When Is It a Good Idea for Campus Panhel Expansion?

[dukedg]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

The question is, did the new sorority coming on have anything to do with the established chapter beginning to struggle? I have a number of close friends who are alumni of the chapter that's having a rough time today. I got the impression that the community at Duke, for whatever reasons, likes to have a soccer-ball chapter to kick around, and the expansion wasn't the issue -- it was the departure/rejuvenation of the previous soccer-ball chapter. When the previous victim of negative stereotyping was gone, someone had to take its place.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. I think there is a similar discussion going on in another thread about one chapter always being the struggling chapter on a campus. I can also see what Zillini is saying and I do think there becomes a point when the struggling chapter crosses some sort of line and can no longer recover on campus (without closing then reopening or a complete recolonization).

I don't think that the new sorority necessarily caused this other chapter to fail, but when a chapter closes why wouldn't panhel want to wait a number of years and make sure all sororities are stabilized before trying to add a new group?

Maybe one way to look at a successful expansion is whether a higher percentage of the population is now going greek than were before. I think this addresses the niche violetpretty was talking about. At Duke, for example, the percentage of women going greek has actually declined even though the new sorority that came to campus did a fabulous job with their colonization! At a school like Ole Miss where there is more of a logistical issue with the size of the chapters, then the goal of expansion is to keep at least the same number of women involved in greek life but decrease each chapter's size, right?

[BabyPiNK_FL]

My particular school voted for extension just before my term at PC secretary was over. We are now in the process of presentations. We needed it because quota has been in the consistent 40s with quota additions making it go into the early 50s for some chapters. One year quota was over 50. There are some chapters that are growing very large and it is getting difficult to have meetings as our school is not very accomodating when it comes to reserving meeting rooms and many can not handle the sizes all of us are approaching. We did have one chapter that was consistently below total, but they had been making leaps and bounds to improve their standing and are currently meeting total. We also knew that if necessary we would be willing to accomodate them in the event that they needed more membership even if they were over total to keep them strong during the process (but they no longer need it as far as I understand). Basically we all agreed we'd like chapter size to stay around total and stop exceeding it excessively and put extension out there. It will make our chapters stronger and give us access to better accomodations on campus.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by dukedg

I don't think that the new sorority necessarily caused this other chapter to fail, but when a chapter closes why wouldn't panhel want to wait a number of years and make sure all sororities are stabilized before trying to add a new group?

Because maybe that chapter will NEVER stablize. And Panhel really can't make the women who want to be Greek pick it...even if their combined force could revitalilze it. The women who joined the colony weren't necessarily doing it because it was an alternative to this weakest chapter....they may have been legacies, wanted the colonizing experience, etc.

I don't think new colonies kill old chapters unless the old chapter is on life support anyway. Or, as Low C Sharp said, the school vibe is such that they aren't happy unless someone's in the gutter. That's what needs to be fixed.

[UGAalum94]

To me, it would make sense to wait a couple of years after one chapter closes before you opened for expansion if any other chapters are below total.

Why not give those groups a year or two of year round COB/COR plus two formal recruitments before adding the new group? (I understand that it's not likely to help the one "bad" chapter who can't ever seem to catch up when you have that scenario, but when you've got a couple of groups or you have a group that is clearly making membership number progress, why not wait?)

And, I'll be honest, when the campus opens right up after a chapter folds, it seems a little bit in bad taste, sort of like the campus was waiting for it, "Well, now that THEY are gone. . . "