There I was sorting of hanging out not hearing from
Saltimbanco when the President of the
Dralion alumnae association decided to e-mail me to invite me to a Fall 2001 event! As one could imagine, I was sort of surpised; but hey, I thought it might be worth a go. The event was everything a lovely alum event should be. The ladies were really nice, and they seemed to like me! The hostess was excellent, the members welcoming, the activities both fun and heartwarming...even the nametages were adorable! One alumna even sat and talked with me for a long while about how much
Dralion meant to her.
Well, at the end of that day, the President and the Membership Chair pulled me aside and asked me about my thoughts. I told them that I had a really nice time and that I was happy they had invited me around to meet everyone. The President then said that they would love to have me as a sister of
Dralion and that, if it was alright by me, that she and the Membership Chair would like to sign off as my sponsors!
I was kind of suprised. Then again, the Membership Chair was one of the girls who had rushed me back in 1997 and she was really thrilled that I had shown up. Maybe they just figured that they knew me well enough already?? I mentioned something along the lines of that I was expecting to have to attend a few events first. The president responded by explaining that
Dralion would be having a regional conference in less than two months’ time where the International President was going to be the guest speaker. They wanted me initiated before then so that they could “show me off as their newest member”. We ended the conversation with the President saying that she would get the appropriate forms to me so I could think about it. They also invited me to their next event which has a holiday party.
Not but five minutes later, the Vice President pulled me aside and asked me if I had been enjoying the event. I thanked her (she was the hostess) and said I had a good time. Then, this lady proceeded to tell me about how my alumnae initiation process would go. She explained that I would likely be invited around for a few more events so that we could all get to know each other more. If all was good then, we could see about possibly getting me a sponsor. I kinda just stood there for a couple seconds - obviously, she had no idea that I had just been invited for membership and gotten two sponsors just a few minutes earlier. Honestly, I was a little flustered and I didn’t know what to do. So, I sort of feigned stupid and mentioned that the President and Membership Chair had already spoken to me about membership and that they were getting some papers together for me to look at. Upon hearing this, the Vice President looked suprised and angry.
She said she was going to have to discuss it with them and get back to me. It became obvious to me later that there was a bit of a divide in the group. The fact that some members were making decisions without consulting others didn’t help...and it was clear that I was at the center of a power struggle.
In the following days, memories of all of the negeative experiences I had with the collegiate chapter of
Dralion came flooding back. I panicked. I thought, "I just can't do it - I can't send in my alumna application."
I called up the President and told her that I was withdrawing my interest. I explained a little bit to her about why I had decided that, and then she did something strange. She started agreeing with me and was like, "Yeah I don't like the sorority either, I've been thinking of quitting myself..." etc.
I still think
Dralion is a wonderful organization. Since they were the ones to offer me my undergrad bid, I’ll always have a soft spot for them. But I simply cannot be a member.