HELP! Can I rush a new sorority!?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

They actually convinced her to push back a test for the super bowl).

Was this for this year or last year? If it was last year, when the Cardinals were playing, I don't know why anyone would have scheduled any tests (or Monday classes) to begin with.

And trust me...it isn't just the generation. It's the pledge program. (or lack of same)

[ThetaPrincess24]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Was this for this year or last year? If it was last year, when the Cardinals were playing, I don't know why anyone would have scheduled any tests (or Monday classes) to begin with.

And trust me...it isn't just the generation. It's the pledge program. (or lack of same)

Maybe it is a Panhellenic problem by not educating PNM's during the recruitment process that it is for life and once initiated you absolutely cannot ever join another NPC group period.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

Maybe it is a Panhellenic problem by not educating PNM's during the recruitment process that it is for life and once initiated you absolutely cannot ever join another NPC group period.

I thought of that too, but I think NPC would be somewhat afraid of doing that in that women might misinterpret during the craziness of rush and think that they weren't allowed to depledge.

[ASUADPi]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Was this for this year or last year? If it was last year, when the Cardinals were playing, I don't know why anyone would have scheduled any tests (or Monday classes) to begin with.

And trust me...it isn't just the generation. It's the pledge program. (or lack of same)

[hijack]No it was this years super bowl. But for me the thing is, your in college now. You aren't entitled to anything except getting an education. You know when tests, projects, homework is due, stop making excuses on why "it can't" be done and why you can't study. I'm sorry, even if the Cardinals had made it to the super bowl this year, I still would have studied. Hello, all frickin weekend. Unless you plan on being wasted all weekend. [end hijack]

I just think today's generation is full of excuses.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

I just think today's generation is full of excuses.

Yes. Quite pitiful ones I might add! I can write VOLUMES on the excuses I have received over the past two years as a recruitment advisor regarding recruitment excuses and why people cant/think they cant show up to recruitment, workshops, practices, etc.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

Yes. Quite pitiful ones I might add! I can write VOLUMES on the excuses I have received over the past two years as a recruitment advisor regarding recruitment excuses and why people cant/think they cant show up to recruitment, workshops, practices, etc.

EXACTLY.

When I was active, I went to everything, and so did the rest of my chapter... without question. Unless you had a wedding, sporting event, or work that you just couldn't get out of, excuses were unheard of.

NOW... I have never heard so many excuses from girls. People make up excuses so that they don't have to go to MIXERS! Why would you want to miss out on the fun stuff? And sometimes, it's because they're "studying"... on a Saturday night. Ironically, the chapter's GPA was a whole lot higher when I was active than it is now, and we had twice as many mixers as they do now.

And not too long ago, I had put on a recruitment workshop. Only half of the chapter attended. A few girls had legitimate excuses, but when 15 girls in a chapter of 27 show up, what's the point?

A girl I know from another school who is active in her chapter right now told me that they have started making certain events optional to attend, which, as she put it, kind of sucks. It's good in that she finds that the only girls who show up to things are the ones who truly want to be there. However... it also showed her who doesn't really care, and who's taking up space in the chapter, and not leaving room for potential members who want to contribute something. But now, there's nothing they can do about it because these girls aren't required to go to anything.

The thing that confuses me most about this... why would you want to pay hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of dollars for.. well.. nothing?

[honeychile]

I have a GREAT mp3 that I received in email that would play perfectly here. If somebody wants to tell me how to post it, I'd be happy to try.

33, I just emailed it to you, if you know how to post them.

[33girl]

Oh, we had people who used the "I have to study" excuse to get out of mixers too (or who just stayed for the at-the-time required half hour and went home). Usually they were older sisters who were a little scared of the new and different fraternities we were mixing with that weren't the old reliables. We all have some lame sisters. It's the truth.

