All locals going national at once

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by Stef the Pef

I was about to mention BU here because that's exactly what happened.

Supposedly the Kappa Omega Tau fraternity couldn't find a national that fit their needs in all the rush, and that's why they stayed a local. Makes for some interesting local histories, that's for sure.

Back when I was chapter president, I met the Baylor Pi Phi president and she described some of the craziness that occurred when they were trying to choose what national... it sounded very dramatic to say the least!

One of my good friends now is a Chi-O from Baylor and I think her husband is a Kappa Omega Tau.... I may be wrong on this, but aren't there some local sororities at Baylor as well? I know a really sweet girl who is a member of a local (or maybe regional, don't know) group there with a strong Christian focus.

Originally Posted by scbelle

I went to Davidson, and yes, that is the way selection for eating houses is determined. In the fall, freshmen visit the eating houses, kind of like an Open House. Then in January, women who want to join rank their preferences. Once the cards are in, a lottery determines where a woman will join. The eating house has no say as to who will or will not be a member.

I do not remember fraternity rules, but I'm pretty sure when I was there that bids were given like any other campus. I just remember that my then-boyfriend so badly wanted to join SigEp, but he didn't receive a bid. He did get one from PiKA, though. I had a good friend from our high school in the SigEp house and I remember him telling me that he didn't want the boy in his fraternity... whether that had anything to do with it or not, I don't know. But bids are usually given out starting around October, and that goes on for awhile... the "rush" time is a whole semester. So that doesn't make sense with a self-selection process to me.

Ah ha! Thanks for that! I was trying to reconstruct from what I learned when I was applying there and from my aunt. It's interesting that they would have self-selection for the women's groups and not the men's.

May I ask what your opinion of bringing national sororities to Davidson is? I know my aunt is so vehemently opposed to it, but when she was a freshman there I think at least the seniors (and maybe the juniors too) were all male and she is really influenced by the specific political situation that was on campus then. She's a pretty involved alumna, but she once mentioned to me that she'd quit giving money to the school if they allowed sororities on campus. I'm not sure I really believe that though. Although it's true that she's pretty upset that the co-ed eating houses gave way to all women's eating houses.

[Stef the Pef]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

Back when I was chapter president, I met the Baylor Pi Phi president and she described some of the craziness that occurred when they were trying to choose what national... it sounded very dramatic to say the least!

One of my good friends now is a Chi-O from Baylor and I think her husband is a Kappa Omega Tau.... I may be wrong on this, but aren't there some local sororities at Baylor as well? I know a really sweet girl who is a member of a local (or maybe regional, don't know) group there with a strong Christian focus.

There's CHI'S (a service sorority) and KXA (Christian local) as far as local sororities go. They don't participate in Panhellenic stuff, though. There's Sigma Phi Lambda, too--an upcoming Christian sorority with chapters elsewhere.

Then there's Phi Kappa Chi (Christian local) and KOT for local fraternities. I'm pretty sure both do all the same things that the rest of IFC does.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by Stef the Pef

There's CHI'S (a service sorority) and KXA (Christian local) as far as local sororities go. They don't participate in Panhellenic stuff, though. There's Sigma Phi Lambda, too--an upcoming Christian sorority with chapters elsewhere.

Then there's Phi Kappa Chi (Christian local) and KOT for local fraternities. I'm pretty sure both do all the same things that the rest of IFC does.

Yeah, I think my one friend is a KXA. And now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure my other friend's husband is a KOT.

[scbelle]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

May I ask what your opinion of bringing national sororities to Davidson is?

I think bringing national sororities would be a step in the right direction. I don't understand why men are allowed to have fraternities if women can't have sororities. Fraternities come with benefits that follow way beyond graduation, as do sororities. Those benefits include continued leadership cultivation, tradition and networking to name a few. Eating houses do not offer the same benefits. So why are women forced to make those concessions when they are accepted to and attend Davidson?

