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[Titchou]

Yes, I am still clutching my metaphorical pearls. And I'll tell you why. First, I don't know where most of the folks here went to school. And unless you have your GLO in your screen name, I probably don't know which one you belong to. I really don't bother keeping a chart of all that. So this is not directed at any of that.

I've been a regional or national officer with my GLO since 1980. I also served as an interim Greek Adviser at a small public commuter school with only 4 NPC chapters. I went to BIG SEC school. During my time as a regional and national officer, I worked with all sizes of chapters, chapters with alll levels of success, traveled for the Fraternity from New York to Florida to California to Oregon...and many places in between. I learned a lot about regional and campus differences. My goodness, some places didn't even have housing! How could they exist like that? We had some successes and we had some failures. And I learned a lot. So here's what I know:

RFM is the single best thing to come along since sliced bread. Seriously. Some of the campuses I worked with would have benefited soooo much from RFM. But the limits placed by the old method just didn't allow WRCs many options to succeed. Yes, it was hard always being the one chapter doing COB. Yes, you had to be creative to handle all the rushees at a party when you were smaller. Yes, you needed help from other chapters and maybe even a few alums on the floor but CPH often wouldn't allow you that latitude. Yes, it was hard to pay for that house when you were so far below total. True your national didn't help as much as you hoped. Yes, you were blind sided when the chapter closed. Yes, yes, yes to all of your complaints. Because mine closed too...and was gone for 32 years. So I know exactly how it feels.

But that is ancient history. And it isn't doing anyone any good to come here and spew your venom, complain about things that are decades past and talk as if it's common place now. It isn't. RFM has truly helped the WRCs increase their numbers. I can site many instances but I don't want to call out any specific groups or campuses. But they are all around. As for the numbers on the floor recruiting like at Clemson, that is not the only place that happens. It's very common, ladies. I've seen it many times. Often it's the Fire Marshall who controls the numbers allowed in the suite. That was the case at Auburn. And it helped the smaller chapters a lot because it wasn't obvious they had fewer members as the total number allowed was limited. Pretty much all you have to do these days is ask CPH for help and they'll give it. Some places, not so much it's true. But NPC and the I/NPs have forged an alliance and they are really working for the good of all.

Pardon a couple of shout outs here: 3 cheers for AST for pulling up stakes in Birmingham and moving to Indy where they have more options to co-op programs with the other GLOs who have their HQs there. It's helping them immensely to be able to do that. And to the TPA on here, one of your most revered alums is a good friend of mine and I'm not so sure she would agree with your point of view. She's on a different campus at least once a week or more and i know she must have been at no less than 4 Conventions this summer. She's coming to a place near you. GO see her. She's awesome!

[luv n tpa]

Originally Posted by Titchou

And to the TPA on here, one of your most revered alums is a good friend of mine and I'm not so sure she would agree with your point of view. She's on a different campus at least once a week or more and i know she must have been at no less than 4 Conventions this summer. She's coming to a place near you. GO see her. She's awesome!

I didn't provide a personal point of view. I elaborated on how it was dealt with on my campus at the time. If she doesn't agree, not my problem.

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by Titchou

But that is ancient history. And it isn't doing anyone any good to come here and spew your venom, complain about things that are decades past and talk as if it's common place now. It isn't. RFM has truly helped the WRCs increase their numbers. I can site many instances but I don't want to call out any specific groups or campuses.

I agree that RFM has helped a significant number of chapters over the years, but there are still WRCs that, despite RFM, are light years away from being equal (in terms of numbers) to other chapters on that campus.

I noticed on Irishpipes' recruitment thread just last week a campus that has several sororities, all but one of which got 20+ new members while the historically WRC on that campus got less than ten. While it may not be commonplace, this situation is still very real and current. It isn't ancient history, and the complaints about the "value" of a bid offered during COB versus bids offered during formal recruitment are legitimate and not simply spewed venom.

If NPC truly wants to provide a level playing field - which I assume was part of the decision to adopt RFM - providing an "out" for women who were offered bids during COB seems to blatantly diminish the value of those bids. Now, I don't want to speak for 33, but I imagine that chapter/situation mentioned above is precisely the type of chapter/situation 33 was talking about. It may not happen on every campus, but it definitely still happens.

[ASTalumna06]

I don't think anyone here was implying that RFM isn't a positive thing.

And I re-read my comment from yesterday and I think I came off kind of snarky and b****y. That's what a few drinks late at night will get me Seriously, there are times that I shouldn't be allowed near a computer…

Sorry if that's how I came across!

Originally Posted by SydneyK

If NPC truly wants to provide a level playing field - which I assume was part of the decision to adopt RFM - providing an "out" for women who were offered bids during COB seems to blatantly diminish the value of those bids. Now, I don't want to speak for 33, but I imagine that chapter/situation mentioned above is precisely the type of chapter/situation 33 was talking about. It may not happen on every campus, but it definitely still happens.

Originally Posted by Titchou

So your answer is to penalize women who accept a COB bid because a few campuses still have not reached parity? There are always going to be places where a chapter struggles. That's just a fact of life. And it isn't always the fault of RFM or recruitment issues per se. Some chapters need to go. Some schools need to decide if they really want Greeks or not. But RFM has done more to level the playing field than anything in the past.

I think the solution is similar to this one:

Originally Posted by Titchou

Keep in mind, it doesn't have to be average chapter size. While that's the preferred number, NPC allows other options. Alabama is going to average chapter size minus 5%.

There should be options.

Not all schools/sororities/chapters are equal. I think the COB/year rule should come with exceptions.

All I'm saying is that it seems crazy that a PNM who goes through formal recruitment can accept a bid and drop on bid day, and she has to wait a full year, while a girl at another campus who hung out with a chapter for weeks on end and received a bid can pledge up until a day before initiation and drop out, and then receive a bid from another chapter a month later.

There has to be a happy medium.