Which Greek system would you want to join?

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

First, mass on Sunday is not a holy day of obligation

I did not say it was. I stated them as two separate events. And I'm neither Catholic (any longer) not Jewish. So I don't have a dog in that fight but I did wonder why she singled that one event out. And I think it's a fair question. What do Catholic schools do about recruitment on Sundays? I don't know but would be interested in the information.

And it could fall on a Holy Day of Obligation. For instance, August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption and January 6 (deferred recruitment folks) is Epiphany/Twelth Night.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

First, mass on Sunday is not a holy day of obligation

Sunday Mass is obligatory. It isn't called a holy day of obligation, because that would be redundant. (For example, Easter is not a HDO because it falls on a Sunday, which is always obligatory.) Some other HDOs (like Epiphany) are typically transferred to the nearest Sunday.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

No way! Let's go with "dinner with my cool older sisters."

And this is why Gusteau is so wonderfully awesome, and delightful. The non-shirt-wearing statement about UofA men is true, btw.

Originally Posted by KillarneyRose

LOL, Honey, I'm sure you would have been just fine in the SEC. I bet during your rush at Pitt they didn't know WHAT to make of you! (who is this girl with the nice manners and recs? What is a rec, anyway???)

I am willing to bet that honeychile left Pitt a much prettier, kinder, gentler place than it was when she entered.

As for the theme of this thread: I'd like to have experienced a Greek system in a place like Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, or Arkansas. Never been to any of those states. The entire Midwestern culture is very intriguing to me. OK so maybe Missouri and Arkansas aren't midwestern... but, they are kinda flat and in the middle of the country, so in my world, that equals midwest. It would be very different for this California-raised Zonie. A whole other world out there.

[AGDAlum]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

. The entire Midwestern culture is very intriguing to me. OK so maybe Missouri and Arkansas aren't midwestern... but, they are kinda flat and in the middle of the country, so in my world, that equals midwest. It would be very different for this California-raised Zonie. A whole other world out there.

Missouri is not flat. (See: Ozarks.)
In contrast, Illinois IS flat.
The Red River Valley of North Dakota/Minnesota IS flat.

I have lived in all of those places and I know whereof I speak.

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

The entire Midwestern culture is very intriguing to me. OK so maybe Missouri and Arkansas aren't midwestern... but, they are kinda flat and in the middle of the country, so in my world, that equals midwest. It would be very different for this California-raised Zonie. A whole other world out there.

Originally Posted by AGDAlum

Missouri is not flat. (See: Ozarks.)
In contrast, Illinois IS flat.
The Red River Valley of North Dakota/Minnesota IS flat.

I have lived in all of those places and I know whereof I speak.

Being from the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri, I will concur. Also, only the Mississippi Delta-area of Arkansas is flat. Western Arkansas is part of the Ozark Mountain Range with the Boston & Oauchita Mountains.

Now that I have concluded my geography lesson, I will join in the real discussion.

Although going to an SEC/Big 12/Big 10(really 14) school would be fun, I think I would prefer a smaller-ish school that has a very active Greek Life. Grand Valley in Michigan, Eastern Illinois, etc. They are still pretty big schools with pretty active Greek systems. Private schools with great Greek systems, I would pick Wabash College, Bucknell, or Lehigh.

[DGTess]

What I've learned of other/today's greek systems I've learned from GC over the years, and I can honestly say my 17-year-old self nor today's self would be willing to put up with the rush process, even at a laid-back school.

My 17-year-old self because a sorority was simply not a priority at that time, and my today self because of the structure and rules (I never heard of a green book when I was in school).

I look at the emotional turmoil people put themselves through - sometimes when it's not even their own rush - and simply cannot imagine it. I strive for empathy, but it ain't there.

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by DGTess

What I've learned of other/today's greek systems I've learned from GC over the years, and I can honestly say my 17-year-old self nor today's self would be willing to put up with the rush process, even at a laid-back school.

I agree to a point. I find the hyper-competitive recruitments endlessly fascinating, but I would not go through one nor would I actively encourage my daughter to attend a school that had a recruitment like that. The more laid-back recruitments at smaller colleges and places where Greek life is not the be all and end all of life are more my style.

I'm really thankful that all the NPC groups choose to locate on a wide variety of campuses to offer many women the opportunity to enjoy sorority sisterhood.

It would be interesting to know what percentage of national volunteers in the NPC groups come from the uber-competitive campuses and what percentage come from the others.

[NinjaPoodle]

Howard U. or Spelman.

[nyapbp]

For some reason when I was in high school on Long Island, I was sent literature from Washington and Lee. It was all male back then, but my name is Frances, and maybe the admissions office was clueless back then in the dark ages. I really wanted to go there. Purely by chance, I ended up marrying someone who graduated from W&L. However, I don't think my NY born and bred self would have done well in Lexington.

I think Northwestern would have been a school for me (if I could have picked IL off a map back then). The houses on the quad, the lakes, the city, all called to me the first time I saw them. But I am certain my 17 year-old-self would not have gone through rush back then and I would have missed the whole experience.

[AZTheta]

All right you guys, I checked and the highest elevation in the Ozarks is 2560'.

I looked at some photos (Google Images). The Ozarks are very pretty! But they look like hills to me. I live at about 1800', my view is mountains to the north of me & AZ-Alpha Xi that are ~ 8000' to 9000'... and I grew up with the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevadas as my mountain references (along with a gorgeous Golden bridge and a big honkin' ocean). It's all relative, though, and I'm sincerely really sorry I said that Missouri and Arkansas were kinda flat (even if they are kinda sorta more flat than not).

Carry on.

[Sciencewoman]

This thread is really maintaining its split personality.

I went through recruitment at Michigan. It's in September, and it's drawn out over 2 1/2 weeks. This is to avoid home football games and Jewish holidays.

If I was going to do it over again, I'd probably go to a LAC instead of a big university for undergrad. I'd go to Washington and Lee. I told my daughter that it would have been perfect for me if it had been co-ed when I was applying to college. The picture of sorority row in the admissions brochure really caught my attention. I wanted to move right in! (I met the mom of my daughter's roommate for next year...she's a Theta from another university and she admitted she felt the same way!)

[Titchou]

I see your point. I guess I'm looking at small university town - say Auburn, AL for instance. Probably not too many options for a Catholic to attend Mass...unlike St. Louis where there's a Catholic church on every corner and several Saturday vigil masses along with many Sunday times. And probably even less on Holy Days of Obligation. So, what does the observant PNM - or chapter member for that matter - do? I'm not sure that I can pass judgment on whether a Jewish High Holy Day is more important than a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation. Is that something each person decides for themselves or does the all-knowing recruitment Wizard of Oz make that decision?

Take this case - on the campus where I've been advising for over 20 years. Pref is on Sunday morning. First party at 10 and second at 11:15. Chapter has to be there at 8 AM and PNMs at 9:30. Bid Day is at 6 PM. I have a problem with this. I'm just not sure how we handle all this. It's a real conundrum to me.

[knight_shadow]

My alma mater is a very large university in the middle of one of the largest metros in the US. I've always wondered what it would have been like if I had pledged at a small liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere. We had tons of options with regard to entertainment, so there was no "forced bonding" (for lack of a better term) because of not having anything to do on campus.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Of the systems I have visited, and I have visited a few, I would probably really enjoy pledging at RPI.

[DubaiSis]

On a similar note, I'd like to be the RFM specialist (or generally chapter numbers cruncher advisor) at one of those huge rush schools. The system has changed wildly since I was in school, and while 600+ girls going through rush for 15 chapters is a lot, it's no IU or Bama, and minus RFM it was a very different animal.