Improving Sorority Reputation?

[33girl]

Doesn't DZ have a policy that every member must be involved in at least one other activity on campus? If this isn't being enforced, start doing so ASAP - and make sure that women know working at McDonald's off campus DOESN'T count.

I agree w/ Drolefille...you're making this a lot more difficult than it is. Do I think it's ridiculous when women pay tons of $$ to be in a sorority and then don't go to anything other than chapter meetings and rituals? Yes. But that doesn't mean they aren't making connections, aren't a great big sister to their little (who may be a one woman party and appreciates her big's calmness) and don't have areas in which they could shine IF someone looked further than "oh, Erica who never goes to mixers."

The "ideal PNM" concept can be good, but it can also be a gateway for cliquiness and backbiting so I'd tread really lightly and use it as a guideline rather than a hard and fast rule. So many reasons of why you choose one woman over another are intangible - and there can be girls who look great on paper but will be horrible members.

[DeltaZeta09]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Doesn't DZ have a policy that every member must be involved in at least one other activity on campus? If this isn't being enforced, start doing so ASAP - and make sure that women know working at McDonald's off campus DOESN'T count.

I agree w/ Drolefille...you're making this a lot more difficult than it is. Do I think it's ridiculous when women pay tons of $$ to be in a sorority and then don't go to anything other than chapter meetings and rituals? Yes. But that doesn't mean they aren't making connections, aren't a great big sister to their little (who may be a one woman party and appreciates her big's calmness) and don't have areas in which they could shine IF someone looked further than "oh, Erica who never goes to mixers."

The "ideal PNM" concept can be good, but it can also be a gateway for cliquiness and backbiting so I'd tread really lightly and use it as a guideline rather than a hard and fast rule. So many reasons of why you choose one woman over another are intangible - and there can be girls who look great on paper but will be horrible members.

That's great advice. I apologize for going in circles, I just didn't want to sound blunt but concise probably would have been better.

I agree that some of girls that do not go to mixers are great members. We have some members who don't get into socials but love helping out with academics. My only problem is when girls aren't going to service projects other greeks host. I think we're gonna try to emphasize that service projects are part of the greek community and our chapter has to be involved in those. Otherwise, perhaps make them mandatory. And I agree that we don't want to stick so much to an ideal that we have a "if you don't fit it, you're out" attitude. I basically just want our sisters to have a basic idea of characteristics we need/want from PNMs (that we agree on as a chapter) so that while every girl in our chapter doesn't meet each girl, we're all finding girls that we've agreed we would enjoy in our chapter

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DeltaZeta09

That's great advice. I apologize for going in circles, I just didn't want to sound blunt but concise probably would have been better.

I agree that some of girls that do not go to mixers are great members. We have some members who don't get into socials but love helping out with academics. My only problem is when girls aren't going to service projects other greeks host. I think we're gonna try to emphasize that service projects are part of the greek community and our chapter has to be involved in those. Otherwise, perhaps make them mandatory. And I agree that we don't want to stick so much to an ideal that we have a "if you don't fit it, you're out" attitude. I basically just want our sisters to have a basic idea of characteristics we need/want from PNMs (that we agree on as a chapter) so that while every girl in our chapter doesn't meet each girl, we're all finding girls that we've agreed we would enjoy in our chapter

Those kind of specifics are impossible to ferret out during recruitment. Those are the kind of things you address during the new member education program so that members know what is expected of them before they get initiated.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DeltaZeta09

My only problem is when girls aren't going to service projects other greeks host. I think we're gonna try to emphasize that service projects are part of the greek community and our chapter has to be involved in those. Otherwise, perhaps make them mandatory.

I totally understand this. It makes you look so bad when you don't show up at these things. We actually didn't do Greek Olympics one year because so many of the senior (and other) sisters were on a band trip and the rest of the seniors were just "over all that." We didn't have enough women for all the events so we just didn't participate. It was so embarassing.