Is it time to change who we think of as legacies?

[33girl]

There have been many threads on here about certain schools having to cut lots of women who are legacies because there are more legacies rushing than there are spaces in quota. Plus the new release figures compel the more successful chapters to release more women sooner. Sometimes these women are so disappointed they drop out of rush altogether and their female relatives stop supporting the sorority as alumnae.

There have also been threads about how women feel pressured by their female relatives to pledge their legacy chapter even if they don't fit in, or how a woman will end up getting cut from all the other chapters because they assume she'll pledge her legacy chapter - so her options are removed, even if that's not necessarily what she wanted to do.

As more women enter college, more women will go through rush and these issues will keep reappearing.

Is the legacy system "broken"? Could it perhaps be improved by tightening the requirements of who is a legacy (i.e. daughters only, same chapter only), or should it be done away with altogether? Or is this an isolated thing that only happens at a few schools in the country (i.e. the SEC and such) and the system of legacies as is is working out great for the NPC groups on the whole?

[UGAalum94]

I don't know the answers, but I agree that it's difficult to imagine how the legacy policies can remain significant as a higher and higher percentage of the population goes to college.

The part of the policies, if you have them, that require that a legacy be invited to the first invitation round seem like they could go on forever, but they don't mean much.

Having a different standard for legacies from the same chapter might be the way to go for any kind of deeper level of deference to the PNM legacy.

[Buttonz]

I really think that something needs to be done. At some schools it seems beneficial not to announce that your a legacy so you have a fair shot at all the groups.

What should be done, that I don't know.

[adpiucf]

I don't think it needs to be generally advertised to your non-legacy chapters where your relative initiated, but that's more of a competitive culture than anything else. I think it is easy enough to change that by not asking the question on a recruitment application. It's no one's business except for the legacy sorority. Similiarly, the individual sorority rec forms really have no business asking you what other sorority influences/legacy status you might have. Maybe it's for statistical purposes, but I think it hurts the PNMs. Some chapters automatically assume a young woman will join her legacy sorority. And then when the legacy gets cut by her mother's sorority b/c she isn't a fit for that chapter, she has no where to go... or fewer options at the very least.

If you were to put a college admissions committee and a sorority membership team side by side, there are a lot of similiarities-- the grades, the activities, "celebrity status," diversity, etc.-- as things that are considered in admissions.

In university admissions, some minority groups receive additional special consideration. It doesn't guarantee them a spot, but it can help because the university is committed to helping these groups achieve greater presence in higher education.

Legacies are like our minorities for the purposes of recruitment-- we want to give them some special additional consideration, but it isn't a free pass. It never has been, and it never should be. I would hate to be a legacy and think the only reason I received a membership bid was because the chapter "had to," and not because they wanted to.

I don't think the legacy consideration needs review, but I do think that legacies shouldn't be required to make their status publicly known.

[SWTXBelle]

After reading all the posts about it, I have basically decided that my daughters will NOT list their legacy sororities on the general registration form- those sororities will be notified, and the others really don't need the information.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

After reading all the posts about it, I have basically decided that my daughters will NOT list their legacy sororities on the general registration form- those sororities will be notified, and the others really don't need the information.

I feel the same way

[SydneyK]

It seems like the biggest benefit of a PNM's legacy status is that her family is knowledgeable/supportive of Greek life. When a college freshman comes into recruitment having talked with a family member who was in a sorority, she is probably more aware of all the different kinds of commitments (time, money, grades, etc.) required by sorority life than her peers who may not have a relationship with a sorority member.

Perhaps it would suffice for a PNM to simply say she has X relatives who were in NPC groups. Heck, it might even be helpful to say she has Y male relatives who were in NIC groups. (After all, fraternity life, I'm assuming, also requires similar commitments.)

Since legacy status means such different things depending on the campus, I think it would be difficult for NPC to come up with a blanket change that would be beneficial to everyone.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

After reading all the posts about it, I have basically decided that my daughters will NOT list their legacy sororities on the general registration form- those sororities will be notified, and the others really don't need the information.

I think this is fine, but be aware that it might not be foolproof. I know our rec form asks about the PNM's family Greek affiliations. You could neglect to provide it to the rec. writers not from the legacy groups, I guess.

