Disaffiliation

[Sciencewoman]

Time commitment is the major issue I see. Greek life is a major time commitment, and if you're on the fence, it's easy to question how much time you're expected to give.

It also seems like mandatory attendance at a variety of events, merit points, study hour tracking, and fines have played a part in discouraging enthusiasm with some. These tracking systems have increase exponentially since I was an active, and they can feel overwhelming. We have an app for tracking everything now. Again, if you're not 100% committed and feeling the love, these can be "one more thing to do" that isn't very fun.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

Time commitment is the major issue I see. Greek life is a major time commitment, and if you're on the fence, it's easy to question how much time you're expected to give.

It also seems like mandatory attendance at a variety of events, merit points, study hour tracking, and fines have played a part in discouraging enthusiasm with some. These tracking systems have increase exponentially since I was an active, and they can feel overwhelming. We have an app for tracking everything now. Again, if you're not 100% committed and feeling the love, these can be "one more thing to do" that isn't very fun.

I think that varies from campus to campus. If you're in one of these huge systems where everyone has a philanthropic event (often very traditional and beloved on a national scale) and everyone goes to everything, even fun things are going to get old. At some point everyone needs to get together and figure out a way to lessen the overprogramming - like maybe everyone only has their particular event every 3 years. I know that's not something the national HQs want to hear though.

[AnchorAlumna]

Not to mention the enormous new member classes that many of our chapters are forced to take now....not that I'm complaining about meeting quota (whatever that means now) every single year.
But mass quantities of pledging a lot of times results in the experience being rendered cheap and, therefore, disposable.
I've asked this question of my own chapter and have never gotten an answer of any sort.
No studies seeing if shortened NM periods have resulted in higher resignations...no studies seeing if bigger NM classes result in higher resignations...surely somebody could just look at numbers and percentages and draw some conclusions.

As far as the big NM classes....maybe it's time for those campuses to take another look at putting more emphasis on a secondary recruitment in the off semester as a way to spread out the numbers going through and, as a result, lower the numbers of the NM classes.
Then again, that might make it even more difficult to get to know more sisters.

[33girl]

We always had 2 pledge classes a year and I think it did help in integrating women into the chapter (this was a relatively low key rush and chapters under 70, so factor that in).

But considering the zeal with which national Panhel has tried to stamp out this practice - even if it was working for the school - I don't see it happening at any of the bigger colleges any time soon. The excuse is usually that rush is too time consuming and intense to have it twice a year. That's part of the problem - PC terms aside, we are still holding "rush" and for 90% of the systems out there are nowhere near "recruitment. "

[33girl]

And re the ever growing NM classes...a lot of that can be attributed to RFM and guaranteed bidding (if you follow the rules). Both these things look great on paper and inclusive, welcoming etc...all things that are great to dispel the "Greeks are too selective and snobby" stigma. But if disaffiliaion is increasing as well, are these things really helping our groups?

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by 33girl

We always had 2 pledge classes a year and I think it did help in integrating women into the chapter (this was a relatively low key rush and chapters under 70, so factor that in).

SEC style recruitment IS very strenuous, but so is the pressure to COB up to quota. I've been there and sometimes it's just better to step back, say "we're done" and go start doing the fun things that draw us together and build sisterhood.
But I've also seen a sort of "formalized" COB. This was at U of Georgia. A fairly early second semester that had a sign-up period, beginning, middle and end with a bid day. The PNMs came for dinner at the house and conversation each night. I don't think there was a skit or anything but dinner...some rotation groups at the beginning. And after that bid day, with a few late additions, they were done and could get on with the rest of the year. It was much more relaxed...it picked up those transfers and girls who didn't go through in the fall and became more intrigued with sororities during the semester. I always thought it was a great idea.

Originally Posted by 33girl

And re the ever growing NM classes...a lot of that can be attributed to RFM and guaranteed bidding (if you follow the rules). Both these things look great on paper and inclusive, welcoming etc...all things that are great to dispel the "Greeks are too selective and snobby" stigma. But if disaffiliaion is increasing as well, are these things really helping our groups?

As a survivor of the early 1970s when we could not for the life of us pledge quota and had women quitting left and right, I would NOT want to go back to the bad old RFM days!
RFM is still, I think, the best thing that happened to NPC sorority systems!

[carnation]

True. RFM saved/brought back many Southern chapters that I can think of. It also pushed a lot of women at big schools to take a serious look at the chapters they had left, and many of those women became leaders in chapters they never would have considered before.

[ASTalumna06]

Could this...

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

Good point, but I will say that on several occasions I saw girls who told us advisors that they could not pay their monthly dues- an unhoused chapter, so dues ran between $100-200/month- out for dinners and drinks at nice restaurants where the typical bill per person would average $40-50, and FB photos of said girls living it up at the clubs, where they easily could have dropped another $40-50.....therefore, had their priorities been different, could have paid their dues by missing one or two nights of entertainment.

Be because of this?

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

It also seems like mandatory attendance at a variety of events, merit points, study hour tracking, and fines have played a part in discouraging enthusiasm with some. These tracking systems have increase exponentially since I was an active, and they can feel overwhelming. We have an app for tracking everything now. Again, if you're not 100% committed and feeling the love, these can be "one more thing to do" that isn't very fun.

Are the tracking systems and fines, in addition to required meetings, phanthropic events, recruitment prep, homecoming float building, Greek Sing practice, etc., becoming so overwhelming that sisters are looking for any kind of break from things mandated by the sorority?

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Are the tracking systems and fines, in addition to required meetings, phanthropic events, recruitment prep, homecoming float building, Greek Sing practice, etc., becoming so overwhelming that sisters are looking for any kind of break from things mandated by the sorority?

I think the fact that there's now an app to track everything is an illustration of how many obligations members need to track. And for those who are on the fence, membership starts to become less "fun" and more "obligatory."

On our campus, over programming in Greek Life is an issue, so others' mileage may vary.