A Very Untraditional Recruitment/Expansion Story - Page 2

klk112 · #1 01-03-2008, 04:40 PM

And the story continues...

The worst did happen. We went to Bid Night and watched as the PNM's unzipped their sweatshirts to reveal their bid night t-shirts underneath and ran to all of the other houses. We went home empty-handed, upset, and sad.

The next night at meeting, our president came to chapter with a proposal that we petition the Panhellenic Council to open the campus for expansion. Many of the older sisters said that the possibility for adoption had been mentioned before, but was never pursued because the chapter recruited enough members informally and no one saw the need to be adopted by a national organization.

We voted to make this request of Panhel, and they agreed and opened the campus for expansion. We spent that fall semester doing tons of research and sending letters to the 22 NPC groups that weren't on campus. Some groups were very interested in colonizing at Carnegie Mellon. Other groups wondered why a local with 12 years of history would want to be adopted. With just a few weeks left in the fall semester, 11 NPC groups had met with our campus Greek advisor and confirmed that they would like to present to us. The chapter voted on a list of the top three that we wanted to present, based on our research and the materials that they gave to us. Panhel agreed with our list and invited them to present at the beginning of the spring semester. A fourth group, whose visit occurred after our ranking meeting, was also invited at the urging of our campus Greek advisor.

The four groups, code named with condiments were:
Mustard - This group was definitely the top group in our minds. From all of the research that we did, we found that they were big, well-known, and at many schools similar to Carnegie Mellon. We even had a few alums who are legacies. They absolutely blew us away on paper and we were sure that they would be a good match for us.

Ketchup - This group was also a favorite of many people in the chapter. They have a chapter at MIT, which is a big deal for us because Carnegie Mellon is very similar in many different ways--from academic culture to recruitment styles. They also have chapters at Ivy and New Ivy schools, and had a large alumnae network.

Mayonnaise - This group was a top choice for some people but not others. We thought that the presentation would give us a better feel for them. They also had a chapter at MIT and other technical schools, and had a pretty solid national presence.

Relish - This group was the fourth group that was added after our ranking. They had a strong national presence and our Greek advisor highly suggested that we invite them. What could it hurt? Plus, there were a lot of chapters nearby that could help us out if we chose them.

When we came back in the spring, Relish would be presenting first, followed by Mayo, Mustard, and finally Ketchup.

Stay tuned...

violetpretty · #2 01-03-2008, 05:06 PM

I have to root for Ketchup. Not only is it by far my favorite condiment, I am a huge fan of the Steelers, who play at Heinz Field. Come on, this is Pittsburgh!

aephi alum · #3 01-03-2008, 09:30 PM

I've cracked your code, at least in the cases of ketchup and mustard. I went to MIT, you see...

Benzgirl · #4 01-03-2008, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aephi alum

I've cracked your code, at least in the cases of ketchup and mustard. I went to MIT, you see...

This sounds like a great mystery: Cracking the Ketchup and Mustard Code

catiebug · #5 01-03-2008, 10:31 PM

Yup - very Boys from Brazilish.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

This sounds like a great mystery: Cracking the Ketchup and Mustard Code

SmartBlondeGPhB · #6 01-04-2008, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aephi alum

I've cracked your code, at least in the cases of ketchup and mustard. I went to MIT, you see...

Not to mention, I do believe we had a thread about the CM expansion......

aggieAXO · #7 01-09-2008, 07:53 PM

I think Ketchup sounds wonderful-gotta love those Texas accents

Deepher4Life · #8 01-03-2008, 06:05 PM

mayo... yummy.

i think i'll make an egg salad sandwich now.

LucyKKG · #9 01-03-2008, 07:39 PM

Haha yes! I love the condiment names!

alum · #10 01-03-2008, 10:53 PM

I haven't thought about that book for years! Time to revisit Ira Levin at the library....

I figured the 2 MITers but don't know which is which. I can hypothesize on the other 2.

jojapeach · #11 01-03-2008, 11:32 PM

I love this thread! Great writing, too.

AlwaysSAI · #12 01-03-2008, 11:37 PM

waiting anxiously for the next installment!!!

VandyDG · #13 01-04-2008, 01:21 AM

I love this!

I have to go with ketchup! It is Pittsburgh, after all.

BadSquirrelBeta · #14 01-04-2008, 03:16 AM

Ok...so I am happy to hear of another story to follow. Love the condiments.

klk112 · #15 01-04-2008, 04:09 AM

The general procedure for the presentations was that each organization would make a general Panhellenic presentation open to the community, and then a presentation specifically to our chapter. We weren't really sure what to expect from all of these presentations, but we went in with an open mind. Our chapter advisor was also present during all of the presentations, and as the new alumnae relations chair, I worked with her to take notes and ask questions about things that our alums would be interested to hear.

Relish was the first to present. They set up their materials in our living room as we waited upstairs. When we came downstairs, it was like going through FMR--collegians from Pitt and Duquesne greeted us, introducing themselves and making conversation. Some of them talked about Relish and how great it was to be a member. Some of them even bumped like it was FMR! We sat on our own couches and dining room chairs, and I really felt like I was being rushed. It was an odd feeling for me, considering that I never experienced it from the PNM side. I spoke to a girl from Pitt, but I mainly remember really liking her outfit, which was a green V-neck sweater with a white collared shirt underneath and khakis. It was hard for me to not think about the people I knew from high school who went to Pitt while I talked to this girl, wondering if any of them had joined Relish.

The presentation itself was pretty good. They brought their director of expansion and the woman who would be our individual chapter consultant if we chose them. They showed us a video that they send to members to encourage them to donate money to their foundation, talked about their national philanthropy, and gave some history on their organization. They also talked about how blown away they were by our symphony, officer structure, and longevity.

However, they seemed to be overly optimistic. They said that it was feasible for them to attract 40 girls to get us to total with the rest of the groups on campus that same semester. We were slightly skeptical about what they could do on a campus like ours. What kind of tricks did they have? Only about 90 girls finish FMR each year.

We also wondered if they knew what they were getting themselves into when colonizing a local. When someone asked what our chapter name would be and if we had any input into it, they said that National Council might approve of us breaking the naming convention to incorporate some of our current letters into our chapter name.

Overall, I think that we were impressed, but not in love. We would need to compare this presentation with the others that were to come. Mayo would be presenting to us in a few days...