[PinkRose1098]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

After reading all the posts about it, I have basically decided that my daughters will NOT list their legacy sororities on the general registration form- those sororities will be notified, and the others really don't need the information.

That is the way I'd like my daughter to go if she does decide to rush. I want her to be able to choose where she is a member and not be unfairly cut just because of my choice.

[ASUADPi]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

After reading all the posts about it, I have basically decided that my daughters will NOT list their legacy sororities on the general registration form- those sororities will be notified, and the others really don't need the information.

I totally agree. When I have kids and if I am lucky enough to have a legacy, she will not be listing it on the general recruitment form. I will send information to ADPi (if there is a chapter at the school she is going too). I don't want her legacy status to impede her into not having a wonderful recruitment. Of course I would want her to go ADPi, but if she doesn't feel at home with them, I would just want her to find her home. That is what is important.

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

I don't think free legacies would be a particularly good policy, but why do you think it would make the cutting of other groups legacies worse?

(If your group wants her, they want her whether or not she's a legacy elsewhere; if they don't want her, what difference will it make to them that she can be "free" someplace else? I'm not trying to be a smarty pants; I'm just missing something. Are you thinking that all other groups would assume that she'll go the legacy chapter whether they really are her first choice or not?)

Personally, a GLO could have a form letter that included data from the high number of legacy chapter and the legacy policy that those chapters could send back to whoever sent the legacy form as soon as they received it. It could basically say in raw form:

We're delighted to learn of your legacy coming through recruitment, and we look forward to meeting her. We have not yet begun to evaluate potential new members, but we wanted to give you a clear understanding of the challenge that our chapter faces regarding legacies.

We understand the unique role they can play in the overall richness of life as an XYZ, but in the last few years, we've had 83, 102, and 78 legacies participate in recruitment while quota has been around 50. We will follow the XYZ legacy policy throughout our recruitment, but we wanted all members with legacies to be aware that it will be impossible for all of them to be placed in our new member class. Please encourage your legacy to keep an open mind about recruitment at our university; we have many excellent chapters for your legacy to join in should she not find a home in XYZ.

And a similar letter could be from campuses which have to cut a significant number of legacies a year.

Excellent!!!!!

[UTKALUM]

At Tennessee, when a PNM registers only the sorority she is legacy can she that she has listed that sorority. This has been standard since we started using the ICS system for registration and invites, etc. This protects the legacy to some extent but if she has an in house sister, everyone knows it already.

[UGAalum94]

As long as you have some way of addressing it with the rec. writers who do know of the groups I think it's going to be great.

I'm at a stage of life where my interest tends to work more from the perspective of the girl going through than it does for the group. I might find it a little moral quandary if I knew of a girl's legacy status at other groups and she asked me not to reveal it, but in most cases, I only know if they directly tell me, so it'd be really easy for them to control.

(I hate to be such a nerd, but we have a little blank for it, and to consciously omit information requested would seem a smidgen wrong.)

[SWTXBelle]

Hmmm . . . in that case, I might call the chapter advisor and let her know that the pnm is a legacy, but she wants an opportunity to make up her own mind and so doesn't want to list her legacy glo. Then you have let the chapter advisor know, and she can do with the information what she will.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Getting back to the OP's question...

My first instinct is to differentiate between the daughters of active alumnae and daughters of those that haven't been involved since college. I don't really know how you'd determine this, though, and it would be an administrative nightmare.

My mom, for example, was an active member for four years, graduated in good standing, and that was the end of it. Did I deserve the same consideration as Suzie Rushee whose mom is president of the local alumnae chapter?

Also, Chi Omega's policy of not including grandmothers is interesting, because your mom was a legacy, and she either continued the tradition or didn't. If sh did, you are a legacy through your mom, and if she didn't, then maybe Chi Omega isn't that important to your family.

What groups include more than daughters, sisters, and grand-daughters?

We never had a problem with too many legs in my chapter, but that's not surprising, because Phi Mu is not that prominent in the Midwest.

[AOIIalum]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

What groups include more than daughters, sisters, and grand-daughters?

We do.