How does one suggest a makeover?

[GGirlEC]

I'm a member of a local sorority on a small campus. Our sisters continuously serve as leaders and contributors to our Greek community, and maintain strong relationships with the two national sororities also present on campus. However, our organization's lack of national connections and history is serving to be a turn off to PNMs, greatly lowering our numbers. Given the time our sorority has existed (we're talking almost twenty years), it is definitely not as developed as it should be. Our rules continue to be wishy-washy (even by local standards) and basic details like cheers are still missing. Currently our members display no interest in working on this.

Basically, what I'm wondering is how one would propose revamping and solidifying our sorority, even going so far as to seek affiliation with a national organization, in a way that would least offend everyone. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? If anyone's sorority has chosen to become part of a national organization, how long does the process take?

[LPIDelta]

Have you talked to any of your closest sisters to see how they feel? Maybe they are thinking the same thing but not saying anything. Once you feel others out, you might talk to the most influential sister in the group (not necessarily a leader) or a local advisor to see if you can drum up any advocates.

That said, you need to be prepared to defend your feelings as well. Basically, people may wonder if it is a "national" experience you are looking for, why did you join a local?

The process to colonize with a national sorority varies based on the organization, your campus etc. Some take a year, others take a few months.

[Senusret I]

Sometimes you've just gotta sit back quietly, run for president, win, and shake things up.

Not the MOST sisterly way to create change, but if you've got the diplomacy skills, it could be effective.

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Sometimes you've just gotta sit back quietly, run for president, win, and shake things up.

Not the MOST sisterly way to create change, but if you've got the diplomacy skills, it could be effective.

That's a great idea!! I might try that next year in my chapter.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by GGirlEC

I'm a member of a local sorority on a small campus. Our sisters continuously serve as leaders and contributors to our Greek community, and maintain strong relationships with the two national sororities also present on campus. However, our organization's lack of national connections and history is serving to be a turn off to PNMs, greatly lowering our numbers. Given the time our sorority has existed (we're talking almost twenty years), it is definitely not as developed as it should be. Our rules continue to be wishy-washy (even by local standards) and basic details like cheers are still missing. Currently our members display no interest in working on this.

Basically, what I'm wondering is how one would propose revamping and solidifying our sorority, even going so far as to seek affiliation with a national organization, in a way that would least offend everyone. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? If anyone's sorority has chosen to become part of a national organization, how long does the process take?

Are you the only local sorority on your campus, or are there others?

It may not be that things were not "developed," rather that they were lost over time. Get in touch with your alumnae (especially your founders if you can) and ask them if they have any details of the things they did.

And I'll ask an extension of what Heather did - are you the only one who feels this way, or are there others? Because if you're the lone voice here - and this local experience isn't what you want - you should probably terminate your membership.

[adpiucf]

If you're the only one who wants to go national, then you should join an NPC. If the other members are happy with the way things are, it's really a non-issue.

ETA: I also wanted to note, y'all are definitely doing something right if you've been around for 20 years. There are plenty of locals that fold in the first few years, and certainly plenty of NPCs who can't make it in the first few years as well. Kudos to your sisterhood-- that 20 years speaks volumes.

[FuzzieAlum]

Something to think about: If a genie granted you the choice of making your organization stronger (more certain rules, the first choice of rushees) and staying local, or going national (which would certainly give you more rules and be more attractive to some rushees), which would you choose?

There isn't a right answer, it's just something to guide how you approach this. If you're a local among nationals, I think there will always be some PNMs who won't consider you, but it is possible to be a strong, competitive organization with a structure that will last another 20 years and beyond.

Remember, too, that for all the PNMs who didn't consider you as a choice, you probably also have sisters who joined you because your were a local organization and they liked the looser rules. Women who found that very attractive are likely to be more resistant to change of either kind.

[GGirlEC]

Thanks for all of the advice you've given me so far. Even though we are the only local on campus, I don't think our problems stem from a being a local vs. a national, as much as it is that we are so focused on doing other things around campus that we have not been giving our organization the proper attention and up-keep. The idea of joining a national organization stems from the fact that our members seem less than enthused to come up with ideas of their own.

Right now being recruitment co-chair and pledge educator is allowing me to buckle down on our pledging process, which is really helping. Contacting our alums is a great idea because as I go through our binders I am seeing a lot of old traditions that seem to have been dropped through the years. If worse comes to worse... maybe I will just run for president.

[AnchorAlumna]

You're never going to offend nobody. Let's put it this way. SOMEBODY is bound to be offended.
But why not seriously suggest it? If nothing else, it might shake things up a bit and lead to some positive change.