Ohh God...Where Do I Even Start?!

[Glitter650]

Speaking for my org only.... There may not be a way to "black ball" but if a new member is doing things that are totally against standards, new members are held to teh same standards as initiated sisters, so if they are doing somethin against our policies or regulations, they are called to standards board, and go through our judicial process.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by jessXIca

i've heard this before with blackballing referring to a box of some kind, what does that mean? i know what blackballing is but how is a box used?

I actually saw the box when we ceremoniously burned it (after cleaning out a lot of really old things from our storage compartment)! The box was rectangular, and hinged in the middle, like a picnic basket. When you opened both sides, you saw a little divider between the two sides, with a hole in it.

In the one side would be all of the white balls and all of the black balls (there was never just one, only because if it was gone before someone wanted to use it, they'd already know the outcome). When it came time to vote, a sister would open up the side with the marbles, and put either a white or a black ball through the hole in the divider. No one else could see how someone voted.

Whoever would be tabulating the votes only needed to count the black balls, since they stuck out from the white balls.

When I was in school, if there was a vote not to initiate a New Member, there had to be a sort of hearing with the Advisors as to why. It was never a whimsical choice, it was something of a much more serious matter.

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

Ask one of your officers. At least have her big talk to her and tell her what is and isn't acceptable and explain to her WHY it's important to uphold y'all's standards. My mom is a different sorority than me but she always told me that one pledge class can change a whole chapter, because it only takes a few members to ruin a chapter's reputation. And an "old girl" in my chapter reminded me that people at a party don't say, "I saw Susie Q. drunk and hooking up with this guy at the party." They'll say, "I saw that Alpha Gam being a slut at the party." Remind her that her sorority is a part of who she is on campus, and they are a part of her. If she doesn't like having someone in authority over her and doesn't want to be held accountable for her actions, tell her that maybe sorority life isn't for her.

[lbk_kpd]

It has been my general experience on my campus and in my own organization that a bid is not necessarily a guarantee of initiation. I know that my organization, as well as others at my school, go through intense deliberation before extending bids, as well as before determining which new members will become sisters. Of course, I don't think any organization would take the decision to drop a new member lightly; while a bid isn't a guarantee of membership, it is still something significant. When new members have been dropped on my campus, it is usually for something pretty major, be it some kind of drama, inappropriate behavior, inadequate application to the new member process, or general discord between the new member and the active sisters. I think that if once a new member begins her process and it is revealed that she is not right for that chapter, for whatever reason, it becomes a significant problem. Much better to identify and combat the problem ahead of time, instead of initiating this member and having to deal with these issues permanently.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl

I'm not even sure if we can terminate a new member without her intiating it, but they are held to the same standards that we are.

We can, there is a process, just as for initiated members. It's important that the process involves educating a new member as to our standards, policies and procedures. Is it fair to get rid of someone for doing something that nobody told them was inappropriate? And that's all that really needs to be said on a public internet message board

In my organization, our new members must complete a "Pledge Program" which requires a certain level of attendance to meetings and participation in activities. If the new member does not meet those requirements, their acceptance into the organization is jeapordized - for those who do meet the requirements, there has to be something significant in order to prevent their acceptance, like disrespect to the members or the organization itself.

I know the thread is three years old, but I hope that everything went well, and is currently going well!

[AnchorAlumna]

Check your organization's constitution, and your chapter bylaws. In our case...well, back in the day, anyway...there was a vote to initiate. If the pnm does not get an approving vote, she can be held over to repeat the PNM period. If she is still not initiated, her one-year pledge (according to NPC rules, remember) expires and she can pledge a different NPC sorority.
In any case, don't rely on what somebody tells you...go read your own rules.