Less popular sororities

[SWTXBelle]

Let me throw this out there - what do you think is the most important component for a successful turn-around? Alumnae advisors, chapter officers, HQ involvement - what?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Let me throw this out there - what do you think is the most important component for a successful turn-around? Alumnae advisors, chapter officers, HQ involvement - what?

This is so much better a question. I haven't seen enough turn arounds to say, but I am eager to read the answers.

[ComradesTrue]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Let me throw this out there - what do you think is the most important component for a successful turn-around? Alumnae advisors, chapter officers, HQ involvement - what?

I think alumnae advisors who weren't actives on the current campus bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas can have a tremendous impact.

It is so easy for chapters to get into the "we've always done it this way" mindset, and not realize what needs to change in their rush (better conversation, better ability to "sell" themselves, new skit ideas, etc). Sometimes groups need to be awakened to their way isn't the only way, as they may not even be aware of other ways to do things.

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Let me throw this out there - what do you think is the most important component for a successful turn-around? Alumnae advisors, chapter officers, HQ involvement - what?

If it is a numbers issue, not bidding anyone or everyone. All it takes is the element of questionable behavior, grades, or risk management issues to make things a lot worse. Not only can it mess up reputation and other issues, but if these new members are particularly heinous, older members who are not problems may bail because of it. Sure you may have made quota, but those women may also be your downfall.

Also advisors and collegiate officers need to be willing to get rid of problem people. I don't mean in the DePauw way but if there is a member putting pictures of herself snorting coke off random fratties while in a lettered thong all over Facebook, she doesn't participate, and her grades suck, better to drop her fast and not worry about one person as a number. She could actually be causing more problems and driving potential members away.

[gee_ess]

I agree with strong alumnae involvement - fresh ideas, new ways of thinking. Encouraging and funding for members to become involved in national leadership institutes, national and regional conventions, etc can also be a help.

From a real life perspective, I have also seen a really positive turnaround occur when the house becomes super involved and visible on campus - showing up en masse at pep rallies, blood drives, etc. This is impressive and shows commitment, pride, enthusiasm for their sorority. It makes people say, "wow, those girls are really a closeknit group. They must not be as bad (weak) as I thought. I want what they have."

And, I apologize for letting the negative comments get to me so much that I chimed in...I usually just sit back and watch. I guess it just hit too close to home...

[em_adpi]

Originally Posted by gee_ess

I agree with strong alumnae involvement - fresh ideas, new ways of thinking. Encouraging and funding for members to become involved in national leadership institutes, national and regional conventions, etc can also be a help.

From a real life perspective, I have also seen a really positive turnaround occur when the house becomes super involved and visible on campus - showing up en masse at pep rallies, blood drives, etc. This is impressive and shows commitment, pride, enthusiasm for their sorority. It makes people say, "wow, those girls are really a closeknit group. They must not be as bad (weak) as I thought. I want what they have."

And, I apologize for letting the negative comments get to me so much that I chimed in...I usually just sit back and watch. I guess it just hit too close to home...

DITTO to a T. While alums are important, the school sees the chapter members and their actions. I think it's up to the chapter to be involved in order to turn around a bad reputation.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Let me throw this out there - what do you think is the most important component for a successful turn-around? Alumnae advisors, chapter officers, HQ involvement - what?

Support from the campus - a Greek system that wants all the chapters to be at the best they can, not one that delights in having a "bottom chapter" or two to pick on.

This is far more important that anything else, IMO. Even if one chapter does manage to "turn around" by taking a great pledge class or getting more involved on campus, it just means another chapter will go to the bottom and the cycle will start all over again.

Alumnae, advisors and HQ can be beneficial if they 1) offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and 2) don't try to make the chapter into something it's not. It is possible to improve your reputation without compromising your standards.

[bejazd]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Let me throw this out there - what do you think is the most important component for a successful turn-around? Alumnae advisors, chapter officers, HQ involvement - what?

A well trained, dedicated alumna advisor who connects with the chapter but knows that her role is to advise, not re-live her collegiate experience is invaluable to any solid chapter. Support from HQ and input from consultants are also important parts of the recipe.

