What’s Going On

[sororanon]

I definitely appreciate your post and it is brave to ask the question. Don't let the moderator of this forum bully you into not speaking. I agree with you wholeheartedly as another Alpha Phi. The leadership at the top of Alpha Phi has made a deal with the devil and now all we can do is watch as they deal with the aftermath. I am a current volunteer working in a collegiate chapter and I go to the conferences and conventions all the time. I sit back and watch these women put on their little skits and make fools of themselves like this whole exercise if for their personal benefit. They float between the board of the fraternity and the foundation and then go to work in the executive office. Rinse and repeat. They hand pick their ELCs and train them to think a certain way. They come to our chapter to direct our members to do things a certain way and sometimes I have a hard time with it. THEN, the ELCs become the new leaders of the organization. Normal, reasonable alumnae have lost their voice in Alpha Phi. They control the slating committee so that the people in charge will ALWAYS be in charge. They sit on our panhellenic delegation and exert a lot of influence in the panhellenic world as well. They have set things up so that no one else will ever be able to change the direction. I once raised my hand and asked a fairly pointed question about this mess and was not met with a warm, understanding reply. The current president is really the worst. I'm waiting for this academic year to be over and then I will walk away. It breaks my heart, but I just can't support this any longer. And, I certainly can't support my high-school aged daughter in joining my own sorority. It is a very sad situation. Thank you for listening. It is hard to be heard. I hear you and I hope you hear me too.

[Sororitysock]

Originally Posted by sororanon

I definitely appreciate your post and it is brave to ask the question. Don't let the moderator of this forum bully you into not speaking. I agree with you wholeheartedly as another Alpha Phi. The leadership at the top of Alpha Phi has made a deal with the devil and now all we can do is watch as they deal with the aftermath. I am a current volunteer working in a collegiate chapter and I go to the conferences and conventions all the time. I sit back and watch these women put on their little skits and make fools of themselves like this whole exercise if for their personal benefit. They float between the board of the fraternity and the foundation and then go to work in the executive office. Rinse and repeat. They hand pick their ELCs and train them to think a certain way. They come to our chapter to direct our members to do things a certain way and sometimes I have a hard time with it. THEN, the ELCs become the new leaders of the organization. Normal, reasonable alumnae have lost their voice in Alpha Phi. They control the slating committee so that the people in charge will ALWAYS be in charge. They sit on our panhellenic delegation and exert a lot of influence in the panhellenic world as well. They have set things up so that no one else will ever be able to change the direction. I once raised my hand and asked a fairly pointed question about this mess and was not met with a warm, understanding reply. The current president is really the worst. I'm waiting for this academic year to be over and then I will walk away. It breaks my heart, but I just can't support this any longer. And, I certainly can't support my high-school aged daughter in joining my own sorority. It is a very sad situation. Thank you for listening. It is hard to be heard. I hear you and I hope you hear me too.

None of this has come as a surprise to many of us sorority alumnae who are actively involved in Panhellenic recruitments. It's been that noticeable and that's why the identity of "Beta Delta" as Alpha Phi in the recent Michigan sorority recruitment expose was so obvious to those not even familiar with Michigan Greek life. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...Z6xthshRM/edit It's also apparent that recruiting for looks while ignoring a woman's character and accomplishments, especially in an era where everything is recorded and put on the internet, will attract more women who will become PR nightmares for all of us since we're deemed guilty by association in the eyes of most non-Greeks. It doesn't take a genius to figure out a common affiliation with the most high profile examples of sorority bad behavior in recent years.

That's not even touching on the bad behavior of Alpha Phi alumnae (and perhaps actives) on that other site as they prepare to colonize at a school.

[sororanon]

Originally Posted by Sororitysock

That's not even touching on the bad behavior of Alpha Phi alumnae (and perhaps actives) on that other site as they prepare to colonize at a school.

I saw that google doc and it is absolutely "us" and that makes me vomit. It's not REALLY us, it's those women who lack a moral compass.

By that "other site", do you mean GreekRank? I rarely go there because it is so salacious. Sometimes the girls will tell me about something that has been posted about our chapter and so I go look at it, but that's about it. I am somewhat sheepishly asking, what are our members doing on there prior to a new colony? I bet that I can guess. Bragging? Boasting? Saying that we are a 10/10? That would be my guess and I'm sure it is so welled received, especially down in the south. God help us!

[UVASquirrel]

Originally Posted by sororanon

By that "other site", do you mean GreekRank?

I assumed that's what she meant. I can't stand that site. I wish it would go away. Anyone who posts anything positive on there is accused by everyone else of "self-ranking". Why these young women (and men) are so wrapped up in tiers and rankings is beyond me.

[33girl]

I was just up for homecoming this past weekend and we were talking about then vs now. Someone said that the current students a lot of the time don’t care if the activity they are doing or the company they are keeping is enjoyable, the most important thing is whether it looks good on their Insta. Our society has become more and more visually based with every decade - remember those old Aziza eye makeup ads? Those would be considered a novel today! I don’t know what the solution is, but unless we want this whole world to be idiocracy, it needs to turn around.

ETA Aziza ads

FETA sorry, didn’t mean to hijack (or eye-jack) the thread.

[APhi2KD]

Originally Posted by sororanon

Don't let the moderator of this forum bully you into not speaking.

They've never done anything of the sort. The thread languished quietly on its own, lol.

Originally Posted by sororanon

I hear you and I hope you hear me too.

You are heard! <3
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one feeling this way. I truly believe things can turn around. Not sure how, but of course they can.

Originally Posted by UVASquirrel

Why these young women (and men) are so wrapped up in tiers and rankings is beyond me.

1. They live their lives with ranking. How many “friends”, “followers”, etc.
2. At schools that don’t randomly pair GLOs for homecoming, etc., being in one tier vs another matters for those events. And that usually puts all the powers in the hands of the fraternities, IMO.

I think a lot of the current college-aged populous is suffering various effects of being the Instagram generation. Real life isn’t measuring up to Insta-life, and there is so much let down. Bid Day is supposed to be the “dream” NYE, getting a Big is supposed to be Christmas Day where you are bound to your soulmate, bff, mentor, etc. Girls think that’s what is supposed to happen and are left questioning themselves when their experience is different.

Insta-friends, Insta-besties, Insta-sisterhood. We all know that’s not how it works, but some of these kids don’t, and I honestly wonder what the long term effect on GLOs will be (if any).