Eliminating Bigs and Littles?

jon1856 · #1 10-01-2006, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadis96

Jon I think what KSUviolet is talking about is eliminating bigs and littles from within the chapter. Offically our campus didn't allow sorority woman to have "big bros" for years and when ti was done it was always stated to be unoffical for that reason. I think KSUviolet is talking about eliminating sorority woman having big sis's competely and same for the guys not have big brothers.

Anyway to the point I haven't heard anything about it, but I am finding I am out of the loop these days.

I thought so. The Little Sister program was set up by National and IIRC was ended in part due to legal issues ( what program these days does not have an oar or two in that puddle for many reason

)

Am interested in hearing what is going on/happening with Big Brother/Big Sister within chapters.

Buttonz · #2 10-01-2006, 12:37 PM

As far as I know, I haven't heard anything about totally getting rid of bigs/littles in SDT.

I think it wouldn'tbe a good idea at all

FSUZeta · #3 10-01-2006, 01:24 PM

gosh, i hope that that is not true-i think that big sisters serve a great purpose in a chapter. they serve as guides, role models and a special shoulder to lean on when needed-not to mention the provider of cool new member and initiation gifts!!

BamaDad DZ · #4 10-01-2006, 06:27 PM

My daughter is getting her big sister at Bama in the next few days. She is super excited to see who she gets from the chapter. It seems a shame that some sororities may consider abandoning the concept.

AUDeltaGam · #5 10-01-2006, 07:02 PM

As a member of my chapter's charter class, we didn't have big sisters (obviously) and I know that it would have been nice to have that experience. I have the best little sister ever, and I would hate for some groups to not continue the big/little tradition.

macallan25 · #6 10-01-2006, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon1856

I thought so. The Little Sister program was set up by National and IIRC was ended in part due to legal issues ( what program these days does not have an oar or two in that puddle for many reason

)

Am interested in hearing what is going on/happening with Big Brother/Big Sister within chapters.

I don't know of any chapters of SAE that don't do big/little.

Big Bro night is as fun as it gets.

jon1856 · #7 10-01-2006, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macallan25

I don't know of any chapters of SAE that don't do big/little.

Big Bro night is as fun as it gets.

That is was Bro, that is was.

Elephant Walk · #8 10-01-2006, 10:01 PM

big bro night was one of my favorites of pledging.

trideltrockstar · #9 10-02-2006, 09:20 AM

I think it would be an awful idea to eliminate bigs and littles. While it may cause problems initially with the selection process, usually that drama settles down pretty quickly. The purpose of a big sister is to help the little sister get to know everyone in the house and act as a mentor during her new member period. I think that's so important and I can't imagine my sorority experience without my big and little!

33girl · #10 10-02-2006, 09:59 AM

I believe KKG eliminated it, realized it was a horrible idea, and brought it back.

Getting rid of bigs and littles is ridiculous - brings us closer to being a club than a Greek organization - and any reasoning along the lines of "it gets rid of cliques" is completely asinine. Sororities are always going to have cliques within them, everyone just needs to deal with it. If it wasn't bigs/littles and families, it would be class standing or everyone who lives in the left wing of the house or something else. If the NPC doesn't want cliques, they need to change their expansion procedures so the houses don't get so huge that cliques are pretty much guaranteed.

aopirose · #11 10-02-2006, 10:59 AM

Another reason that I have heard mentioned for getting rid of the Big Sis/Lil Sis program doesn’t have anything to do with cliques. It has to do with spending. Some Bigs are in a position to go overboard spoiling their Littles with elaborate gifts. (I’m talking spending in excess of $1000.) That’s all well and good but it makes some initiates less inclined to be a Big if they cannot provide what others may be expecting. Setting spending limits per event does help to even things out but things can still get out of hand. A good solution that I have come across is that all Little Sister gifts are purchased and handed out by the chapter. An additional and more personal gift may be given for initiation but there is a spending cap. I believe that it can be a valuable program and affordability needn’t be a factor.

violetpretty · #12 10-02-2006, 11:29 AM

My Sigma Kappa family is very close, and it would be a shame for others to miss out on this experience. In addition to big/little, new members have heart sisters (like a bid day buddy, often someone they met during recruitment), Senior Shadows (so that Seniors aren't put on a pedestal), and some chapters even have recent alumnae mentors. At our last formal, our seniors had sisters (non-Seniors) read them letters saying good bye to them at formal.

I would have to agree with 33girl, that large chapters are inevitably going to get cliquey. I personally think that the answer is more mentoring programs instead of fewer, because new members branch out to more women in the chapter. If there were no big-little programs, I think that sororities would only get cliquier (is that a word?) because they'd be more divided by new member class since they aren't branching out to the rest of the chapter.

Emory Kappa · #13 10-02-2006, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33girl

I believe KKG eliminated it, realized it was a horrible idea, and brought it back.

Around '98-'99 Kappa introduced Kore Groups, which are structured more like a family than a big sis- little sis relationship. Though I'm not involved on the chapter side, I believe there is still a similar type of organization in place.