How to make our local sorority legitimate?

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by als463

Are you in a local?

Thanks MysticCat! There was a local at my alma mater (in fact, a member of that org is on GC), but I wasn't interested in going local so I didn't give them a chance. Now that I'm some years out, I look back and think it might have been interesting to go to some recruitment events and find out more about the org. I probably wouldn't have joined regardless, but it would have been a great chance to meet other women on campus.

I know many people who don't consider locals to even be "real" sororities. I remember one of the girls in charge of our Panhellenic that made the comment that local sororities are just clubs with letters.

This is the attitude that I was alluding to in my first response. My question is how does it hurt the national org member to show respect to the locals? It just seems petty and unbecoming to me to say that another organization isn't a "real sorority."

And, it's downhill from there. If a local isn't a real sorority, then who's to say a service org, a Latino fraternity or a sorority for stud women isn't a real Greek organization? The further you get from mainstream, the less people are willing to accept other members of the Greek community.

Greek unity is absolutely crucial for the survival of ALL Greek orgs. There are far too many people out there who have a dim view of us already, plus some people who want to bring the entire community down to its knees.

When you say to people, "I'm an XYZ" and they look at you funny because they have never heard of it...

Alpha Sigma Alpha and Alpha Sigma Tau come to mind. I had never in my life interacted with a member of either org until I came to Greek Chat. I knew they existed, but only because I made the effort to learn about all the NPC sororities. Obviously, they are both national orgs and part of a national conference. But, as with any Greek org, proximity impacts a person's knowledge of an organization.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Alpha Sigma Alpha and Alpha Sigma Tau come to mind. I had never in my life interacted with a member of either org until I came to Greek Chat. I knew they existed, but only because I made the effort to learn about all the NPC sororities. Obviously, they are both national orgs and part of a national conference. But, as with any Greek org, proximity impacts a person's knowledge of an organization.

.. which is funny, because these were two of the three sororities that I actually knew about (plus Theta Phi Alpha) because they were the ones on my campus.

Honestly, during my entire time in school, I probably couldn't have told you the names of any of the other NPC sororities (except for maybe the historically relevant ones, for example, I.C. Sororis -> Pi Beta Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta, Alpha Delta Pi being the "firsts"). I didn't even know Alpha Sigma Tau WAS an NPC sorority when I first joined. I knew nothing about Greek life, and that goes for a lot of girls who are now Greek at my school.

Do I love the fact that I'm part of an NPC, and that I have the connections and oversight that a national organization provides? Of course. At the same time that's all I've ever known. Could I have also enjoyed a sisterhood that was only offered on my campus and didn't have the national recognition? Possibly. (Well.. if we had locals.. but I'm trying to make a point!)

And if you think that I don't get weird looks and questions asked when people see my letters, you'd be wrong. Because there are a lot of people out there who don't know of every NPC sorority. Hell, my mom still asks me if I have AET stuff going on. But I enjoy when people ask questions, because then I actually get to talk with them about something that I love