At long last, here it is!
First of all: my thanks once again to all the ladies who took their time and effort to respond to this. I know it's a delicate subject, and perhaps not the most easy to deal with. Thank you all for your courtesy and consideration. My special thanks to Zeta Ace, who cheered me on!
It's said that great minds think alike - and it certainly shows in the similarity of ideas in everyone's responses. Here are some of the ideas:
(1) Make it extremely clear earl in rush, in no uncertain terms, exactly who and what you are (ie. a *social* sorority, not honorary or professional), thus eliminating the chance of a mix-up, and allowing rushees to remove themselves from our rush without incident.
(2) Ask a general question about a rushee's interest in other GLOs (such as "Are you interested in going through formal rush?" or "Are you interested in an NPHC sorority?")...this eliminates a breach of discretion, as well as giving us an idea of a rushee's interest.
(3) Have 2 different info meetings, one at the beginning and end of rush. The first one would be introductory and informal; the second would be more formal. A good way to determine real interest on a rushee's part would be to observe their *consistent* attendance at these and other events.
(4) Ask a different sort of question: "Are you interested in the goals and ideal of Alpha Sigma Kappa," or "Tell me why you're interested in Alpha Sigma Kappa," as opposed to "Are you interested in another sorority."
(5) Take a critical look at the rush structure, and ensure that the events/info. meetings are structured to maximize everyone's benefit: us for finding out about rushees, and vice versa.
Give those who may have mistaken A.S.K. for an honorary or professional org. the chance to find out up front that we are, in fact, social.
(6) Above all else, remember that this will not eliminate misunderstandings 100%...and sometimes it's not anything that could've been prevented. The example given was that a young woman was on line for ABC, dropped out, and a year later was on line for XYZ...not aboveboard, but it happened. (Actually...it happened to us too, but that's another discussion for another thread! )
My comments on these suggestions:
(1) Excellent idea! We did exactly that, even as far back as that rush (this was a couple years ago). I think the lapse in communication occured because we were so new nationally, and especially on campus. It's not an issue anymore.
(2) I like this suggestion! I think it's acceptable to ask general question about one's general aspirations...I don't think it's compromising to say "Yes, I'm keeping my options open and looking at several GLOs." I don't think it's right to ask which other GLOs a young lady is interested in, or for a prospective to divulge that (whether we're talking about interest in a
BGLO or not)....I think it's rather tacky, actually...and it's insulting to the GLO that's hosting the event.
(3) This is an interesting idea! We've had info meetings before...I don't know if we've ever used the two-pronged approach to informationals, however. It's worth a shot!
(4) I like this idea too! I think we do this already, though perhaps the question is not asked directly.
(5) This idea dovetails neatly with #3, methinks. Our rush is ever evolving (as I think it needs to be for a new GLO or chapter, there's no way to know what structure will suit your goals/ideals, as well as your campus), and could always be improved.
(6) A great point, and thanks to Shel for the gentle reminder. We're human, not perfect, and honest mistakes do happen. I do understand that, and I absolutely no ill will to the young ladies in question...truth be known, I have classes with a couple of the ladies, and a couple others and I share major...so I see them daily, for homework groups, or project groups...I've been to a couple of events (social and philanthropic) that respective sisterhoods have hosted, and a fun time was had by all!
Thanks once again to all of you, sister-friends!
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equeen
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies
"...if we want to make deserts bloom, we can do it!" -- Eleanor Roosevelt
ERIN GO BRAUGH!
[This message has been edited by equeen (edited June 26, 2000).]
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