For many years, I was the Miami, FL contact for recs for Kappa Delta. And boy, was it crazy!
In the early 90s, our Alumnae Panhellenic had a committee specifically for this. All of us from different sororities would pool our resources together (many of us were high school teachers, club sponsors, etc) and make a HUGE list (I typed it up for a couple of years). we also had a "Rush information party" where we hosted PNMs for a session on what rush is like.
really, this was a great way to see alumnae from ALL sororities working together..
Anyway, so we'd get this list & basically, we were on our own on whether or not we'd recommend a girl to our sorority. I used to write one up for every girl that looked great on paper, making sure to note "I do not know this girl personally".
Later on, this Panhellenic committee dissolved. And when the chapters would contact me for recs, I'd give a verbal, saying "If this girl makes it to prefs, I'll write the rec." I didn't get contacted much after that -- who knows if those girls pledged anywhere!?
Since I resigned from teaching a few years ago, the last of my former students are going through recruitment this year. Only one girl asked me for help -- she doesn't know any greeks. She is a fantastic girl, so I don't mind going out of my way to find other alumnae to help with rec writing. Our Miami network has, unfortunately, dwindled...but I gave it a shot & hopefully a few women will write a rec on this girl, based on her "former teacher's" opinion.
