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I'm afraid that Legacy/Phone Calls is not something that is touchy everywhere, it doesn't matter the chapter. One of my BFs is a Kappa and she's shared stories of phone calls about their legacies. (anonymous of course!)
Yes, there are sometimes chapters who have collegians call who still need some maturity when it comes to handling delicate news and phone calls.
But I think the biggest problem is setting expectations with the alum who think that either a) the adviser calling was personally responsible in voting or b) place WAY too much pressure on their legacy.
I was a rush/recruitment adviser for several years at a JWH chapter and thankfully only on two occasions did a phone call take a turn for the worse. and I consider myself tactful and professional.
On both occasions the mom/alumna just could not wait for their legacies to rush and they contacted us in the months leading up to it, etc. etc..
I couldn't get these particular alumnae to understand that it wasn't MY choice, it's just how the cards fell. I wasn't a horrible person that schemed to release their daughters and be unceremonious or undignified about it. All of you should know how little say alumnae have in how collegians vote. You're just there to manage the process.
The first mother was absolutely insisting to know why. I should have said that it was just how the processed worked and let it be.
The daughter was miserable at our functions and actually told the girls she didn't want to be there, and so I made the mistake of saying "She says she is more comfortable with some of the other sororities. She will probably be happier with another group of girls, it will work out for the best."
Terrible mistake. That created such a firestorm, I should not have said that. The mom called the poor daughter to dress her down for having told the girls how she felt. Then GA's are getting phone calls. We're trying to get our lists in to the office on time. It was such a disruption that consumed more time than it should have.
This mom continued to call me personally, months later to continue to rant and say that the sorority her daughter pledged is far superior and wonderful and that she's glad she didn't pledge us, etc. etc. and for YEARS she would talk about me badly to anybody who would listen.
And the second occasion was a recent alumna and was so upset about her legacy being released and I just dreaded making that phone call because I knew it was going to end up being trouble no matter what I said.
Sure enough recent alumna blew her top and even went so far as to threaten to "go find me" which thankfully did not happen.
At the end of the day, I think that this tradition of calling shows that we care about our sisters and their feelings enough to reach out to them.
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