Prohibiting 1st Semester Freshmen From Pledging

[33girl]

Originally Posted by SassyPantsAGD

Western Carolina University has deferred recruitment, with the major recruitment in the Spring because 1st Semester Freshman cannot pledge.

I am now the Recruitment Advisor for my chapter and I would pay to have this done away with. The University is placed in a small town area, with the largest town with malls, dining, activities 45 miles away. I worked in various student affairs departments while a student there and I strong feel that if students were allowed to join Greek letter organizations then the retention rate of the university would increase. Many students leave the university by December of their first year. There is not a lot to do and very little to jump in and get involved in as freshman...within a few years I would love to state this case to the university since I will be working with my chapters recruitment for a while.

If there's nothing for non-Greek students to do, then there's nothing for Greeks to do either. I mean, just because you go Greek doesn't mean that you automatically get to go into a special restaurant or club or something. Especially at a small school.

[SassyPantsAGD]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If there's nothing for non-Greek students to do, then there's nothing for Greeks to do either. I mean, just because you go Greek doesn't mean that you automatically get to go into a special restaurant or club or something. Especially at a small school.

When I joined I was technically a 1st semester freshman (post secondary credits) and the experience opened me up to involvement. At a small school, giving you something to be involved in as opposed to packing your bags and going home every weekend keeps you connected with the university and more likely to stay at the campus. Its just like recruitment...you have to make a connection and give people a reason to stay...without a reason to stay you go somewhere else. For a campus where involvement is key to keeping people at the University, giving them options to stay would be more likely to encourage retention.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If there's nothing for non-Greek students to do, then there's nothing for Greeks to do either. I mean, just because you go Greek doesn't mean that you automatically get to go into a special restaurant or club or something. Especially at a small school.

Don't you have the group's parties and social events to go to?

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Don't you have the group's parties and social events to go to?

Yes, as well as philanthropic events, campus activities, new member programs, scholarship encouragement and more than anything -- a "connection" to a group of people.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Don't you have the group's parties and social events to go to?

I thought the people who were pledging only for parties and social events were not the ones we wanted to attract.

But anyway - my answer was addressing SPAGD's grousing about the "malls, dining, activities" being far away. If those are the things that the students are citing as a reason for leaving the school, changing when you can become involved with Greek life isn't going to help that. Students who do not like a small town atmosphere are not going to instantly love it just because they join a GLO.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I thought the people who were pledging only for parties and social events were not the ones we wanted to attract.

But anyway - my answer was addressing SPAGD's grousing about the "malls, dining, activities" being far away. If those are the things that the students are citing as a reason for leaving the school, changing when you can become involved with Greek life isn't going to help that. Students who do not like a small town atmosphere are not going to instantly love it just because they join a GLO.

I think you are underestimating how much an active greek system can bring to a college. I may have been mistaken in emphasizing the parties, but I think it's what kids are typically looking for, pretty much all of them, otherwise we wouldn't be categorized as social GLOs. It doesn't have to be all keggers and shots, but it's social opportunities that I think most people join for.

The groups offer a lot more than that, of course, but if the problem is a lack of fun stuff to do, then emphasizing the fun stuff is probably the way to go.

[33girl]

Well, look at a place like DePauw. It's heavily Greek and from what I understand, the non-Greek students as well are involved in other activities. But no matter how fun that is, there are STILL going to be students who do not like being in the middle of a tiny town in Indiana where they have to drive half an hour to get to a Victoria's Secret.

My point is - someone who hates a small town atmosphere that much isn't going to stay at the school just because they can pledge a Greek org a semester earlier. And if Greek life is that much of an incentive to stay around, won't the students still stay even if they know they have to wait a semester to join?

"Going Greek first semester makes a tiny campus more fun" is the flip side of "Going Greek first semester makes a big campus smaller." The campus is what it is. You can't (and shouldn't) live in a Greek bubble.

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by 33girl

My point is - someone who hates a small town atmosphere that much isn't going to stay at the school just because they can pledge a Greek org a semester earlier. And if Greek life is that much of an incentive to stay around, won't the students still stay even if they know they have to wait a semester to join?

Oh, but I think having that connection to a small group and forming close friendships definitely helps the attrition rate at many campuses.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Well, look at a place like DePauw. It's heavily Greek and from what I understand, the non-Greek students as well are involved in other activities. But no matter how fun that is, there are STILL going to be students who do not like being in the middle of a tiny town in Indiana where they have to drive half an hour to get to a Victoria's Secret.

My point is - someone who hates a small town atmosphere that much isn't going to stay at the school just because they can pledge a Greek org a semester earlier. And if Greek life is that much of an incentive to stay around, won't the students still stay even if they know they have to wait a semester to join?

"Going Greek first semester makes a tiny campus more fun" is the flip side of "Going Greek first semester makes a big campus smaller." The campus is what it is. You can't (and shouldn't) live in a Greek bubble.

I don't think anyone should live in a Greek bubble, but I think that both of the things you said are in fact true in many cases: going greek can make a tiny campus more fun (although I didn't think we were talking about the size of the campus so much as what there was to do) and going greek can make a big campus smaller. It doesn't completely change the nature of the campus, but it makes the individual experience better in a lot of a cases.

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

Oh, but I think having that connection to a small group and forming close friendships definitely helps the attrition rate at many campuses.

And I think the data bears this out. I think it's one of the reasons why campus administrators who might otherwise be anti-greek instead embrace Greek life. Schools with Greek life are thought by some to have better campus life generally and that membership in GLO is associated with many positive student traits: higher grades, more campus involvement in other areas, better alumni relationship, etc.

I think it's one of the big reasons that a lot of school previously thought of as commuter schools in Georgia look to expanding their greek system and/or it's amenities as a method to change the campus experience for students.

ETA: I don't know how much any of this is affected by changing recruitment from second to first semester, but I would think it would help. GLO membership probably does help students feel attached to the campus, and it'd be better to establish it earlier.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

Oh, but I think having that connection to a small group and forming close friendships definitely helps the attrition rate at many campuses.

You're missing my point completely.

If I would have gone to Penn State and pledged a sorority the first semester, no matter how much I loved it and the girls - I still would have had to go to classes that had 300 people in them. I still would be on a huge campus where most of the time when I walk past a person, I don't know them. I still would be at a campus with lots and lots of school spirit that is VERY focused on sports.

If I don't like those things to the point of it making me miserable, just the time I spend with my sisters isn't going to make it go away. If I'm gritting my teeth the rest of the time, is it worth it?

If you're "on the fence" then yes, maybe Greek membership will get you to stay. But at the end of the day, the school still is what it is. If it's a question of "I hate this school but I want to stay because of my sisters" your priorities are kind of screwed up. You/your parents shouldn't be paying beaucoup bucks for you to attend a school that you hate everything about except your sorority.

And if you pledged your first semester thinking that the sorority would make it all better, and didn't, and you transfer to someplace that doesn't have your group - or worse yet, has your group and you're denied affiliation - you're screwed.