Where to go for recruitment advice

[Sciencewoman]

Frankly, anyone who has time to post in a thread that asks you to "substitute a word with bacon," has time to answer a recruitment question that's been asked many times before!

It has been slow around here. I know what I'd rather do...answer the recruitment questions and be nice to 18-year-olds...if I'm on here, I'm interested in reading their posts and questions (as well as referring PNMs to the helpful, stickied threads).

[carnation]

The PNMs are already starting to come to Greekchat. They have more sense than they did, say 5 years ago, than to post, "Hi, I'm from a tiny town in New Hampshire and I'm rushing at Georgia. I have this pref dress (see photo) and does it look good with my red hair? And by the way, there are only 6 sororities there that I would really consider."

Girls, I hope you're reading and taking in the info but staying incognito!

[iamamom]

May I pipe in? I'm surprised you don't get it. Y'all can be REALLY nasty to newbies who really know nothing about recruitment. And most girls don't want to become known before going into it. I've seen posters ridiculed and have their posts torn to bits. I barely come here at all now once I read the stickied threads.

[carnation]

She's right and I've been telling y'all this for years. It's wrong to pile on someone who's been heavily cut and rant at her that if she drops out, she'll have lost her only chance to be Greek. If someone says, "I didn't click with XYZ", take her at her word and don't attack her for being elitist.

Etc.

Recruitment is such an emotional time, especially if everyone around you has been discussing it for years and then when it finally comes, you're getting cut right and left and these gorgeous PNMs around you have their choice of parties that you wanted to go to. A lot of Panhellenic booklets make it seem like the PNM will be the chooser. Maybe after she's been cut from 12 out of 14 sororities, she'll get to choose between the last 2.

Let's stand back and let them make their choices and not go after them.

[AnchorAlumna]

YESSS!!
About this time of year, I get SO tired of the same questions, over and over again. Even on Facebook, where you can scroll down and read questions and answers! I'm on a page for freshman girls going through recruitment for a particular school, and a girl will ask the same question that has just been asked and answered right before her post.
But hey - they're very, very young, and it's human nature not to pay attention until you're affected.
I just have to take a deep breath, remind myself that I'm here to help, and do that.

And listen...it's early yet. The really hysterical questions ("Do they circle your fat?" "I hear they drop girls who ask about costs") are just down the road. I don't know why, but I DO LOVE this time of year!

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by iamamom

May I pipe in? I'm surprised you don't get it. Y'all can be REALLY nasty to newbies who really know nothing about recruitment. And most girls don't want to become known before going into it. I've seen posters ridiculed and have their posts torn to bits. I barely come here at all now once I read the stickied threads.

I agree – these PNMs are young (many high school seniors are 17), most have no experience with recruitment, and none have been on the active side of recruitment. Certainly they may ask questions that reflect a lack of experience or even misinformation they received from friends.

If PNMs use the forum search to find past responses, they may be discouraged from asking a question. Many who (possibly inadvertently) asked a “wrong” question here were QFP’d, spell-checked, and generally pecked to death by biddies delighted that a “wrong” question was (once again) asked.

Recruitment comes around every year and so will the same questions. This also happens in real life, especially during the rec-writing season.

No one is under any obligation to answer the same questions annually on a message board, so perhaps if responding or linking to a relevant thread is too much trouble, just don’t. Someone else probably will.