But why are the NPHC groups so ... different???

[ealymc]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

PsychTau,

Warning: My opinion is purely speculation and is meant in no way to hurt anyone's feelings.

I think part of the situation is that there are a lot more NPC/NIC organizations than there are NPHC organizations. Perhaps the number of member orgs has something to do with...it. Whatever "it" is.

I think that NPC/NIC organizations lack the alumni involvement that NPHC performs so well because the same groups of people who pledge NPC/NIC GLO's in college perform their civic and community service through other organizations, be it the lodge, Jaycees, Lions, Kiwanis, etc. Black Greeks join these orgs as well, of course, but a lot of black greeks are also only in their orgs. They prefer to perform community service through their org.

PERHAPS (a big perhaps) if NPC/NIC orgs stressed the "giving back" part of the lifetime committment, people would be encouraged to join alumni/alumnae chapters. By no means am I saying that pledging a "white" org means that it isn't a lifetime committment, because I know it is. But just telling somebody it's a lifetime committment isn't enough to bring them around.

I dunno....I don't think these people who aren't joining alumni/ae chapters aren't doing ANYTHING with themselves, I just don't think they have made the connection of community service to their GLOs.

Personally, I see the same thing happening with APO alums.....it's hard getting these alumni associations set up (for various reasons) but MANY APO alums end up joining other organizations that may not be fraternal.

I have no answers, just ideas.

In response, I think you hit on it when you talked about NPHC members being able to become graduate initiates... that is really unheard of in most NPC/NIC organizations. It's either pledging while undergrad or missin' the boat. That fact alone means that you are going to get members that are dead serious about lifetime commitments. I like that. Alot.

I have a question now... when I transferred into my university, from a school with no Greeks whatsoever, I chose to go through Rush to see what was out there and meet some other students. One of the reasons that I chose Sigma Nu was because of the things I found out about them, the men I met, the entire experience I heard about, and the genuine brotherhood I felt was there. I was interested in the BGLOs as well, as a Black man, but getting information was SO FREAKIN' HARD not knowing anyone at the institution. I didn't even know how to go about finding out info about intake because of the secrecy surrounding everything. Kind of turned me off. My biological little brother is now in a similar situation. First year at a new school, knows only a few people... Any advice on how he can get the info he desires? Smalltown boys don't have plethora of active Greeks to draw information from...