Automatic Total readjustment

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I had a dinner with my alumnae chapter a couple weeks ago. We started talking about the different types of recruitment systems we each went through at our respective schools, and we discussed why we decided to go Greek. At one point I said, "If I went to one of these huge schools with intense/competitive recruitments, I probably never would have joined any sorority," and a few others piped up (our national president included) and agreed, saying they never would have either.

Even at schools with huge recruitment systems, there are girls on campus who don't even know they want to be in a sorority. Or perhaps they do, but they don't thrive in the type of environment that formal recruitment creates, so they shy away from Greek life altogether. Those are the women that COB was built for. There are great potential members walking all over campuses across the country, but they never attempt to join because the chants, hair-flipping, and skits freak them out. And hey, let's be honest: sometimes those things even freak out the girls going through formal who have been prepping for it their whole lives.

However, the big competitive recruitments can be seen as a rite of passage. So, members who join by just hanging out informally may deal with resentment from members who had to endure the ups and downs of FR. The FR experience is sort of a common bond.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

However, the big competitive recruitments can be seen as a rite of passage. So, members who join by just hanging out informally may deal with resentment from members who had to endure the ups and downs of FR. The FR experience is sort of a common bond.

I would hope that as long as they show that they're going to be an active member ESPECIALLY during rush that there wouldn't be any long-term ostracism or anything. I do agree that even if you joined outside of formal rush, you still need to learn how to do it well. I'm betting there are lots of girls who are terrified of FR when it's the first thing they see on campus - but after a year and membership in a group, it's not so scary and something they might even excel at.