Originally Posted by Swedish Grace
Hi everyone!
I'm a student at a uni in Sweden and have been very fascinated by the Greek culture for some years now. So much that I've started my own sorority at my campus. Though, here in Sweden things are somewhat different and I've adapted and altered the concept a bit to suit Swedish life and social rules etc. However! We have what should be called a women's club now. 3 active and one pledge. Our 26 National Panhellenic Sororities were begun by small groups of like minded young women-many were in their teen aged years), so beginning a sorority with a small number isn't necessarily a bad thing. You four could get all the preliminary plans taken care of before you ask other women to join. What will you call yourself? Will there be dues the members have to pay-how much will that be? Will you have a specially designed pin that has special meaning to your group?
All sororities have colors that have special meaning to them, a special flower, a special coat of arms, other symbols that have special meaning to initiated members. You could work on those things with your core group.
Why I am writing here is to get help and suggestions, and get insight. I've read about Greek life and I've been on this forum before, lurking haha. But with this group founded only this April I need advise.
1. How do you find devoted members? We don't have a rush, that is not a thing at all in Sweden. As I've said there are 3 other girls with me but I am surely the one who's more active and who's heart is in it. I realise that we need a strong core and quality over quantity for it to work in the beginning. I feel like we have that but the effort and enthusiasm is somewhat missing now when we're not estblished.Once you have addressed the things listed above in red, you might hold an informational meeting. Advertise on your university Facebook page, or whatever is the best way to get information to your fellow students.
2. Tips on what to do? What do you do in your sororities, in terms of socialising? Are there rules or just hanging out as normal? The idea is to have a bigger "formal" meet up once a month, and "normal" hanging out between. Aka not necessarily all at once etc.Sororities socialize with each other and with dates at special date parties, but there is so much more to a sorority than that. There are weekly business meetings for the entire membership where plans are made for parties as well as for opportunities to help others in the community (at an animal shelter, a day care center, being tutors for language learners, picking up litter on the roadside-anything that the majority of the members are interested in and is seen as a need in the community). Tips are given on how to find jobs after graduation, how to write a resume to use when applying for a job, how to improve your student habits-how to improve yourself. Many US sororities have houses where members live, eat, and hold their meetings-some are small and only a few members can live there while others are the size of mansions and can accommodate a large number of members-upwards of 300 women sometimes.As mentioned earlier, sororities spend a lot of time doing philanthropic work and each sorority has a special philanthropy that all the members all over the country support.
3. What on earth do we do for initiation? I am totally blank here. We have a friend group on campus who initiate their members by throwing glitter at them at any bigger party/event. And then theyre in. We have no idea of what to do. And I realise that a sorority initiation probably is a lot bigger and more formal than that. I want it to but don't know where to start.National Panhellenic sororities have initiation ceremonies that are solemn and beautiful and secret. They are sort of like a wedding ceremony in a church. It isn't just throwing glitter on people.This is where the secrets of that sorority are revealed in a ceremonial way.
4. Ideas of what girls will "have" to do during their pledge time? So far we just hang out and if they fit our values they are in. Seems boring and we need something fun and something that bonds us together but ideas are dry here as well.NPC sororities typically have 6-8 week pledgeships, called new member periods, where the new members get to know the already initiated members, learn about the history of the sorority and the chapter of the sorority they have joined. They sometimes do a group project where they raise money for the philanthropy the national sorority supports-finding a cure for alzheimers, finding a cure for breast cancer, helping women who are in abusive relationships, etc. They go to parties, sporting events,
We have a name, logo, motto and values which we stand behind. We know what kind of people we want in our group and what visions we have for the future.
Apologise in advance if similar posts have been made. I've been searching both here and on other places for quite some time but I've most definitely missed something still. ☺
And I realise you all can't and won't tell me the specifics of your sorority. That is not for me to know as an outsider. I do wish for some inspiration however and hope you will help me. This is a very exiting but also nervous time and I want it to be as good as it can be from the start. Thank you!
|