapter in your area, then your ONLY choice is to go to that chapter and FIND the sorors in it who are NOT mean and rude. While every chapter has their crazies, I'd be willing to guarantee that at least one soror in that chapter will embrace you. AND if NO soror in that chapter embraces you, if by some wild chance that alumnae chapter is 100% mean and rude (which I doubt), then it is your DUTY as a DELTA to join that chapter and be the ONE SOROR who welcomes the NEXT soror with open arms. YOU HAVE TO JOIN AND BE THE ONE SOROR WHO IS NOT MEAN AND RUDE, so that when the NEXT soror comes along, she won't be discouraged.
the411 also wrote, "If you are trying to hold a high office in the org--we don't need ya. We already have our share of that"
Again, I disagree soror. We NEED sorors who are willing to hold leadership positions at ALL levels. I know of chapters who are desperate for someone to step up and run for president or treasurer or one of the other more demanding offices. I say, don't DISCOURAGE potential members who want to hold a high office - Delta ALWAYS needs leaders.
Okay, that's about all...for now anyway, LOL.
And like I said, I LOVE ALL my sorors, non-financial, financial, workers, non-workers, whoever. But I have NO RESPECT for the T-shirt wearer. Got much Delta Love for her, but respect, uh, naw, sorry. I worked too hard and waited too long for DST to have respect for those who just want to have the fun parts of Delta while ignoring the work part. It's fun to wear a shirt and oo-oop and go to parties - the hard part is getting up on Saturday morning for meeting and service projects.
And as always, I have no problem with "agreeing to disagree". I welcome commentary and discussion, even if it is a differing opinion than mine.
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