New members.. getting to knwo them better?!

CCUSigma123 · #1 09-20-2004, 01:35 AM

Hey everyone! I was just wondering if any sororities ( or fraternities!) had any ideas on how to get to know their new members a little better? We have picked up some WONDERFUL girls through formal recruitment but unfortunately majority of the girls we have given bids to, we have picked up in COB's.. therefore, not every single sister was able to make it to certain events, and because of that, may not know the new girls as well as some other sisters. Soooo, i was wondering if you all do anything in particular.. FUN sisterhoods or brotherhoods which bring everyone together in an environment in which it isnt mandatory to be there ( i.e. new member meetings, car washes, football games, etc). I just wanna have some good clean fun and have everyone involved!? Any ideas from your chapters??!! Thanks!!

AChiOAlumna · #2 09-20-2004, 02:35 AM

Okay...I'm dating myself here, but when I was a "pledge," (LOL) we had a night where the pledges would meet with the active house. We would break down into small groups of 3-4 (2 active, 2 pledges) and the actives would tell us a favorite AXO memory or something special about them...they would then "draw" something on a pad of paper for us personally to remember that moment by. If there was enough time, the pledge would say something about their experience thus far...

I still have (from 1988) my papers from the active house...it was a great way to share the bond from sister to sister...

_Lisa_ · #3 09-20-2004, 08:10 AM

When I was a pledge the event that brought me closest to my pledge class & the actives was a sisterhood retreat. We rented a Girl Scout camp for a weekend & had the most amazing time! I know that you wanted ideas for stuff that wasn't mandatory but the sisterhood retreat was probably the best thing for me. While we were there we would do skits by age groups (so that we were mixed in w/ actives) & we (the pledges) were split up evenly across the cabins among the actives. We also sang lots of songs, played lots of informational games, etc.

nyrdrms · #4 09-20-2004, 09:44 AM

We had loyalty circles. The groups would change every week or two, but they consisted of a certain number of sisters and a certain number of new members. At the end of the chapter meeting, each loyalty circle would get together briefly to discuss what they would do that week...they might meet Tuesday at noon for lunch in the cafe on campus or they might get together Wednesday night for a movie at someone's apartment...it all depended on what the members of each individual group wanted to do and what was the best time for them to meet. Not having all the sisters and new members in one place at a time got them to open up and get to know more people. Other sisters/new members were encouraged to go to the events of other loyalty circles in order to get to know more people, especially if they couldn't make it to their own event because of class or work.

All night philanthropic events are also a good way to get to know people better as well. If there has to be a certain number of members out at the event at any given time, then they are basically forced into hanging out with each other....conversations begin and they get to know someone new or someone that perhaps they didn't know very well to begin with.

adpiucf · #5 09-20-2004, 11:35 AM

- Assign a portion of chapter members to come each week to the new member meetings to help teach songs and assist the New Member Coordinator.

- Each chapter meetings, select a few new and initiated sisters at random to come to the front of the room to read off a pre-printed sheet that tells us more about them-- name, year in school, major, favorite thing about school, favorite thing about the GLO, favorite date ever, etc... (A great way to do this is to tape the sheets underneath random seats and when you do your officer report, ask everyone to check under their seats and come up to the front if they have the paper)

- Make sure all the officers give at least 2 awards out during their reports-- people love to be recognized and it helps put a name to the face

- ADPi assigns "prides" every semester-- randomly assigned groups of sisters who are led by a Pride Leader and plan fun events like dinner together, studying, ice cream, tv nights, etc. New members are always paired wth their "Diamond Sister" (aka "Big Sis" in other sororities)

- Put up a bulletin board where sisters can leave notes for each other.

- Set up a file box with a file folder for each sister. This will become the house "mailbox" and people can leave notes for one another.

- Take a photo of each new member. At new member session, pass out the photos, collage materials, markers and manila envelopes. The new members can make an "All About Me" collage on the envelope with their name and photo. Hang these in the chapter room and make sure the older sisters leave the new girls notes in these special mailboxes-- it will also help fit a face to the name of the new ones!

- Utilize committees! Chapters are always planning events and functions, and no officer can or should do it alone! By enforcing committee service, sisters get to work together, develop team and leadership skills and bond over their activity.

- Make a sisterhood directory-- each member can have a page with her name, photo, contact info and fun info about her that she makes up and decorates. These can be photocopied and distributed-- helps all members put a name to the face.

- At chapter meetings, recognize non-officers! Whether by awards (as mentioned above) or calling out something great they have done with school, service or sisterhood, etc.

- Encourage sisters to go out for ice cream or a walk together after chapter-- maybe mix it up every week-- you can assign them or make it random.

tunatartare · #6 09-20-2004, 12:24 PM

How big is your chapter and NM class? Last spring when we started out with 11 and only about 20 actives, we did a pizza party. We all met at the president's house, ordered a bunch of pizzas and hung out. Then everyone (active and NM) was given a questionnaire to fill out with fun facts about her. Afterwards, the president read a few facts from each girl's questionnaire and we all had to guess who the girl was. (If you knew it was your Big, Lil, etc. you weren't supposed to say anything.) It was a really fun night for us.

Measi · #7 09-20-2004, 02:38 PM

My chapter requires each membership candidate (or "pledge") to sit down and interview each sister and fellow MC's-- (with a list of questions that both the MC and her big sister come up with together) at some point during the membership education period. It was included as part of our membership education book created by our big sister. And we were encouraged to ask the other sisters to help us learn some of the things within the membership training guide during these small meetings.

This might be a bit too difficult for a larger chapter, but since my TBS chapter at its height had 20 girls (and we had a three month long MC period), it gave us plenty of time to meet everyone.

It's a great way to meet each sister in a smaller setting, as opposed to full sisterhood events that can be intimidating for newer members.

The other thing we had was a Sisterhood Night on the very last night before final degree, which was a chapter-wide sleepover with a lot of team-building games (and just regular board games that encouraged interaction) so we could spend time together as *us,* rather than just formal meetings and events.