Rushing Legacies

carnation · #1 08-19-2002, 07:45 AM

I just got a pm from a new member who would like to know how much attention y'all's chapters generally give to legacies--how much you rush them, whether you go after them strongly, etc. Does anyone have any input?

C'mon, new member! People will welcome you if you post!

maggieaxid · #2 08-19-2002, 08:41 AM

My chapter paid special attention to legacies, if we knew about them before recruitment started bc we had spring rush. its more or less that everyone knows who they are, their name, who their legacy is and where they are from. We try to get to know them very well.

ksig600 · #3 08-19-2002, 09:01 AM

This year we have 2 legacies going through rush. While we keep close tabs on them, we don't rush them the same. Those with greek parents tend to have an idea of how rush and pledgeship is supposed to go. We usually sell them on our chapter, and confirm things they heard from their dad about being a Kappa Sig. We keep close tabs, but we also have the parents do a little at home rushing too.
Here, our legacies get bidded first, and eventually get initiated first.

It also boils down to where you feel most comfortable. I have seen many friends and PNM's pass-up chapters where they are legacies (sometimes even double legacies) because they didnt fit in with that chapter.

KappaKittyCat · #4 08-19-2002, 09:53 AM

Carnation, it would help if we knew where this PNM was going to school. I can only speak for my small, north-midwestern Greek system. I've never seen a Kappa legacy go through, though each of the other chapters has had at least one during my tenure as an active. Each pledged a legacy (though we stole one-- my little). If a Kappa legacy were to come through, I'd have to do everything in my power to calm my sisters down. We'd have a hard time resisting the urge to treat her like a celebrity and try to impress her (can you tell we have some problems with Recruitment?) so that she'd pledge us. Chances are that if we didn't pledge her it wouldn't be because we cut her, but because she cut us. It'd be a huge embarassment.

Wow, I just re-read that and it sounds really depressing.

But anyway, to the legacy PNM in quesiton, feel free to post! We'd love to get to know you and hear your rush story. I wish you the best of luck and I'm sure you'll find the place that's right for you.

Kevin · #5 08-19-2002, 10:13 AM

Generally it's good idea to pay special attention to legacies. Legacies typically are born with committment and excitment for the fraternal experience.

Also their parents are more likely to donate...

anniesigkap · #6 08-19-2002, 10:27 AM

We have had a few legacies go through and we have always tried to treat them the same as the rest of the PNM's b/c otherwise they tend to feel weird when they see that they are not treated the same. We do make an extra effort to impress them, and we keep close tabs on them so that they don't accidently slip by unnoticed. But we are careful with what we say b/c there is nothing worse than spending a whole rush party talking about the sister/mother/grandmother who made her a legacy and not get to know her at all for who she is.

We are obligated to invite them back for a second round (plus we can only drop them if their is a legitamate good reason) but you always want to make sure that it is right for both the chapter and the PMN. Our advisors remind US to keep an open mind on the whole situation b/c they might feel comfortable somewhere else and they should have a right to choose where they want to be regardless of if they are legacies or not. If they do pref us however they are almost 99% sure to end up getting a bid b/c we have to put them at the top of the bid list. And not that it can't happen but it is unlikely that they would be #1 on two houses bid lists. If it does I am sure her top choice would win.

Sorry if this is a little long but I hope it helps.

p.s. I a legacy does drop out of rush and we do love her and we have space she will be the first one to be offered a snap bid. This happened last year and she accepted!!!

AXO Alum · #7 08-19-2002, 10:29 AM

My alma mater was a small school, and even though being Greek was a big deal, our house totals were only 50. Quota was usually around 14. We had a legacy in my pledge class, and she was treated like royalty because her sister was a VP and very active sister. We had a legacy come through following that who also had a very active sister, but the girl wasn't exactly a good fit for us. Okay - she was, and we bid her, but she was VERY cocky all during the parties. She would start telling the other PNM's about all the "AXO" stuff (like - that's their badge, its designed after the first instrument played by the gods) -- that type stuff. We discussed it, but we really knew that we would bid her. Being such a small system, we couldn't really turn her down.

I do know some schools with HUGE systems that cuts legacies because they say if they didn't, the whole pledge class would be legacies. I know that for me, if any of my 4 nieces go to a school and want to be an AXO and don't get it, I would be MOST disappointed. Yeah, you can say "well what if she doesn't fit" but still - I can't imagine that conversation. Of course the oldest is 5 and the youngest 4 months, so I guess I have time...

My take on retention is that the parent, grandparent, whatever REALLY REALLY needs to do their part -- I liked whomever said "home rushing" -- not so much a "if you don't go my chapter I'll be mad" thing, but a "I love my sisters/brothers so much that I can't imagine not having them" thing. My life is surrounded by AXO - my best friends are AXO's, my involvement with both alum and collegiate chapters is high, etc. And that's something my nieces already see. They come to visit and they know my friends. They love to listen to us sing and play with our badges. So although they are too young to know or care about a sorority, as they grow, they will continue to interact with the people in my life that are AXO's. So I think its always a big help if the person is able to talk about how wonderful being an "XYZ" is and helps the PNM to see why.

