Little Chapter, Big Recruitment: Spring 2009

[silverpearls]

I'm sorry to keep you all in suspense!! I want to know as much as you do!!

Things have been going pretty well with the New Members we have. It's crazy this year trying to keep track of them all... we've never had so many and we're about to get a lot more, so we're struggling with trying to have everybody get to know each other. This has never been a problem for our chapter before since we've always been so teeny!

Our chapter right now is the biggest we've ever been. We're having a lot of sister/NM socials to try to get everybody to get to know each other, but obviously there are still a lot of New Members (and some sisters!) who don't know everybody's names. I know we'll get there as the semester progresses, but right now it feels really weird.

One of my fears for our chapter is that we'll someday end up too big - I know that's the least of our worries right now, but there are some chapters on my campus with nearly 200 girls, and none of them know each other! PNMs want to get in because 1) the chapter has a huge presence and they see the sisters around a lot, and 2) because they want the prestige of wearing the letters. But after they join a lot of times they're unhappy with how impersonal it is. In fact, several girls in our new pledge class pledged one of the big top chapters last year and dropped out because they didn't like it. I really don't want Venus to go that route. We've always been known as the small chapter with friendly, approachable girls who are all friends with each other. Granted, we've been called a lot of bad things, too (ugly, fat, awkward, loser-ish, etc.). But we've always been a close-knit chapter and now that our growth is starting to take off, I worry that we'll lose that sense of community as sisters form groups.

Bottom line, I guess, is that I don't want us to lose our identity and our sisterhood in the quest for numbers, or the pressure to make quota and chapter total. It never seemed like a possibility before, but if we get 14 girls tomorrow and make quota, we'll be very close to making chapter total. How crazy is that?? To the other chapters it isn't a huge deal - they've all been wayyy over chapter total (by like 50ish people) for years. But we've never even gotten close.

Ok, well, I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how things go! Fingers crossed for a great batch of baby Venuses!

[AGDee]

I wish your chapter all the luck in the world. It's very exciting to see a chapter grow like this. My own chapter did this shortly after I joined. We actually doubled our chapter size in one semester so some people had to double up on sister-daughters (myself included) because a few couldn't/didn't want to do it. There *are* growing pains when you bring a large group, but they are good growing pains. It primarily deals with the newest members having new ideas about how things could be done and older members wanting to do it just the way they always did. Down the road though, everything becomes less work because you have more people to do it all!

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by silverpearls

To the other chapters it isn't a huge deal - they've all been wayyy over chapter total (by like 50ish people) for years. But we've never even gotten close.

Ok, well, I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how things go! Fingers crossed for a great batch of baby Venuses!

Out of curiosity and to anyone who might be willing to answer, how can a chapter be 50 members above total? I thought total was a cap? It seems unethical for a campus panhellenic (or whoever decides) to allow that.

[ComradesTrue]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Out of curiosity and to anyone who might be willing to answer, how can a chapter be 50 members above total? I thought total was a cap? It seems unethical for a campus panhellenic (or whoever decides) to allow that.

No matter how many members a chapter has, they are allowed to take a full quota in formal recruitment. It sounds like the chapter in questions was 10 or so women over total prior to recruitment, and then they took a class of 40ish. (can't remember what quota was at this school, and am too tired to dig back through several pages).

[AZ-AlphaXi]

Normally, a chapter can always pledge quota even if that takes the chapter above (even way above) total.

so if quota is 60 and a chapter is 10 below total at formal recruitment time then they will, if they take quota, be 50 members above total.

[preciousjeni]

After all these threads, I thought I understood. I'm sure y'all are tired of answering questions like these, buuuut, I gotta ask. So, total isn't a cap? Is it the number that all chapters should be expected to be at membership-wise. So, if a chapter is consistently below total, it's struggling and if all chapters keep going above total, it might be time to expand?

[SigKapSweetie]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

After all these threads, I thought I understood. I'm sure y'all are tired of answering questions like these, buuuut, I gotta ask. So, total isn't a cap? Is it the number that all chapters should be expected to be at membership-wise. So, if a chapter is consistently below total, it's struggling and if all chapters keep going above total, it might be time to expand?

Exactly right!

ETA: Total can be used as a cap for chapters participating in informal recruitment - chapters below total cannot COB past total. However, formal recruitment is a whole different animal, and chapters surpass total in formal recruitment all the time.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by SigKapSweetie

Exactly right!

Thanks!