But let's face facts: these policies - super easy pledgeship, getting rid of/restricting mandatory events, and making it hard (if not impossible) to get rid of lame pledges or sisters - aren't being made by current students. They're being made by the national councils and HQs who on one hand are terrified of getting sued for hazing, emotional distress, what have you, and on the other hand are scared to death of being perceived as politically incorrect or elitist. It's nice of them to believe that just getting a bid to a wonderful group will turn your attitude around and make you a responsible person who gives your all to your sorority but life just isn't a bowl of cherries like that.

Like als463 said, the NPHC groups don't seem to have this problem...at least to this extent...and they're taking members that are the same age. So I think to just say "this generation sucks" is a little bit too pat.

hc: I don't know how mp3s work at all.

[KSUViolet06]

Haven't a lot of NPCs overhauled their NM programs lately?

We had a thread about the shift from NMed to Total Membership Ed and going toward a program that truly prepares NMs to be active participants in chapter life up through graduation.

I actually really like our NM program. You are held to the same participation standards as initiated girls and you are expected to get involved. It is a good balance of "we loooove you" and "you are undertaking a very serious lifetime commitment."

[fantASTic]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Oh, we had people who used the "I have to study" excuse to get out of mixers too (or who just stayed for the at-the-time required half hour and went home). Usually they were older sisters who were a little scared of the new and different fraternities we were mixing with that weren't the old reliables. We all have some lame sisters. It's the truth.

But let's face facts: these policies - super easy pledgeship, getting rid of/restricting mandatory events, and making it hard (if not impossible) to get rid of lame pledges or sisters - aren't being made by current students. They're being made by the national councils and HQs who on one hand are terrified of getting sued for hazing, emotional distress, what have you, and on the other hand are scared to death of being perceived as politically incorrect or elitist. It's nice of them to believe that just getting a bid to a wonderful group will turn your attitude around and make you a responsible person who gives your all to your sorority but life just isn't a bowl of cherries like that.

Like als463 said, the NPHC groups don't seem to have this problem...at least to this extent...and they're taking members that are the same age. So I think to just say "this generation sucks" is a little bit too pat.

hc: I don't know how mp3s work at all.

You are not wrong, lady. AST rules say that you MAY NOT vote on ANY new member again for ANY reason unless they are brought up to standards board and standards board decides their punishment is to be voted on. In essence, it completely takes away from our ability to decide. On top of that, since our Greek Life Adviser on campus gets a cash bonus for placing all girls who go through recruitment, we can be (and have been) given mandatory QAs and snap bids. Don't like it? Too bad. You don't get the option to refuse them. At all. So we get stuck with girls who are wet blankets, who can't put together a coherent sentence, who drink like fish or who have slept with every Sigma Pi on the block and think it makes them cool....and we have no way to get them out.

We were recently put in a situation where we found out (three days before initiation) that some of our new girls had been bullying other ones pretty intensely, to the point where several wanted to drop. Because our president had kept it a secret from the chapter, we found out very late and were basically told, "it's too late to do anything. Just suck it up." Each girl that was a problem has CONTINUED to be a problem in our chapter, and we would be significantly better off without. But at some point, you can't revoke real membership without a very real reason...and "being someone that everyone in all GLCs hates, giving us a bad name with your attitude and making us look like bitches" don't really cut it.

If we had been able to drop them in a moment's notice while they were new members, our entire chapter would be better off.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by poeticlicense

So studying is not a valid reason not to attend a social function? Oh please. My daughter is in sorority and there are social events, including mixers she cannot attend because indeed she is studying, on *gasp* a Saturday night. She is a 3rd year student majoring in Chemical Engineering, so she pretty much studies all the time, including weekends. I cannot believe that I am reading statements like a have read on this thread ragging on girls who choose to study instead of attend a mixer. I thought getting an education was why these girls are in college.

My point wasn't that studying on a Saturday night is a bad thing. My point is that this is the EXCUSE (remember, we were talking about ridiculous excuses) that people use most often when they simply don't want to go to certain events. And yes, it is very well known that specific people simply don't want to attend those events.

