If you could design an AI program.........

[SWTXBelle]

Also, a campus advisor is different than a chapter advisor. At my campus, all the greeks had campus advisors who might or might not be members of the GLO, and then their board of chapter advisors. A campus advisor often doesn't have to do much more than sign paperwork - at least in my experience. The chapter advisors are the ones who do the day-to-day chapter, um, advising.

[RaggedyAnn]

I speculate part of it could be that it is possible most alum groups do not have all of the ritual equipment needed, since it is such a rare occurance-but I could be wrong.

[navane]

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

I speculate part of it could be that it is possible most alum groups do not have all of the ritual equipment needed, since it is such a rare occurance-but I could be wrong.

I think that's one logistical consideration; but, I agree that it would only be a part of the reason.

I personally would feel uncomfortable if we allowed alumnae groups to just alumna initiate women at will without the permission/endorsement of a collegiate chapter.

As SWTXBelle mentioned, Gamma Phi Beta AIs have to be recommended by an alumnae chapter. However, they are also initiated under the designation a of sponsoring collegiate chapter. So, the two entities needs each other. If the alumnae chapter wants to AI someone, they have to ask nicely of the collegiate chapter....and if the collegians want to AI someone, they have to ask nicely of the alumnae chapter.

But what about the point breathesgelatin brought up? Her chapter members were confused about AI, the purpose of AI, didn't know the candidate, etc. Part of this could be alleviated by education. Though, I like what her chapter did, they trusted their alumnae sisters' judgment, based on a strong recommendation and the candidates connection to Pi Phi, and approved the request.

I'd like to think that, if my girls asked us (the alumnae chapter) to sign off on AI for a well-liked faculty member or mother of a member, etc, that we would take the time to learn why they thought she was a deserving candidate and then trust their judgment. If we didn't feel entirely comfortable, I suppose we could invite the candidate around to an event; but, at the end of the day, it would be discourteous to the collegians to not approve her.

.....Kelly

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by navane

But what about the point breathesgelatin brought up? Her chapter members were confused about AI, the purpose of AI, didn't know the candidate, etc. Part of this could be alleviated by education. Though, I like what her chapter did, they trusted their alumnae sisters' judgment, based on a strong recommendation and the candidates connection to Pi Phi, and approved the request.

.....Kelly

I think Kelly hit the nail on the head. Many Executive Offices are still not exactly sure how they want to handle AI, or just have only the basics of a program started. Because of this, most alumnae aren't sure if they should be proactive with AI or not. If a collegiate chapter needs to be involved, they are the most clueless at AI.

We all need to be educated on the Alumnae Initiation process: either told how AI works for our own GLO (ie: how rare or open it should be), or why our GLO doesn't involve itself in AI.

There are some really good reasons to develop an AI program, such as the previously stated need for Advisors on rural campuses. There are also some bad reasons to do so. Personally, I would rather know my EO's point of view prior to posting my own agenda - and the first part of this is educating ALL members, from EO down to New Members on the GLO's policy.

[tinydancer]

Originally Posted by honeychile

We all need to be educated on the Alumnae Initiation process: either told how AI works for our own GLO (ie: how rare or open it should be), or why our GLO doesn't involve itself in AI.

I agree. This could be very helpful to both the sponsors and the PNAMs. I know it would have helped a lot in my case. I had a sponsor who knows me well. She was very excited about my interest, but she had a very difficult time in getting anyone in FW to respond to her.

She played phone tag for a long time with both of us getting discouraged. A GC member of Gamma Phi suggested we contact the Dallas Alums and see if they could get the ball rolling. They were very helpful and after an appropriate time, I was initiated at SMU.

I would encourage alum groups to be educated about the process and PLEASE RETURN PHONE CALLS from ladies who want to sponsor someone.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by cutie_cat_4ever

IMO, I think organizations should request a "resume" from each potential AI, with a list of college orgs or leadership positions they have participated in the past (if they attended college). That way, you can tell who is willing to put in an effort in the sorority, and who are coming in just for the letters.

Also it would be nice to have them go through a series of interviews (like why you didn't join a sorority in college and what can you do for the chapter etc) , anywhere from an Alumni Chapter President to high ups. That way, you can effective see who is a good potential AI and who is not.

wait, so this isn't done already?

[KSigkid]

I would not want my group to have an AI program (I don't believe Kappa Sigma has anything like that in place). I see the need for special initiations every great once in a while, where the person in question has done a lot for the fraternity, or for a specific chapter. Indeed, I've seen cases where very deserving people were initiated after doing substantial work for a nearby chapter.

However, I wouldn't want the fraternity to institute a formal AI policy.

[AOEforme]

I don't really know much about AI as Alpha Ep doesn't have a formal program for it... but, I found this interesting.

On the "Parents" page for a collegiate AOII Chapter:

"Mothers: Would you like to be a member of AOII?
Membership is available to mothers of AOII's who are not initiated members of another NPC organization. Mothers and daughters have always enjoyed the special closeness of being involved in AOII. You can find an application and more information about our Alumnae Initiate program on our international web site."

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AOEforme

I don't really know much about AI as Alpha Ep doesn't have a formal program for it... but, I found this interesting.

On the "Parents" page for a collegiate AOII Chapter:

"Mothers: Would you like to be a member of AOII?
Membership is available to mothers of AOII's who are not initiated members of another NPC organization. Mothers and daughters have always enjoyed the special closeness of being involved in AOII. You can find an application and more information about our Alumnae Initiate program on our international web site."

I know that my sorority has initiated member moms. It's typically offered to member moms who have helped us out since their daughter joined. We initiated our chapter president's mom during her daughter's senior year. She wasn't a "helicopter mom" or anything, but when she knew that we needed something, she volunteered. For example, when we moved into our house and needed people to paint over the weekend, she came, she would drop off little treats for us, and even helped pull weeds in our yard.

What I notice with these types of "mom initiation programs" though, most moms (in my experience) are helping out because they are the type of person who helps out with stuff their daughter is involved in. They aren't necessarily like "OMG I wanna help so I can AI." Any mom that has ever been initiated via my chapter didn't even know this existed until they were approached by the alumna chapter ladies about it.

I wonder if the "market" created for AI recently is going to change these sorts of programs, and if we'll start to get moms who want to help specifically with the goal of getting initiated (and if that in turn is going to cause sororities to stop these sort of honors)? Thoughts?

[RaggedyAnn]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I wonder if the "market" created for AI recently is going to change these sorts of programs, and if we'll start to get moms who want to help specifically with the goal of getting initiated (and if that in turn is going to cause sororities to stop these sort of honors)? Thoughts?

Only one thought-that would be pretty scary. Talk about living your life through your daughter! That's really the flip side of the coin.