Quote:
Originally Posted by one800thekiller
Dues are almost nothing at all, enough for us to provide materials for the pledging process with very little left over if any at all.
One fraternity is actually Phi Mu Alpha, but to be quite honest they are falling apart.- The other is a new Local fraternity that can't even start pledging until second semester(assuming they have the OK from pan-hel)
The college does have a large church base, but the majority of the church crowd has a very negative view on the greeks on campus.
As far as going Co-Ed...a good bit of our fraternity is still alumni driven...with this is mind, making such a large change would be nearly impossible.
On the same note, two of the sororities on campus were actually started by our fraternity, so to create a rivalry between our sister organizations...just wouldn't work
The friend block seems simple enough, and i'm working on that this semester alot....before my time we kind of narrowed our prospectives, and i guess it just takes time to broaden them again.
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Thank you for the additional info. This helps me offer more suggestions. I still have not figured out the multi-quote thing, so below is my reply in the order of your comments above,
1. Good deal on the dues. In the situation you present, I would think low dues are a good thing. My only suggestion would be to see if you could get away with adding $20 a semester or so to cover a small social event- even just dinner or bowling. Something formally organized for chapter members.
2. As to what you say about the other fraternities- this is where your status as an approved organization can help. I would suggest advertising on campus to the extent allowed, and even see if you can have a representative present during student orientation to seek members. If nothing else, maybe you guys could volunteer to help new students move into the dorms. As a recognized student organization, that could be your chance to do a little soft selling or hand out brocheres as you help freshmen move in. Your status as the only recognized fraternity can work to your benefit- find out every way you can use that to access students through the college in ways your competition cannot.
3. On the church member issue, I am surprised that church group members are not Greek-friendly since it appears that all your approved Greek organizations are either service or academics driven. I would suggest giving much thought as to why that animosity exists, and whether you would be better off moving in a new direction or finding a way to make yourself more appealing to members of church groups who- on paper at least- should be at least supportive of your mission.
4. Cool on the co-ed side. This is why I asked before firmly suggesting it. The reasons you list are very good ones to remain a male fraternal organization. Based on what you say it seems clear maintaining your current position will be better than trying to go co-ed.
5. Final suggestion- when you engage in service projects, try to get some press- be it the student or local town paper. Individual modesty is, I think, key to performing community service with the right motives- but it never hurts to make sure the organization as a whole gets some attention as that can be inspirational not only to potential members but to the community at large to get involved in the ideals you espouse.
Hope these additional ideas are helpful to you and best of luck.
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