Originally Posted by 33girl

Oh, we had people who used the "I have to study" excuse to get out of mixers too (or who just stayed for the at-the-time required half hour and went home). Usually they were older sisters who were a little scared of the new and different fraternities we were mixing with that weren't the old reliables. We all have some lame sisters. It's the truth.

THIS!!

Originally Posted by angels&angles

I think everyone knows which girls are in majors that require them to study all time, which girls have a huge project due that week, and which girls wasted all their time on facebook/at the house/drinking. not to mention which girls think the fraternity they're mixing with is below them (or not their boyfriend's frat, where they want to hang out) and think that claiming they're studying is a way to get off scot free. And then they "study" (facebook) for an hour and then go out.

AND THIS!!! There are so many girls who only go to certain fraternity's mixers. It's stupid. When I was in school, I hung out with the Delta Chis ALL THE TIME. But I also attended mixers with the TKEs, Sig Taus, SKNs (a local), the hockey team, the lacrosse team, etc. etc. And I had a great time meeting new people and hanging out WITH MY SISTERS.

Nowadays, girls feel as though they can pick and choose what they want to attend.

And don't even get me started about excuses for philanthropies. We have girls who claim they have "so much studying to do" that they can't do Adopt-a-highway for an hour at 9am on a Sunday. Really?

Trust me... you know who wants to be there and who doesn't.

And again... why pay all that money if all you're going to do is "study" and show up to chapter meetings once a week?

[ThetaPrincess24]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

EXACTLY.

When I was active, I went to everything, and so did the rest of my chapter... without question. Unless you had a wedding, sporting event, or work that you just couldn't get out of, excuses were unheard of.

NOW... I have never heard so many excuses from girls. People make up excuses so that they don't have to go to MIXERS! Why would you want to miss out on the fun stuff? And sometimes, it's because they're "studying"... on a Saturday night. Ironically, the chapter's GPA was a whole lot higher when I was active than it is now, and we had twice as many mixers as they do now.

And not too long ago, I had put on a recruitment workshop. Only half of the chapter attended. A few girls had legitimate excuses, but when 15 girls in a chapter of 27 show up, what's the point?

A girl I know from another school who is active in her chapter right now told me that they have started making certain events optional to attend, which, as she put it, kind of sucks. It's good in that she finds that the only girls who show up to things are the ones who truly want to be there. However... it also showed her who doesn't really care, and who's taking up space in the chapter, and not leaving room for potential members who want to contribute something. But now, there's nothing they can do about it because these girls aren't required to go to anything.

The thing that confuses me most about this... why would you want to pay hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of dollars for.. well.. nothing?

I agree!

Regarding studying on a Saturday night. This may depend on the specific person/major. The reason I say that is because I was in business management with my first degree with an HR emphasis. Every one of those classes is group work and are built on 4 phase projects that are roughly 100 pages of work each. Well if you get to phase 3 and realized you goofed on something in phase 1, then that also puts off phase 2 and you have to redo everything, otherwise phase 3 is off and phase 4 is impossible to complete. Such a scenario happened to me with two of my groups. It wasnt unusual at all when a Monday deadline was approaching to have the school library tables completely taken up by groups of business students from open to close--even on Friday & Saturday nights. With how the classes were structured you kinda had to meet when everyone in your group could meet which meant sorority life gets put on the backburner. Especially if the class is required to graduate and is offered only once a year. My last semester I had three group oriented classes that were this intense (about killed me). My instructors had to write letters for me to the chapter, and turn in a course syllabus for each class because the chapter "excuse collector" and her advisor were giving me problems. I'm not saying this was your student's case. My situation was probably much different from most majors, but such an excuse COULD be possible.

Anywho, I had a student last summer tell me she couldnt come to summer recruitment retreat because her car broke down and didnt have a ride. Her car broke down two weeks before retreat and she knew about retreat for atleast three months. She also lived in an area that was close to other members that she could have gotten a ride with to retreat. She was not excused and I was not amused. Another student actually flat out told me she couldnt come because she didnt have time. Our advisory board chair about busted a vein over that one!