Quote:
Originally posted by Blue Violet
The new girls have their own ideas and stuff and don't have to do everything just like you do it.Just because it's always been that way doesn't mean that it has to be that way.
We made a rule that alumni have to be invited or they are not to be at -you name it function-including rush. Now we do invite most of them of course, but we are tired of intereference.
Alumni have a great place, but running the chapter is not it. The actives should be running it.
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Just a couple of things....no, things don't always have to be run the same was as when we were collegiates. Yes, there are some people out there who can not let go, however, most of the time, the alums are just trying to help you not make the same mistakes they did. The funny thing is that as a collegiate you think that you don't need the alums. You think that you could run everything and do everything without any help. You end up struggling and getting frustrated within the group. People bicker and complain and fight. Then you graduate and hear about things that are happening in the chapter. You think, "why haven't we gotten past that? Why are they re-inventing the wheel, etc. etc." It is amazing because I belive that most alums are just trying to help out, but I don't think the collegiates are listening. This happened when I was a collegiate. There were people who thought we could do it all by ourselves. The thing is, that we couldn't. After graduation, most of us were like, wow, we really could have used some help.
The best example of this attitude came just a few months ago. This particular girl was initiated when I was a senior. Last APril, we were at a wedding together and she said to me, and 2 other girls who are a year behind me....."The chapter is nothing like when you were there." No she didn't mean this in a nice way, she was being.....snotty and a few other choice words. Fast forward to last Sept.....things had been happening in the chapter that she realized that she had done and that she really wished that she had gotten help from the alums. She was all in a tizzy and was trying to help. The collegiates were not responding and she was hysterical. She asked me why collegiates didn't understand that they could use the alums. I took a deep breath and said, "Do you remember what you said to me at that wedding?" She did and she apologized. She realized that she was wrong as a collegiate, and even as an alum to think that the members who had come before her were not as "good" or whatever.
In terms of inviting or not inviting your alums to events....I second what Carnation said. That may not be something that your national office would approve. In addition, you are going to find yourselves in situations that you are looking for donations from alums....and they aren't going to give. People aren't going to help you out when you need them most.
Alums have their own chapters to "run," but we want to see our chapters flourish. We have lots of experiences that could really benefit collegiate members. There are lots of ways to involve your alums. We make great "PNMs" during practice rounds of rush. I bet you will find that some of your alums may even be recruiters or people who do interviews at their companies. Believe it or not, rushing pnms is just like doing an interview for a company. These are things that we can share. We can help you set up and clean up. We can provide you with a little extra support and pep when you are experiening a tough time.
So the morale of my story is that you shouldn't shove your alums off to the corner. We are willing to help and there are lots of things we can do for you!!!
Oh, and you may not believe me now, but I promise you will in a few years.