[LatinaAlumna]

I think the main reason why men and women in community/junior college should not join organizations before transfer is because this membership may preclude them from joining a fraternity/sorority once they are at the university. For example, I heard about a Latina sorority at a community college that is local to me, but if one of these ladies ever transferred and tried to join my organization, she would not be allowed to do so. Many organizations do not accept fully pledged members of another group, even if it is a community college organization.

Further, if an organization does have a community college segement of its membership, there is no guarantee that these members will even transfer to a 4-year institution where the organization is present.

Finally, I work in higher education, and very few community college students finish their transfer requirements within two years and go straight to a university. Many community college students attend classes intermittenly, primarily because of work and family committments. If you allow community college students to join, you may have to deal with members "coming and going." There is also the possibility of members never transferring at all, as in some parts of the country, less than 10% of community college students ever transfer to a university. I suppose an organization considering allowing community college students to join would have to consider the committment level it expects from its members, and what it will do should it start to encounter problems.