Southern Mississippi: Diversity in NPC Sororities

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I haven't weighed in on the NPHC Rho Chis, so I will. Honestly, the paths to membership are so different that I would think that it's weird. Of course, NPC rush has so many rules that if a person is capable of learning the rules without bias for her own group, then perhaps that person may be an excellent Rho Chi.

OK, I just realized that I really don't have an opinion on this issue. It is weird because recruitment vs. intake is so different, but if that's what they want to do, then whatever.

My school allowed women who had joined through COB to be Rho Chis. I don't see how NPHC-affiliated women are any different. Neither have gone through formal rush.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

My school allowed women who had joined through COB to be Rho Chis. I don't see how NPHC-affiliated women are any different. Neither have gone through formal rush.

Whether COB or formal rush, the person is an NPCer.

Maybe I need a refresher course on what the purpose of a Rho Chi is.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Whether COB or formal rush, the person is an NPCer.

Maybe I need a refresher course on what the purpose of a Rho Chi is.

IMO, a good Rho Chi does three things well:

1) Counsels women who are disappointed when then get a schedule they aren't expecting or have trouble making choices, etc.

2) Explains the rules of FR clearly and correctly to the PNM.

3) Knows the rules of FR and keeps her eyes open for refractions.

I don't think that a women who joins through COB can do #1 any better than someone who is not an NPC'er. If you've never been through FR as a PNM, you can not know what it is like to go through FR as a PNM. I would even take it a step further, and say that a woman who had a generally happy and successful recruitment can not know what it is like to be a PNM who gets only one invite back after the first round.

I would argue that, in many situations, neutrality helps with counseling PNM's. If you are a member of XYZ, and a PNM comes to you saying she just can't decide between ABC and XYZ, you can not really be impartial, as much as you'd like to be. Also, you just might let the fact that Pattie PNM is not a sure thing slip to the members of your chapter participating in membership selection.

As for #2, many women who have been through FR do this poorly, and we've talked many times about the need for better Rho Chi training. The fact is, though, the average member who may become a Rho Chi likely has no more knowledge of the complicated rules than someone who has not been in an NPC group.

And #3, again, a non-NPC woman could arguably be more fair in keeping her eyes open and/or reporting violations once she has learned the rules in Rho Chi training.

So, if you consider these the most important duties of a Rho Chi, there is no reason to think that an NPHC woman couldn't do them just as well as an NPC member.

Of course, I am talking about my experience on a big campus, where FR was, unfortunately, pretty adversarial among NPC groups. I think that, on other campuses, it may be more important for Rho Chis need to do more stuff like "promote NPC recruitment, generally", in which case, NPHC women would not be the appropriate people to do that.

Certainly, I don't think NPHC women should be obligated to help out with FR just because they are members of the CPH or anything, but I also think that non-NPC women can be very valuable to the FR process on some campuses.