University of Alabama Recruitment 2007

[bejazd]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

I guess I am thinking of the KD situation differently. I am wondering if this is a case of a strong chapter falling victim to the new release figures - not being familiar enough yet with that process to avoid this pitfall.

I wouldn't look it at it as "falling victim." If you think about the way the new release figure method works, it's normal to expect that some very strong chapters are going to miss quota from year to year. Top chapters have big release numbers and they are all competing for the same girls. But the chapters aren't psychic. They can't possibly know for sure what Polly PNM or Patty PNM is going to do ....it's happened to everyone that a group of PNMs that have "bonded" during recruitment week and they all decide they want to stick together and pick the one house they all have in commom and boom! there goes 5,6 10 girls on your bid list who may truly have loved you. Whatever. Some of the greatest members you'll ever get are pledged in COR.

Sheesh all these chapters are fabulous in their own right. I give 'em all snaps for a terrific recruitment!

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by bejazd

I wouldn't look it at it as "falling victim." If you think about the way the new release figure method works, it's normal to expect that some very strong chapters are going to miss quota from year to year. Top chapters have big release numbers and they are all competing for the same girls. But the chapters aren't psychic. They can't possibly know for sure what Polly PNM or Patty PNM is going to do ....it's happened to everyone that a group of PNMs that have "bonded" during recruitment week and they all decide they want to stick together and pick the one house they all have in commom and boom! there goes 5,6 10 girls on your bid list who may truly have loved you. Whatever. Some of the greatest members you'll ever get are pledged in COR.

Sheesh all these chapters are fabulous in their own right. I give 'em all snaps for a terrific recruitment!

I am not understanding why you prefaced your remark as if you disagreed with me, and then went on to prove my point. When you aren't allowed to ask as many girls back, losing 5, 6, or 10 from your bid list could put your chapter below quota.

Anyway, I stand by my phrasing of "falling victim." I like the new release figures and support using them, but they are absolutely intended to make things easier for the weaker chapters, which consequently makes things more difficult for the stronger ones. As you stated, it is normal under the new method to expect the stronger chapters to miss quota from time to time. Since that wouldn't have likely happened previously, they are falling victim to the new process. It's not the end of the world, yes, they can COB or just go with what they got, but it is a potential consequence of the new system.

And I don't believe I said anything which implied that I didn't think the chapters were fabulous.

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Anyway, I stand by phrasing of "falling victim." I like the new release figures and support using them, but they are absolutely intended to make things easier for the weaker chapters, which consequently makes things more difficult for the stronger ones. As you stated, it is normal under the new method to expect the stronger chapters to miss quota from time to time. Since that wouldn't have likely happened previously, they are falling victim to the new process. It's not the end of the world, yes, they can COB or just go with what they got, but it is a potential consequence to the new system.

Sing it, sister! You are absolutely right on.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Anyway, I stand by my phrasing of "falling victim." I like the new release figures and support using them, but they are absolutely intended to make things easier for the weaker chapters, which consequently makes things more difficult for the stronger ones.

Are the new release figures absolutely intended to make things easier for the smaller chapters?

I agree that they completely cause the effects that you described: harder on the big, easier on the small, but I really believed that the biggest intention was to allow the most women to find chapters.

Before release figures, groups could carry many times the number of women that they were likely to give bids to all the way through prefs, if they wanted to.

And I know groups release anyone that they wouldn't really want as a sister before prefs, but not being forced to make huge cuts still meant that some groups invited way more women to prefs than they needed, and the PNMs had no idea that they were just "extra."

So what I'm saying is that although it does make it harder on the strong groups to make quota than a less regulated system does, if we really want to be "panhellenic" about it, we should probably acknowledge that it's about overall placement for suitable women into groups, rather than simply leveling the playing field for the groups. Basically, it's as much about the PNMs success as group success.

[irishpipes]

In using the word "absolutely" I was referring only to the chapter side of things - not considering the PNM side. Taken in context, we were discussing Kappa Delta, a chapter. Carry on...

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

In using the word "absolutely" I was referring only to the chapter side of things - not considering the PNM side. Taken in context, we were discussing Kappa Delta, a chapter. Carry on...

