new member programs preparing you for life as an active

[cuteASAbug]

Originally Posted by KyleMcGuire1983

see that's why with Fraternities you don't get that measure of acceptance until AFTER the pledge period....which is why our retention rates seem to be higher!

Pledging in NIC Fraternities is a challenge where the reward comes with membership.

It seems like the New Member programs of most sororities includes showering the girls with gifts and attention.....at my campus they don't even have house duties. Once they get initiated they get stuck with house duties, increased dues, rent, fines for not attending events, etc etc.

To me it seems like the slope is a bit backward.....

I mean all too often I hear sorority women saying "blah blah blah I wish I could pledge Sigma Nu blah blah blah I wish I was in a fraternity!" Why on Earth am I hearing this from multiple sorority women in various chapter?!

I'm also hearing girls telling me they want to go through hazing and hell weeks and stuff. Totally nuts!

To most fraternities the pledge is a probationary non-member who has to earn his letters via dedication to the chapter (project management, house duties, etc etc) and I think the work expected of pledges prepares them for the work expected of actives when they cross. Personally my Fraternal work-load increased as I went active and took on Exec jobs buuuuuut I was more prepared by having a serious pledge semester where my big bro didn't get me pillows and stuffed animals while not making me have house duties such as moping our first floor or cleaning up the TV room. (and yes every Sigma Nu is expected to complete house duties....not just the pledges)

This quote in another thread got me thinking- with all of the movement to eliminate hazing in any form and to make sure that new members are never uncomfortable and are never made to do anything that's not voluntary- how well do you think your organization's new member program prepares its new members for what to expect as an active? One thing that bugs me about hazing rules is that with the exception of Phoenix and Sanctuary degrees, you pretty much can't make anything mandatory for new members without it being called hazing. However, after you're initiated, just about anything and everything is mandatory, so I don't think that does a good job of teaching new members what to expect. I would be concerned with girls pledging, getting initiated, and then becoming disgruntled or leaving the sorority once they found out that now they had to go to everything whether they liked it or not, and that they'd be fined if they didn't show up. Any thoughts?