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Originally Posted by tallgreekalum
This ADPhi couldn't have said it better than ADPiUCF. Are you guys sponsored by the inter/national, or are you independently formed and hoping to get recognition? I you are being sponsored by them, they should be giving you more mentoring support.
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I agree.
A colony, or group at the pre-colony stage, is entirely different from an established chapter in terms of what new members need to know and do.
Pledges to an existing chapter learn as they progress towards initiation. But they already know some basic things- like, for example, the name of the fraternity they have pledged. And they are learning within an established framework.
But you, as the member of a group of men seeking to colonize, need to know everything and where it stands before you make a decision to join.
13 guys is more than enough to start a colony. 3-4 is actually not uncommon. With 13- you have all the manpower you need.
Right now is not the time to be worried about rush and parties. Right now is the time to be getting the group aligned with a GLO.
With 13 men taking on this effort, you should have 3 things going on,
1. You should have one guy in charge of a committee to be in direct and frequent contact with the GLO with which you want to colonize (or re-colonize if as you are saying this turns out to be a school where the GLO used to have a chapter.)
2. You should have one guy in charge of a committee to be in direct and frequent contact with your college and the local IFC to secure your status as a registered student organization once a colonization is approved by the GLO.
3. You should have one guy in charge of a committee to be in direct and frequent contact with any and all local or former chapter alumni groups of the GLO with which you intend to colonize so you can secure their sponsorship and support for colonization.
All 3 of these committee heads need to be tapping into those resources to find advisors for the colony. 4-5 is ideal, 3 is a minimum. You will need advisors for colony, financial and alumni relations at the very least.
And EVERY other one of the 10 guys in the group needs to be working on at least one of those committees.
For this to happen, you as a new member of this group of men need to be told everything up front- the name of the GLO, and the status of each of the 3 efforts I have outlined above.
Otherwise, this is probably not a serious colonization effort.
That does not mean this a bad bunch of guys, nor does it mean you should not join up with them.
But before you make a decision, I am just letting you know that in a circumstance like this you need to ask all these questions and you should be getting direct answers to them.
Colonization is a lot of work. I have not done it myself- I joined a long established chapter. But I have observed it in process.
The reality is that if you are a freshman joining 13 guys in a colonization effort, you will likely be a junior or senior before you have a formal colony that has grown to a size where your primary concern is rush, social events and securing a permanent house. And this assumes the group you are joining has already made strides towards colonization and is getting a positive response.
Someday you will hopefully look back and take pride in having built something here, but be assured your fraternity life as colonizer will be more work than party-based. The long term reward of brotherhood is just as great, perhaps greater in some senses for having created something, but you are not going to have the typical fraternity experience.
Hybrid Mode