But in order to have a real turnaround, you have to have a core group of women within the chapter who decide that they will take responsibility for their own chapter's success: they must decide that they will not let anyone else define them.

It comes down to a real lesson in personal responsibilty and understanding that every area of chapter life (scholarship, finances, risk management, creative and meaningful programming, social experiences and sisterhood) all matter. The national officers, supportive alums, an enthusiastic advisor and the consultants are great, but they aren't going to represent the chapter for you 24/7, 365 days a year. That's up to the actual chapter members to do for themselves.

[SWTXBelle]

Although I wouldn't wish it on any chapter - I'd love for them all to be thriving - I think actives who are able to turn a chapter around gain some invaluable insight and experience on all kinds of levels.

[honeychile]

One of the best phrases I've ever learned in life is "You gotta wanna." I can remember when (after I graduated) my chapter took only one new member in Formal Recruitment. They had so much going for them, but somehow, it wasn't enough. I remember looking at the faces of the PNMs during Pref thinking, "uh, oh..."

So, Bid Day came, and after comforting everyone, a few of us were rehashing things on the way home when one said, "Well, they're masters of their own destiny now." It got back to them, and they decided that they WERE going to change their chapter around! They were able to take a few women via COB, but the next Formal Recruitment, they took half of quota, then still worked at COB, then the next, they did better, etc - until they now have gone three years of Total, and won our International Chapter Improvement Award.

Okay, lots of great words, but the bottom line comes back to:
1) What does the chapter want out of being in a sorority?
2) What are they willing to do to get there - do they want it badly enough?
and
3) What could we do to help?

If the chapter doesn't want to improve badly enough, you need to get those people graduated, and start with some women who are excited about it!

[HDL66]

Originally Posted by bejazd

But in order to have a real turnaround, you have to have a core group of women within the chapter who decide that they will take responsibility for their own chapter's success: they must decide that they will not let anyone else define them.

I agree with this, but colleges that primarily draw from concentrated areas have an additional challenge. The university that I am familiar with draws the lion's share of PNMs from two metropolitan areas. Everyone knows who the homecoming queens, cheerleaders, and other "popular girls" in those cities' high schools were. PNMs almost invariably want to pledge the houses that those identified upperclassmen are in. Even if middle/lower tier house does a great job during rush, not having the "popular girls" from the big high schools as actives is a tough hurdle to get over.

[bejazd]

HDL.....I agree that's a real issue on some, but not all campuses. Which is why sadly not all struggling chapters can be saved. Going way way back to the start of this discussion someone said "less popular sororities. happens on every campus. sucks." so I'm trying to direct my thoughts to the broadest range of situations.

I am hopefully optimistic that we as NPC women are capable of controlling our own destinies and valuing what lifetime membership has to offer us...on a little deeper and more mature level than say, where many of us were at socially in middle school or high school.

[RushLeader08]

if these girls would just act like nothing is wrong then no one will think anything is wrong!!!

[UGAalum94]

EW, I think that it's cool that the chapters rush each other during spirit week and that could go along way towards building relationships between sororities.

The only "struggling" chapter that I know of that went from struggling to completely consistently solid was at the stage where they were getting assistance from their national organization during recruitment when I went through rush because they were maybe half the size of other chapters and having difficulty with numbers.

It took a little less than a decade; it wasn't any kind of immediate change, but I can remember being out of school a few years and learning that not only were they no longer struggling with not making quota or low numbers, but that they were pledging girls who also preffed groups that had traditionally been much stronger.

Today they are a completely solid and well regarded chapter. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how they did it. I think it was first great alumnae and support from the GLO itself, which is nationally a strong and well regarded group. The girls were working really hard even back when I rushed. You could tell that they were doing everything they could to have the best rush. The next stage probably involved a little help from the UGA HOPE grant because it meant more girls from more areas were going to UGA. (which meant they could break away from only having to recruit people with a sense of "tradition" and/or the "everyone knows that XYZ is for homecoming queens" mentally that someone correctly noted above).

I really wish I knew more about how they did it.