Selling Your Soul? :)

georgiana · #1 10-23-2008, 02:52 PM

I've got a question. Well, actually, it's more my friend's question, but anyways...she recently got a bid to a sorority (fall informal recruitment) and they've asked her for all of her personal information, like home address and all that stuff, which is fine, but they also asked for her social security number, which she thought was weird. She's always been pretty weary about giving it out, so she wanted to know what they needed it for. Thanks!

MysticCat · #2 10-23-2008, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgiana

I've got a question. Well, actually, it's more my friend's question, but anyways...she recently got a bid to a sorority (fall informal recruitment) and they've asked her for all of her personal information, like home address and all that stuff, which is fine, but they also asked for her social security number, which she thought was weird. She's always been pretty weary about giving it out, so she wanted to know what they needed it for. Thanks!

Why doesn't she just ask them?

#3 10-23-2008, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgiana

I've got a question. Well, actually, it's more my friend's question, but anyways...she recently got a bid to a sorority (fall informal recruitment) and they've asked her for all of her personal information, like home address and all that stuff, which is fine, but they also asked for her social security number, which she thought was weird. She's always been pretty weary about giving it out, so she wanted to know what they needed it for. Thanks!

I gave my SSN to my sorority when I pledged and years later, it's never been a problem.

We like to tell people that they ask for SSN so that they've got a way to track their members, just in case they try to initiate into another NPC sorority.

nittanyalum · #4 10-23-2008, 02:57 PM

Maybe for billing purposes? If it really, really, really bothers her, I bet she could refuse to provide it.

Fawn Liebowitz · #5 10-23-2008, 03:04 PM

Quote:

She's always been pretty weary about giving it out

wary=cautious
weary=fatigued

Yes, I should have posted this in the grammar pet peeve thread.

knight_shadow · #6 10-23-2008, 03:12 PM

We used to ask for the SSN because it was required by the university (to track members and their GPAs). Since we've moved to a "student ID" system, there's no need to ask for it anymore.

KSUViolet06 · #7 10-23-2008, 03:41 PM

At my particular school, SSN = student ID #, so we needed it to check grades and fill out campus NM forms, initiation forms, etc.

So no, we weren't using it for anything weird, it just needed to be on paperwork that we filed with the Greek Life so they knew you accepted a bid, were initiated, etc.

wildcatfan · #8 10-23-2008, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgiana

She's always been pretty weary about giving it out

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fawn Liebowitz

wary=cautious
weary=fatigued
Yes, I should have posted this in the grammar pet peeve thread.

I thought she meant leery, alternatively spelled leary. Same meaning as wary, suspicious. I should have been an English teacher. . . or maybe not! lol

To the point of the OP, I have gotten much more assertive about not providing SS #'s than I used to be. When my youngest started kindergarten, I asked what the school needed it for and they couldn't tell me. I held them off for a few years, although somewhere along the line I must have provided it because they have it now (he's 12).

I don't find it unusual that organizations ask for the information, but I think it is fine to question why they need it. If they can't provide a good answer to that, and more importantly if they can't tell you the safeguards they use to protect it, I would hesitate a bit (e.g. do the forms sit under the registrar's bed for a month before they get put into the HQ database?)

georgiana · #9 10-23-2008, 07:48 PM

Thanks for all the help. She's going to ask them if they really need it. She said her grandmother got her number stolen and she just wants to be safe. lol seems a little paranoid, but thanks ladies!

#10 10-23-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgiana

Thanks for all the help. She's going to ask them if they really need it. She said her grandmother got her number stolen and she just wants to be safe. lol seems a little paranoid, but thanks ladies!

So what's she going to do if they say "Give us your SSN or we won't initiate you"?

pbear19 · #11 10-23-2008, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fawn Liebowitz

wary=cautious
weary=fatigued

Yes, I should have posted this in the grammar pet peeve thread.

I've got you covered there.

33girl · #12 10-23-2008, 09:15 PM

I know we had some collegians who were leery of giving out their ssn. I guess this is preferable to back in the day when we splashed it all over every postcard we filled out at college fairs and didn't blink an eye.

If someone close to her had their identity stolen it's understandable she'd be more than a little cautious. The best thing for her to do would be to ask her NM educator to call the national office for her so they can explain how the number will be used and the security measures they take.