New to the site - looking to start a local and need help!

[xxstardust]

Ree, thank you so much for your advice and your support - knowing that everyone I've spoken to GC is so support is so great and I love to see that we're not all alone in this!

"Diversity" is a big buzz word on our campus this year, and administration is looking at us a little more positively right now then I think they would have in the past because their goal is to increase the level of diversity on our (in the past, largely homogeneous) campus.

We've also been doing a lot of research on retention rates, which is something I think will absolutely help to bolster our case. Retention rates have traditionally been on the lower side at my university, and the statistical rise in retention among Greek students as opposed to non-Greeks I think will definitely be attractive to our administration.

Your comment about respect is one that really hits home for me today and thank you so much for the reminder in that respect. I work in a computer lab on campus and one of the full-time (non-student) employees is an alumni, who I've always been quite friendly with. When he heard about the movement on campus towards Greek life, and knew I was taking an active role in it, he became very cold .. I think the comment he made was that "groups like that would ruin [our campus], and I don't know anyone here who'd want to be a part of that." It really stung, and it took a lot for me to stay positive and pleasant in the conversation (lucky my shift was ending so I could bow out gracefully rather quickly and only let my mom hear my anger!!). Thank you for the positive reminder to also strive to treat everyone I come into contact with with respect, even when they don't do the same for me. I needed it today!

I've been going through threads about colonization, trying to get a feel for exactly how it works so that I'm more knowledgeable about it when the time comes to go before the administration, and when it hopefully comes time for it to actually happen! I'm having trouble finding threads that deal with colonization at a school that has no Greek life at all, and I'm curious how quotas/bids would work when we have no Greek life at all to form a quota against, but quite a large number of girls interested (88 at last count just to my knowledge, and the girls in charge of the NPHC side of things also have a seperate running tally!) They're varied across classes, but I don't know if we could sustain a group that large past colonization. Also, how does having only one organization work on a campus? Would colonizing more than one, to accomodate the very large number of interested women and disproportionately small campus size?

I'm very confused as how to this process works - I've looked up NPC regulations, but it's hard to translate the official, very structured process on paper into the real life situation.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by xxstardust

Ree, thank you so much for your advice and your support - knowing that everyone I've spoken to GC is so support is so great and I love to see that we're not all alone in this!

"Diversity" is a big buzz word on our campus this year, and administration is looking at us a little more positively right now then I think they would have in the past because their goal is to increase the level of diversity on our (in the past, largely homogeneous) campus.

We've also been doing a lot of research on retention rates, which is something I think will absolutely help to bolster our case. Retention rates have traditionally been on the lower side at my university, and the statistical rise in retention among Greek students as opposed to non-Greeks I think will definitely be attractive to our administration.

Your comment about respect is one that really hits home for me today and thank you so much for the reminder in that respect. I work in a computer lab on campus and one of the full-time (non-student) employees is an alumni, who I've always been quite friendly with. When he heard about the movement on campus towards Greek life, and knew I was taking an active role in it, he became very cold .. I think the comment he made was that "groups like that would ruin [our campus], and I don't know anyone here who'd want to be a part of that." It really stung, and it took a lot for me to stay positive and pleasant in the conversation (lucky my shift was ending so I could bow out gracefully rather quickly and only let my mom hear my anger!!). Thank you for the positive reminder to also strive to treat everyone I come into contact with with respect, even when they don't do the same for me. I needed it today!

I've been going through threads about colonization, trying to get a feel for exactly how it works so that I'm more knowledgeable about it when the time comes to go before the administration, and when it hopefully comes time for it to actually happen! I'm having trouble finding threads that deal with colonization at a school that has no Greek life at all, and I'm curious how quotas/bids would work when we have no Greek life at all to form a quota against, but quite a large number of girls interested (88 at last count just to my knowledge, and the girls in charge of the NPHC side of things also have a seperate running tally!) They're varied across classes, but I don't know if we could sustain a group that large past colonization. Also, how does having only one organization work on a campus? Would colonizing more than one, to accomodate the very large number of interested women and disproportionately small campus size?

I'm very confused as how to this process works - I've looked up NPC regulations, but it's hard to translate the official, very structured process on paper into the real life situation.

As I said earlier, I was undergrad and am alumna of both Gamma Sigma Sigma (Service sorority) and a pledge and now alumna member of Alpha Xi Delta (NPC). (I went to two different schools). Recruitment for both were very different.

In AXiD, at the time there were 3 other NPCs on campus, there were quotas, which also effected whether or not there were COB/other semester rush/recruitment (either not enough girls were extended/accepted bids, or pledges dropping out before initiation, or not making grades and having to pledge another semester). FYI pledges are now called "New Members". Each "house" or "chapter" on campus makes decisions based on their group's national standards for membership selection. This information is secret and only privy to initiated members. The campus Panhellenic helps set quotas (based on various reasons - some of which are not necessarily for public consumption, but others which might include a campus with houses that can only accept as many girls as there are empty beds for).

