Want to start a sorority

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

DrPhil, I would never presume to tell someone what NPHC life is like, but if someone says all sororities suck because of x,y and z that makes it sound like she has only considered NPC sororities, I would probably say, have you looked at NPHC, mult-cultural, non-academic, service, whatever? There are a lot of ways to have that lifetime bond that are not NPC and in no way are a consolation prize and that's exactly what I was getting at. I can imagine the crucifixion if a girl had an unsuccessful NPC rush and I said, well have you considered AKA? YIKES. But that girl who says she went through NPC rush and just didn't feel it, well that may be a time for her to consider other avenues, including NPHC.

There are other types of sororities that offer a somewhat similar experience to NPC depending on the campus, but NPHC does not fall into this category.

The oversimplified way aspirants join NPHC groups (at least, the successful ones) is to individually research them all and keep their opinions private until they decide which one to pursue (even then, it's a quiet process until she crosses or is initiated). A woman who tries to join Zeta Phi Beta at first and is unsuccessful will not have success trying to join Delta Sigma Theta. A woman would be similarly received if she pursued Alpha Kappa Alpha after going through NPC recruitment. Aspirants choose to pursue XYZ or nothing, and that includes other types of social GLOs. Aspirants may try more than once, and sometimes are accepted after the first attempt, but many will meet the reality of not being Greek, and most aspirants know that is a possibility, though the NPHC has its share of entitled snowflakes as well.

I know it sounds like the complete opposite from the "keep an open mind" mantra we preach in the NPC, and it is. I see you're trying to be inclusive by suggesting NPHC as another way to be Greek, but it does not have the effect you intend.

I'm sure there are women who aren't immediately sure if they'd like to join an NPC or NPHC sorority. I believe there was a story on GC a few years ago about a woman who went through NPC/local recruitment at NYU before becoming a Sigma Gamma Rho, but the username escapes me. Such cases are the exception. MAYBE you could convince an NPHC chapter that you went through NPC recruitment to meet people or to decide if it is for you. The truth is, if a woman is NPHC material, it won't need to be suggested to her. She will find it herself.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

There are other types of sororities that offer a somewhat similar experience to NPC depending on the campus, but NPHC does not fall into this category.

The oversimplified way aspirants join NPHC groups (at least, the successful ones) is to individually research them all and keep their opinions private until they decide which one to pursue (even then, it's a quiet process until she crosses or is initiated). A woman who tries to join Zeta Phi Beta at first and is unsuccessful will not have success trying to join Delta Sigma Theta. A woman would be similarly received if she pursued Alpha Kappa Alpha after going through NPC recruitment. Aspirants choose to pursue XYZ or nothing, and that includes other types of social GLOs. Aspirants may try more than once, and sometimes are accepted after the first attempt, but many will meet the reality of not being Greek, and most aspirants know that is a possibility, though the NPHC has its share of entitled snowflakes as well.

I know it sounds like the complete opposite from the "keep an open mind" mantra we preach in the NPC, and it is. I see you're trying to be inclusive by suggesting NPHC as another way to be Greek, but it does not have the effect you intend.

I'm sure there are women who aren't immediately sure if they'd like to join an NPC or NPHC sorority. I believe there was a story on GC a few years ago about a woman who went through NPC/local recruitment at NYU before becoming a Sigma Gamma Rho, but the username escapes me. Such cases are the exception. MAYBE you could convince an NPHC chapter that you went through NPC recruitment to meet people or to decide if it is for you. The truth is, if a woman is NPHC material, it won't need to be suggested to her. She will find it herself.

NPHC organizations very well could fit into this category and are more likely to be so on campuses where they are not the only kind of organization.

If, for example, there is a man or woman, African American, who was not raised among African Americans socially, and did first semester fall rush and for some reason just didn't fit, lost interest, whatever, it's not outside the realm of possibility that four semesters later, they could find what they're looking for in an NPHC org. There's nothing wrong with having that conversation with someone.

Campuses are changing, as are the students pursuing membership, and what may have been the norm for many of us as undergraduates may very well have been a problem.

In other words, I agree with DubaiSis.

[DrPhil]

Someone who needed to be told "have you considered Delta" needs to keep that need to themselves if they become a Delta aspirant. When I ask you "why Delta," you better not say that someone told you to give it a try because you were complaining about Greek Life or got rejected from another GLO. That goes for the collegiate and alumnae levels.

So, again, I disagree with DubaiSis (and SenusretI) if that need to be told is what she is talking about. We are not alternatives to NPC organizations and we are not second options in the sense that people who can't find their way should be told "have you tried Delta Sigma Theta?"

Researching and finding your way is how it was always done in the NPHC. Back in my parents' day of the 1950s-1960s (as well as before that and until the 1990s) a lot of people would be pledging one NPHC and end up another NPHC because the pledge process was so long. Even if that is considered "shopping around" (beyond doing research, meeting people, and attending programs), it is more understandable considering it was very difficult to get information on GLOs beyond what you saw on college campuses and at campus programs. They didn't have the Internet and other learning tools. As for times changing, yes that's what I referenced in another thread about NPHCers depledging or getting expelled and founding another GLO.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

If, for example, there is a man or woman, African American, who was not raised among African Americans socially, and did first semester fall rush and for some reason just didn't fit, lost interest, whatever, it's not outside the realm of possibility that four semesters later, they could find what they're looking for in an NPHC org. There's nothing wrong with having that conversation with someone.

I definitely see how this could work out, but I was interpretting DubaiSis' suggestion as a generic response to NPC alternatives trying to be politically correct. Maybe that wasn't her intention.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

I definitely see how this could work out, but I was interpretting DubaiSis' suggestion as a generic response to NPC alternatives trying to be politically correct. Maybe that wasn't her intention.

I agree minus the bolded.