Problems with my chapter

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by LaRues_Lady

Believe me AOII, I'd like to. Don't get me wrong, I like the advisor as a person and she is a new advisor (starting her second full year), but she knows the rules and is very easily swayed. She has two other "advisors" to help her this year, one from my pledge class who went alum last semester and one from a little bit before me who went alum last semester. Whatever they say they think is a good idea goes. She just doesn't have a backbone as an advisor; at least not yet.

One of your problems is that your advisors, whether "official" or not, are recent graduates. I am the recruitment advisor for my chapter and I just graduated 2 years ago, but everyone in my chapter was initiated after I left school. Therefore, I don't really have ties with them that might compromise my ability to set myself apart from them and advise them in an effective way.

If those girls would like to help out the chapter, that is fine. But to put them into an advisor position (whether it's official or not) immediately after graduation, when they still have friends in the chapter, is going to create problems, and they're going to take sides. And the reason they think they're always right, is because they just graduated. They were so used to having a say about everything, that they're not removed enough to understand that ANYTHING that they say can be ignored and "overruled", so to speak. Trust me, I've watched my chapter vote on things that are ridiculous, and I've had them ignore good advice that I've given to them, but it's my job to sit back, let them learn from experience, and only step in if the chapter is in real trouble.

And if your chapter advisor is easily swayed, take the other two girls out of their advisor positions, and "sway" the chapter advisor to listen to you. And I can't emphasize this enough... TALK TO YOUR ADVISOR. Have a heart-to-heart with her. You say you like her as a person, so she can't be THAT scary. Tell her your concerns, both about the way she is advising, and about the chapter in general. I guarantee that if you go over her head and go to nationals first, she'll be more pissed at you than if you talked to her directly. And if she does get mad about you voicing your concerns to her, then she probably isn't fit for that position.