The Death of Greek Life... You're Next

[ASTlady]

How I can tell you aren't a Greek Alumni Specialist...If you were, you'd be pushing for support in much more ways than just getting money. Many alumni donate to their organizations, not their chapters. But could easily build a strong chapter by supporting through advising first. Money follows later.

[PinkSkyAtNight]

This is a very unusual thread. Kind of strikes me as fear-based click bait.... who are you and why are you here? Are you selling something?

Greek life is actually growing on most campuses. This is very strange.

[GrkAlmSpclist]

Originally Posted by PinkSkyAtNight

This is a very unusual thread. Kind of strikes me as fear-based click bait.... who are you and why are you here? Are you selling something?

Greek life is actually growing on most campuses. This is very strange.

You are correct sir - it IS a fear based click because you SHOULD be scared! Greek life may be growing at your campus but overall greek numbers are declining (I've done a lot of research on this so I know). My purpose here is to get a discussion going on why people need alumni relations;what your org is doing for alumni relations? Is it working? Are your undergrads getting in touch with the majority of alumni? Are you raising the money that you need to run your house? If you don't have an alumni relations program the answer is probably no!

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by GrkAlmSpclist

You are correct sir - it IS a fear based click because you SHOULD be scared! Greek life may be growing at your campus but overall greek numbers are declining (I've done a lot of research on this so I know). My purpose here is to get a discussion going on why people need alumni relations;what your org is doing for alumni relations? Is it working? Are your undergrads getting in touch with the majority of alumni? Are you raising the money that you need to run your house? If you don't have an alumni relations program the answer is probably no!

I don't need you for this. My national organization handles all of this. I dare you to tell me my sorority knows less about alumni relations than you do.

[PinkSkyAtNight]

Originally Posted by GrkAlmSpclist

You are correct sir - it IS a fear based click because you SHOULD be scared! Greek life may be growing at your campus but overall greek numbers are declining (I've done a lot of research on this so I know). My purpose here is to get a discussion going on why people need alumni relations;what your org is doing for alumni relations? Is it working? Are your undergrads getting in touch with the majority of alumni? Are you raising the money that you need to run your house? If you don't have an alumni relations program the answer is probably no!

I am a woman. Knowing somebody's gender is probably a good idea when trying to market to them; you posted this in Greek Life, not Fraternity Life.

No doubt that having a good facility can give an organization a competitive advantage, but the idea that Greek Life is dying is just plain false from everything I've read. I would LOVE to read any data collected that indicates Greek Life is dying.

[GrkAlmSpclist]

Originally Posted by PinkSkyAtNight

I am a woman. Knowing somebody's gender is probably a good idea when trying to market to them; you posted this in Greek Life, not Fraternity Life.

No doubt that having a good facility can give an organization a competitive advantage, but the idea that Greek Life is dying is just plain false from everything I've read. I would LOVE to read any data collected that indicates Greek Life is dying.

Here is an article that I think will enlighten you - it talks about the shrinking of Greek life around the nation and is backed by a good mix of facts and opinions http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/t...ternity-system

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by GrkAlmSpclist

Here is an article that I think will enlighten you - it talks about the shrinking of Greek life around the nation and is backed by a good mix of facts and opinions http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/t...ternity-system

Wow! A link to a nine year old article. Way to keep current with your facts.

[GrkAlmSpclist]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

Wow! A link to a nine year old article. Way to keep current with your facts.

You think now Greek life is magically getting better all of the sudden with more and more strict laws?! You're sadly mistaken my friend...

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by GrkAlmSpclist

Here is an article that I think will enlighten you - it talks about the shrinking of Greek life around the nation and is backed by a good mix of facts and opinions http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/t...ternity-system

Your entire argument up to this point has been about fraternities lacking the financial means to stay afloat mainly due to minimal alumni involvement, and then you post an article that says chapters are closing due to risk management issues.

So which is it?

[GrkAlmSpclist]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Your entire argument up to this point has been about fraternities lacking the financial means to stay afloat mainly due to minimal alumni involvement, and then you post an article that says chapters are closing due to risk management issues.

So which is it?

Low money is due to a lack of alumni involvement

Low alumni involvement leads to unaccountable undergraduates

Unaccountable undergraduates lead to risk management issues...


It all comes back to alumni relations!!

[sugar and spice]

Originally Posted by GrkAlmSpclist

Here is an article that I think will enlighten you - it talks about the shrinking of Greek life around the nation and is backed by a good mix of facts and opinions http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/t...ternity-system

The article you posted is from 2005. That's almost ten years ago, dude. It's not a good indication of what is happening today. The mid-'90s through the mid-2000s saw a decline in the size of the Greek system; since then it's been growing exponentially. Not only is it growing, but on most campuses, it's either at an all-time high or at a close second to the all-time membership high (the '80s being our last big upswing). If anybody's sources are telling them that Greek life is waning, they need new sources.

Membership on my campus now is close to twice what it was when I attended (around 2005). You can see that trend on campuses around the nation. And if we survived that downswing (not to mention the 1970s where membership at a lot of schools was 10-20 percent of what it is now!), I'm sure we can survive another, whenever it comes.

You keep saying "It's nice that Greek life on your campus is growing, but you can't assume that's happening on every campus." Actually, we can:

"Nationwide, membership is up, growing a bit more than 15 percent from 2008 to 2011, to 285,543 undergraduates, according to the National Panhellenic Conference." - the New York Times

Not sure how it gets more complicated than that.

[ASTalumna06]

If the OP had spent even 5 minutes on Greekchat over the last week, he would have seen that NPC numbers across the country are booming. But apparently he's only interested in reading articles from 10 years ago.

[LillyPhi]

GrkAlmSpclist;You are correct sir - it IS a fear based click because you SHOULD be scared! Greek life may be growing at your campus but overall greek numbers are declining (I've done a lot of research on this so I know). My purpose here is to get a discussion going on why people need alumni relations;what your org is doing for alumni relations? Is it working? Are your undergrads getting in touch with the majority of alumni? Are you raising the money that you need to run your house? If you don't have an alumni relations program the answer is probably no!

When you say that the recruitment numbers overall are decreasing, you are referring to just NIC Orgs.? or both NIC & NPC Orgs.? Also, the decrease in recruitnment number is it similar to that of the "Rush Recession" of the 1990's, which did in fact many GLO's (mostly fraterntities) experienced a large decline in recruitment numbers. You need to be more specific in your theory.

[GrkAlmSpclist]

Originally Posted by ASTlady

How I can tell you aren't a Greek Alumni Specialist...If you were, you'd be pushing for support in much more ways than just getting money. Many alumni donate to their organizations, not their chapters. But could easily build a strong chapter by supporting through advising first. Money follows later.

That's money isn't the point, it's just a huge plus! The reconnecting with your alumni is the point!! How are your alumni going to come back and advise if they aren't connected with your organization in the first place? The answer is: they cant! You guys have to wake up and see the importance of alumni relations in your chapters!