Sorority Shopping?

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by James

So the big question is: Do you think that using GC as a a market to shop for a sorority, or even sorority shopping in general, is a good or bad thing?

To get this thread back on topic, I thought I'd take a stab at James' question.

Since I'm not an AI, my opinion is probably different from those who are AI or who are pursuing AI. Having said that, I think (my opinion only, obviously) that GC can be a useful tool for simply learning which orgs are NPC, which are local, what the difference is between them, and basic info like that. Since there isn't a campus (that I know of, anyway) that houses all 26 NPCs, it is likely that potential AIs are unfamiliar with a good number of them. GC can serve as a place to educate people about which orgs are even out there.

But, to try to learn about a specific org's policy on GC is probably not ideal. Since there are lots of links here to specific NPC websites, then GC can serve as the springboard for more in-depth research about specific groups. But, again, to try to take it further than that on here is probably going to steer some people in the wrong direction.

So, I think GC is not a good place for sorority-shopping, so-to-speak, but I think it can be a good place to learn about what sororities are even "available" should one decide she wants to look around.

I don't want to even touch the second part of your question, James. I can see good and bad points to sorority shopping... I'm going to just sit on that fence until I hear more arguments for or against it.

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

I don't want to even touch the second part of your question, James. I can see good and bad points to sorority shopping... I'm going to just sit on that fence until I hear more arguments for or against it.

A woman should be joining a group that she feels (or has) a connection with. If she's shopping around then she obviously doesn't have one that she feels a connection with.

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by SmartBlondeGPhB

A woman should be joining a group that she feels (or has) a connection with. If she's shopping around then she obviously doesn't have one that she feels a connection with.

Very true.

But, to play devil's advocate, a woman might have a connection with women in ABC, but may strongly support (through time, $, whatever) XYZ's philanthropy. So, her choice might depend on what she values more at the time - already established friendships with a less-than-appealing philanthropy or potential friendships built over a common dedication to an extremely appealing philanthropy.

Like I said earlier, I can see both sides. I think some women just want to join any sorority however they can. This type of "shopping" irritates me (although, I understand the argument that that's what undergrad PNMs are doing during rush; I also understand the rebuttal that all the groups are aware that they're being compared by PNMs). But, I think women can have connections to more than one group, in which case "shopping" isn't as offensive.

-I dunno... I'm still on the fence

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Very true.

But, to play devil's advocate, a woman might have a connection with women in ABC, but may strongly support (through time, $, whatever) XYZ's philanthropy. So, her choice might depend on what she values more at the time - already established friendships with a less-than-appealing philanthropy or potential friendships built over a common dedication to an extremely appealing philanthropy.

She's going to pick a philanthropy over already established FRIENDS??????? I really hope someone wouldn't actually do that.

I support Zeta's philanthropy every year (in fact my entire alumnae chapter does). That doesn't mean that I want (or need) to be a Zeta. I support many philanthropic endeavors outside of Gamma Phi Beta, I don't depend on Gamma Phi to give me all of my community service opportunities.

My alumnae chapter's last AI has the following story (for an example). She went to a college without a greek system, and had moved around quite a bit mostly due to being in the military. She was approaching the time when she wanted to leave the military and settle down with her young family. She wanted to get involved with a women's group that could also give her opportunities to help out college aged women. She stumbled onto GC, saw that I live in her general area and approached me about it. I met with her, introduced her to some of the other alumnae in her area (a bit away from me actually) and got her coming to our events. She found some of them that she has quite a bit in common with and she lives near one of our collegiate chapters. After a number of months, she was inivited to join and the rest is history.....