new member programs preparing you for life as an active

[tld221]

Originally Posted by cuteASAbug

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?

it's almost like you were listening to a phone call i had last week with a soror of mine...

one of my neos was telling me how she felt like all her time was taken by greek life and that a lot of things that happened in greek life were short notice and how she needed time to plan. i'm like first of all, ALL of our meetings are planned way in advance, so no excuse there, and as for the social, well your social life doesnt have to centered on being greek, you can skip parties and step shows, but its always fun to go when lots of ppl from your chapter and org are going.

besides, did you really think we were joking when we said "lifetime commitment?

and on another note, given short notice for something that's happening within the chapter and feeling pressured to do it does not equal hazing - because it happens in other walks of life (work, school, family) and you dont always get a calendar for the semester or the year. sometimes things are very touch-and-go and either you're down or not.

really its a judgement call - don't bite off more than you can't chew, cause i'd rather have someone who can 100% commit than someone who SAYS they can and then pulls out lst-minute. dont be THAT member who can never "make it" to something because youre "busy."

[/soapbox]