LeslieAGD · #8 08-19-2002, 01:22 PM

I think legacies generally get closer attention. Some legacies have grown up hearing stories about Greek Life, which tends to make them more anxious to be involved. On my campus, chapters love to snag legacies...theirs and other chapters as well.

nyrdrms · #9 08-19-2002, 01:36 PM

We've had several legacies from all three organizations go through at some point or another over the past few years. Our approach is to let the sisters know of ALL the legacies, whether they are G Phi or not...and even if the organization they are a legacy to doesn't exist on our campus. But beyond that, there is no specification while rushing them. We treat them as we would treat anyone coming through because we don't want anyone to feel as though they are more or less important than anyone else.

As far as "home rush" is concerned, one of my littles is a legacy. Her grandmother had told her all about her experience as a G Phi, but also that it was her decision where she went and that she shouldn't feel obligated to pledge G Phi if it wasn't where she felt comfortable (but we got her any way!!).

One of my pledge sisters is also a G Phi legacy and her experience from a different organization on campus made her drop them. She had mentioned at the first round that her sister had been in a sorority and had gone to our school. The sister at that organization that was rushing her at the time asked which sorority. My sister didn't want to specify because she wanted to go through recruitment with an open mind. But when she did say G Phi, the sister rushing her basically stopped trying. So don't snub a potential just because she's a legacy of a different organization... You never know, she could prove to be a very good sister in your own organization.

AXO_MOM_3 · #10 08-19-2002, 11:33 PM

Hello! My college has a small number of groups on campus, and each chapter may see only 3-5 legacies go through Recruitment. My chapter has not really treated legancies any differently than other pnm's, except to ask how they are a legacy. We have also not had much success in retaining our legacies. How do you discuss the "legacy" question...do you wait for the pnm to bring it up, or do you go ahead and talk to her about whatever group she is legacy for? I'd love to see more legacies joining our chapter, but am just not sure how to approach it! Help!

aggieAXO · #11 08-20-2002, 12:13 AM

At Texas A&M we gave all of our legacies very special consideration and attention. The top rushers were always paired with them. It was very important to us to pledge all the legacies that went through-though this did not happen we were able to pledge many of them. The mother's of two of the legacies in my chapter had been roommates in college and we had a display with their memorabilia as well as their daughters (who ended up being big sis/little sis pairs)-it was very neat!. I think it is important to show our legacies what a special bond they already have with our chapters and I think this makes a difference for some as to whether they pledge us or a different sorority.

xo_sue · #12 08-20-2002, 02:46 AM

Top priority- a legacy always gets invited back after the first party- and then very special attention.

It is only right and in full respect to the alum ... as an alum now- I would want some extra special attention to my daughter - I think the alums are the ones who stress it to the active members... "hey- make sure you make this girl feel welcome!"

I think it is fair to say though- being a legacy is not an automatic bid- you can't just sit through each party... be totally unsocialable ... and think you are going to get a bid.

justamom · #13 08-20-2002, 07:18 AM

I just don't know what to think. In areas where a few sororities are strong, "legacy" doesn't seem to carry the same weight that we were led to believe as actives. A comment was made last year in response to a post where I said "legacies were getting cut left and right". The response was-"Maybe there were more legacies than quota." She was absolutely RIGHT! They had 78 legacies going through and quota was 70. So, SOMEBODY had to get cut.

We have an old keepsake box, and in it are little items like a Sigma Chi car decal, little sister pins etc... We let the kids look through it when they were young and we too spoke of them being legacies. After last year, I don't say ANYTHING like, "Well son, you're a legacy to Sigma Chi." I would HATE for him to walk in and believe that he had special ties when it isn't clear to me that the chapter he will be meeting puts any weight on it. Of course his Dad would love for that to be true, but I put a damper on the conversation.He also has an g-uncle in the alum, higher echelon of Sigma Nu. I haven't discussed it to any length because I found out POST GC, and I don't know how Sigma Nu looks at that. Both chapters, Sigma Chi and Sigma Nu are great at LSU. However, I just hope we didn't put anything in his brain too deep prior to what I have read on these boards.
I think parents need to be aware of this so they don't build up their children's "expectation" only to get hurt. There is so much information for the ladies going through recuitment, but fraternity info is hard to come by. It seems to be very different from campus to campus.

AOIIBrandi · #14 08-20-2002, 07:39 AM

My pledge class had 2 legacies. After that I don't think we bid a legacy my entire 4 years. There always seemed to be a problem

My sister didn't even get the "special consideration" outlined in our bylaws which left me wondering exactly why we bother sometimes, but c'est la vie that was only one chapter of many. She got a bid from her other legacy org, but decided greek life wasn't for her anyway.

justamom · #15 08-20-2002, 11:55 AM

My sister didn't even get the "special consideration" outlined in our bylaws which left me wondering exactly why we bother sometimes, but c'est la vie that was only one chapter of many. She got a bid from her other legacy org, but decided greek life wasn't for her anyway.

AOPIIBrandy---Was this YOUR sister by family or "A" sister as in this happened to someone you know?

If it was your family sister, were you at the same school? Were you active at the time?

If you answer YES to the above, then all I can say is--------I'm SHOCKED! Tell me I'm not understanding your post------PLEASE!