Well, I ended up writing a small novel...but it's worth it...to me at least!
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I am glad to hear it didnt take too long for you guys to become a chapter, WhiteDaisy128. I looked at your site.... very nice. How does a new chapter go about attaining a house? Is that a dumb question?
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No, not a silly question at all. One of the agreements that DG made with NCSU's Greek Life department is that we would rent a house from them for 4 years. At NCSU we have a Fraternity Court, which is a neighborhood of 13 Greek Houses (it's also considered "on campus" living). DG agreed to live on the court for 4 years. Internationally, Delta Gamma has a House Corporation that is in charge of trying to find all DG chapters houses...so they have it in their budget to help us out with all the start up fees (common room furnature, etc.).
As far as the general colony experience - it was AMAZING! We were embraced on campus and in the Delta Gamma community. I suddenly had 100 sisters that I got to know - and it was amazing! These were girls that I would have never gotten to meet, an yet, we were all so alike and so different that it made the perfect chapter dynamics. Girls of all "grade levels" were accepted - and it was a blast having a "pledge class" be the entire sorority.
Delta Gamma's Executive Office's sent several people to live at NCSU to help us get off the ground. They acted as the officers until we elected our first president and chapter management team. As a colony, everyone is on a level playing ground and you can hold a leadership position immediatly. We actually had a sophomore as our first president. It's neat because for as long as the chapter is alive, YOUR picture is on that composit as a founding sister.
Colonies start with NO stereotypes. YOU make it what you want it to be. You start all of the chapter traditions. You start your family tree! When girls trace their family lines (like their big sisters, their big sister's big, etc.) - YOU will be at the top of the line!!
Being a colony is a lot of hard work. When you bring 100 girls together, not everyone is going to click right from the beginning! Everyone has friends already outside of the group - and it's hard to balance time. It's also hard because your president will be learning with everyone else. There are sooooo many forms that have to be filed with your (inter)national headquarters - there are so many things to learn.
But it's such a rewarding experience. And the bond that you share with your sisters is amazing as well. For example: My mother passed away in March of 2003 (she was also a Delta Gamma), only 5 months after I was initiated into Delta Gamma. Well, while she was in the hospital and we knew it was near the end - 30 of my sisters showed up at my dad's house and cleaned it from top to bottom (I mean EVERYTHING - doing laundry, cleaning toilets, the whole 9 yards) with out being asked. They wanted to help out in any way possible. My mother passed away over Spring Break. Girls FLEW HOME from their vacation in MEXICO to be with me at her funeral. When I went to Ohio, where my mother was burried, one of my beautiful sisters (NOT EVEN from my chapter - but from my mom's chapter, in her home town) held me as I cried...she was with me non-stop from when I got to Ohio - her chapter even happend to be having Initiation that night and she invited me to join them - as we had lost my mother, an amazing DG, we gained 15 beautiful new DGs.
I can't even begin to describe how showing up for the colony rush of Delta Gamma has forever changed my life. It's been hard, sure. And at times, I just wanted to scream! But the friendships that I've made, and the good experiences that I've had, FAR out weigh all of the bad. And even though I only had Delta Gamma for two years in college (as I joined as a junior) - I will ALWAYS be a Delta Gamma...and I'll always be active with my amazing sisterhood.
Now, I know this is all about Delta Gamma, but SDT could be that organization for you. It's at least worth checking out. Please let us know what you decide to do - we'd love to hear about your alternative rush story!
Sorry this ended up so long!