Interested Party saying hello!

[AOII Angel]

I'm really puzzled by the extreme reaction to AI illicited on greekchat. If our organizations are meant to be useful to women through out their lives and not just for the college years, why are we so suspicious of women who wish to join later in life? Our goals are to provide women with the chance to be part of something greater than themselves...why is this only open to 18-21 year olds? If one chapter (who we all will admit often make decisions based on appearance or reputation rather than the qualities of a women that really count like leadership potential, level of commitment,etc) does not wish to give a woman a bid, why does this exclude her from joining another chapter of the same organization? Our organizations are larger than just one chapter or just one member. Women may identify with our missions, philanthropies or programming even if rejected by a chapter earlier in life. If we want to improve our alumnae participation, why exclude women who want to participate? Last time I checked, there wasn't an overwhelming rush of women trying to "sneak" in! I actually feel that alumnae initiates would be more likely to accept a lifetime commitment and follow through than the thousands of 18 year olds each year who make the same commitment but don't follow through.