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33, that's such a great argument for deferred recruitment! I never even thought about that!! It really makes sense. You want members who WANT to be there, women of strong character, who have proven they can handle themselves outside of the house from mom and dad. They've already made grades that first semester, etc. Yes, you might lose some people here or there who may have established what they feel are their peer group, but you really only want members who are strong, dedicated and really want to be there!
As far as proving yourself, I can understand the arguments for the "olden days," but truly, I was never hazed, and I'm a very involved alum... As a collegian, if you even said the word "haze" or "paddle" in our house, people's faces would go white. We just didn't do it. We had strong retention because our chapter was very competitive and had a strong external reputation. I think there are always going to be little internal challenges, but I think one of the biggest things that contributed to chapter retention was that we included our members in everything.
This meant that at chapter, every officer was encouraged to give 1-2 little awards, or we'd take a spririt break, etc. Also, everyone joined a committee in the chapter and they were responsible for helping that committee (we had an alum relations committee, scholarship, spirit committee, and many many more!) We really utilized small group interaction (ADPi's Pride Program) and made it a point to communicate. This is so silly and small, but we kept a large tupperware tub full of manila file folders-- each with a sister's name on it. This was your house mailbox, and sisters would leave you notes, a classmate could drop off homework and it could be put here, fee invoices, standards, etc. I come from a pretty large chapter, and the only time I ever felt unincluded was when I intentionally isolated myself as a senior (PX re-entry was always rough for our Greeks, and I was also focused on full time interning and work.) I think living in really helped me feel very included.
Just some ideas. I love this feedback! Keep it coming!
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