Cool. I didn't mean to seem so nitpicky.

And from that perspective, you're completely right. It was harder on KD because they had to make more cuts earlier and didn't even get to pref the same number of women as other chapters. The number of women they got in regular bid matching likely reflects a higher percentage of matches within the first 100 girls on the list than most of the other chapters. Other chapters got to keep going down their lists. KD's probably stopped much sooner because they were limited by release figures.

[bejazd]

[quote=irishpipes;1506344 And I don't believe I said anything which implied that I didn't think the chapters were fabulous.[/quote]
I was not disagreeing with you and did not think that you were you were implying that any group was “unfabulous!”

All I was trying to say is one or two chapters, and not necessarily those one might expect, probably will miss quota under the new RFM and so what?

I know we can all agree that in a sorority it is the love for each other and your organization that truly matters. There are a lot of factors that make a great chapter, but we alums only really ever hear about recruitment results and naturally, make judgments based on recruitment numbers alone.
We can all agree that all that these chapters had a great recruitment, right? It did seem to me that some earlier posts implied that some horror had occurred … a popular chapter missed quota …which I just don’t think is that big of a deal, even at Alabama, especially in light of the way the new RFM works…in any given year, it could happen to any chapter. To me, that story about a sorority wearing t-shirts to poke fun of a another group is ghastly. Talk about conduct unbecoming of a sorority woman!

I think we can all agree that the core principle behind the new RFM…is not just to help smaller chapters. The intent is to strengthen the entire sorority system nationally and internationally and deflate some of the criticism from outsiders that the whole recruitment process is strictly superficial… the goal is that nearly all chapters on every campus should be pledging quota or very near to it in formal recruitment…and nearly every PNM that wants to have a sorority membership experience and who sticks it out to the end of recruitment, playing fair, should have the opportunity to get a bid somewhere. If she chooses not to take it and drops out, that’s her choice.

Sure there will be some minor kinks as a new system gets underway, as DukeDG pointed out… but in the big picture this is so much better for all parties involved. Case in point, in the last 15 years, 5 very respectable NPC chapters have left a large university campus not too far from me. Those chapters probably did fall victim to the old system, which allowed the largest chapters to just keep getting bigger and bigger until the disparity in chapter size was probably too much to bridge no matter how hard they worked or how much the other groups wanted to support them in the sense of “Panhellenic spirit.” Every year flaws in the way the recruitment system worked continued to suck them out Losing those chapters has hurt the whole system and it makes me sad. I hope they all get the chance to come back and thrive.

[AOII Angel]

I think that KD probably got used to having PNMs want them. If you don't have to work hard to make people want you, you probably won't work hard enough. It is only a matter of time before the people you want don't want you in return. As for the release figures, if everyone is releasing women in large chunks, many of the same "top" chapters are probably keeping the same women. If three sororities are competing for the same 200 "top" PNMs, missing quota can happen easily. In the past, you'd just fill in with the "extras" that you strung along for the week, and no one would know the difference. Hopefully, KD will take a look at what happened and make changes where they are needed. I'm sure they'll bounce back. What hurts one chapter has the potential to hurt us all, so i never revel in someone else's failures (not that you can call bidding 50 some odd women a failure!) I think the best thing they can do is be humble but not embarrassed. Bad years happen.

[indygphib]

Originally Posted by bejazd

We can all agree that all that these chapters had a great recruitment, right? It did seem to me that some earlier posts implied that some horror had occurred … a popular chapter missed quota …which I just don’t think is that big of a deal, even at Alabama, especially in light of the way the new RFM works…in any given year, it could happen to any chapter. To me, that story about a sorority wearing t-shirts to poke fun of a another group is ghastly. Talk about conduct unbecoming of a sorority woman!

Holy Jebus, that is soooo not cool...

[Tex-A-Bama]

Are there any ZTA pictures out there you might want to share??

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by nmaggie

I know earlier people were asking about pictures! here is DZ's new pledge class they are so cute! there is 80 of them!

Goody! Goody! Thank you! Forwarding to my darlin' DZ daughter, an alum of your chapter.