[FuzzieAlum]

Let me ask - why does Pi Omega want to go national?

I ask this because going national is nearly impossible to do. That's why no one has written a book on it.

Of the sororities in the NPC, none were founded after 1917. In the NPHC, the last one was founded in 1922. There are a few national sororities that have arisen since then, but they have found special niches: They are Latina or Asian or multicultural, or they cater to engineering or agricultural students. Other new sororities reached a certain size - and then were absorbed into other groups.

So, what sort of sorority is Pi Omega? Do you act like an NPC org, or an NPHC org? If you do, you will find expansion very difficult until you are old and large enough to join either one of those groups, since rushees and campuses tend to focus their energies on the member groups. If you have an ethnic focus or a certain academic focus, you may find it easier, because you are generally looking at a smaller chapter size plus fewer barriers to entry (you may not need houses, for example).

Do you have something different, truly different to offer? What makes Pi Omega distinct from DG, or AXD, or Phi Mu? That's what the real question is. Because becoming a truly national sorority is going to be a long, hard road with an uncertain outcome, and it had best be worth it. Even some long-established national groups struggle to keep up.

You don't have to tell me the answer - but you'll have to tell a lot of people, including potential members, skeptical university administrators, and alums who are sick of working to keep the chapters afloat. You'll face down people who say, "What's wrong with the existing sororities? Why do we need a new one?"

But if this what your group truly wants to achieve - good luck. I'm not rooting against you, just hoping you know what you're getting into.