From what I know of a lot of alumnae friends, they are also vehemently opposed to bringing sororities. They chose to attend Davidson based on the fact that it did not have sororities. I don't know if it's because they don't fully understand what a sorority is (I know Davidson people are smart, but I get the sense that they buy into the sterotypes).

At any rate, I understand the earlier alumnae position, since it was a very volatile time for feminism. My dad had graduated the spring before women were allowed to receive degrees (women could come to classes), so he really wasn't too privy to the atmosphere on campus to be of any historical use to me for this topic. But I don't understand why men have fraternities, the campus will be adding Alpha Kappa Alpha in the fall, and eating houses can't go national. To me, that just doesn't sound very equal.

[BadCat25]

scbelle - Almost none of the elite liberal arts colleges like Davidson have GLO's. They believe because of their small size it is unwise to divide their students into the haves (greeks) and the have nots (GDI's) and further divide the greek students by the status of the chapter to which they belong. These colleges have no problem attracting the very top students. As far as Davidson fraternities go, no system that has self-selection can be called a strong one.

[PhoenixAzul]

Personally, if my alma mater, Otterbein, was to go from all-local to all-national, I think we'd lose a huge part of what makes Otterbein, well, Otterbein. The history of the Greek system is irreparably linked to the history of the school, and vice versa, and I think that imposing nationals would remove a lot of what makes our system work. Our fees and dues are much more affordable, and while OC has become increasingly affluent, there are still a fair number of students from families and backgrounds that couldn't otherwise access the benefits of Greek life.

Now, we do have several NPC city-wide chapters represented on campus, and a chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi (one of two unhoused fraternities). There used to be a chapter of Alpha Tau Omega, but that closed in the 90's due to alcohol/party violations (OC is a dry campus). The Alpha Sig chapter was formed "by popular request" of a group of guys, and its taken them a bit to establish themselves, but they've really been flourishing in recent years. These chapters have some hurdles to face, mainly with reconciling national policy to campus policy/culture.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by scbelle

I think bringing national sororities would be a step in the right direction. I don't understand why men are allowed to have fraternities if women can't have sororities. Fraternities come with benefits that follow way beyond graduation, as do sororities. Those benefits include continued leadership cultivation, tradition and networking to name a few. Eating houses do not offer the same benefits. So why are women forced to make those concessions when they are accepted to and attend Davidson?

From what I know of a lot of alumnae friends, they are also vehemently opposed to bringing sororities. They chose to attend Davidson based on the fact that it did not have sororities. I don't know if it's because they don't fully understand what a sorority is (I know Davidson people are smart, but I get the sense that they buy into the sterotypes).

At any rate, I understand the earlier alumnae position, since it was a very volatile time for feminism. My dad had graduated the spring before women were allowed to receive degrees (women could come to classes), so he really wasn't too privy to the atmosphere on campus to be of any historical use to me for this topic. But I don't understand why men have fraternities, the campus will be adding Alpha Kappa Alpha in the fall, and eating houses can't go national. To me, that just doesn't sound very equal.

Knowing the situation at Davidson, I am totally in agreement with you. I was just curious as to what you would say. It seems like the early women alums (eg, the women alums who wield the most power, as Davidson is relatively new to the coeducational thing) are so against sororities without having thought through the benefits and risk management national GLOs can provide. I would say my aunt is just such a one--she's horrified I joined a sorority at W&L but can never provide a legitimate reason (in my mind at least) why my sorority is worse than Davidson's eating clubs. I always felt that my aunt never "got it" and that on many of her own standards my sorority would far exceed the eating clubs (no detriment implied to the eating clubs of course...)

Again, I would (with you) question the fact that the true feminist choice is eating clubs...

It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next several years at Davidson as alumnae women from the 90s and 00s take power... I love my aunt dearly, but I know her political stances (which are intimately tied to Davidson's coeducation, the Davidson region in the 1970s, and the larger political situation of the 1970s) are tied to her thoughts about the situation. Yet I also know that she and women and like her have a LOT of pull in internal affairs there....

anyway thanks for your perspective. It was so interesting to compare views.