Because you are not gong to be NPC (at least now), you may not have to worry about quotas and limits. However, your campus may have regulations on class/member size, so that is something to make sure you find out. BUT you DO need to be able to scale every process/event/etc. to a bigger or smaller than originally thought candidate class. Example - If there are 16 members now and 60 interested women, think about how you would be able to handle if even only half of them wanted to become members. Each active would have 2 littles (if you have that program). But, the following year, you'd have 46 girls. Remember that even if 60 or 80 people are interested now, many will change their minds before/during recruitment and even on "bid" or "acceptance" day, and some may drop during pledging.

With GSS, there is a non-discrimination clause (though Members In Training must reach specific goals and policies to be initiated), and essentially, not a "quota", max or minimum number of class/chapter size (though particular chapters may prefer to keep the chapter a certain size). HOWEVER, there are differences in running a bigger vs smaller sized chapter (doubling up on positions, smaller projects, etc.). We were the only sorority on campus at that time, in additon to co-ed Alpha Phi Omega, another national service group (though the two do not have a formal relationship, on many campuses, they both exist).

My advice at this point is to work on your policies, practices, and procedures. Know your different "reasons to exist" - be it your motto, something in common, etc. This will help you attract girls from different backgrounds or interests, who might be successful members because they are in a similar field of study, agree with your standards (ex: academics, equality, diversity, service).

Many groups have secret handshakes to identify other members they don't know, knocks to enter meetings, etc. think about your symbols and possible pins or other memorabilia.

Come up with meeting procedures (I suggest following Robert's Rules of Order), how to operate a business meeting vs. an event planning meeting, elected positions, committees to support events and processes, a recruitment process (do you vote? what are the cut offs for GPA?), a BID DAY plan, a pledge process (do they learn your chapter's history? do service or hold community events? are they required to attend meetings?), ceremonies/rituals (Bid/induction, initiation, founders day).

Having a lot of this done before you have an official rush will help establish your legitimacy - that is, the things that many girls think of when they think "sorority".

[xxstardust]

Well, to be honest if we are a local sorority without a Greek life system on our campus, we wouldn't be allowed to give out bids. We can have a "rush week" of activities to see who's interested, but in order to be recognized, we must take absolutely everyone who wants to join.

Because of the way our club/organization system is set up (or, at the moment, NOT set up - it's in the process of being overhauled and rules are changing drastically in terms of what clubs can and can not do), we've been advised by the director of ResLife that we may be significantly better off to not go through the student activities approval process, to remain an unrecognized group of students who are interested in Greek life while those of us who are working to get Greek life approved get that process in order, and colonize a national group when that time comes. It's trickled down that the administrators may be more accepting of national groups because of the idea that there are more people watching over what we do, insurance, risk management, etc.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by xxstardust

Well, to be honest if we are a local sorority without a Greek life system on our campus, we wouldn't be allowed to give out bids. We can have a "rush week" of activities to see who's interested, but in order to be recognized, we must take absolutely everyone who wants to join.

Because of the way our club/organization system is set up (or, at the moment, NOT set up - it's in the process of being overhauled and rules are changing drastically in terms of what clubs can and can not do), we've been advised by the director of ResLife that we may be significantly better off to not go through the student activities approval process, to remain an unrecognized group of students who are interested in Greek life while those of us who are working to get Greek life approved get that process in order, and colonize a national group when that time comes. It's trickled down that the administrators may be more accepting of national groups because of the idea that there are more people watching over what we do, insurance, risk management, etc.

Just because you might have to accept every interested person, you CAN set up standards that New Members/Members in Training must adhere to, in order to be initiated. This can weed out people who aren't willing to do the work required to sustain the organization.

This can be learning creeds, history, passing a written test, maintaining GPA, performing study or service hours, attendence at meetings, etc. Just be careful that any requirements that exist support your reason for existing/motto or values/etc., and that they do not humiliate or draw unwanted attention to the pledges/new members/Members in training (ie. scavenger hunts, performing seductive dances for boys, having to interview actives - something that often creates an atmosphere of having to "earn" the interview/signature). For a better list of what might constitute hazing, a google search can come up with a list and examples and explanations as to how the activity is considered hazing or harmful mentally/emotionally/physically.

[xxstardust]

As ridiculous as it sounds, any group listed as a club really CAN'T do any of those things. We could choose not to initiate them, but we can't tell them that if they aren't initiated they can't come to meetings or events, unless we simply don't tell them they're happening.

We've been working with our adviser about progressing towards a meeting with the deans. They've been very positive and supportive of our efforts when our adviser met with them himself, and we've got a meeting tentative scheduled for the week of 10/12. We've also got a Meet the Greeks event scheduled for 10/9, which is SO soon, but we didn't have much say in the date. The group working with the NPHC fraternities/sororities is planning/sponsoring it and already set the date, but has invited us to collaborate. So we have to work VERY quickly to invite representatives from chapters at nearby colleges to come and represent their organization to our campus! I know of at least a few who will definitely come because I have friends in the organization, but the time crunch still makes me nervous. If anyone is a member/knows a member of an NJ chapter of any group, or an NY/PA group that's close to NJ, and would be interested in coming please let me know!