Recolonizing a chapter

[gogreekorwhat]

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

Generally, the process for recolonizing an NPC sorority is out of an individual student's hands. The national sorority may have an agreement with the school to return at a certain time after all former members have graduated, or the school may not want that sorority back on campus and will look for other extension options instead. If your school is not open for sorority expansion or not considering it, it's unlike that any recolonization will occur. You can contact your school's office of Greek Life and ask if the sorority is planning on coming back any time soon.

I'd also ask why you want this specific chapter to come back. Are there other sororities still around that you've looked at? If you're hoping to get XYZ restarted and go back to their old reputation, whatever that was, it's not going to happen. Recolonizing an NPC sorority is such a large undertaking that I'd recommend considering already-established groups instead.

I feel like out of all the established NPC sorority chapters at my school does not exactly fit my philosophy and philanthropic beliefs. So I should speak to my school's Greek office?

[clemsongirl]

Originally Posted by gogreekorwhat

I feel like out of all the established NPC sorority chapters at my school does not exactly fit my philosophy and philanthropic beliefs. So I should speak to my school's Greek office?

Yes, they'd be the best place to go for information, but again I want to caution you that for the most part NPC sorority expansion is driven by the schools and the national sororities, not the students. Also keep in mind that just because you feel the groups don't meet your philanthropic beliefs doesn't mean that you have enough girls to start an interest group or a new chapter on your campus. It just means you don't feel like you've found your home, and there might not be enough other girls who also feel this way.

[gogreekorwhat]

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

Yes, they'd be the best place to go for information, but again I want to caution you that for the most part NPC sorority expansion is driven by the schools and the national sororities, not the students. Also keep in mind that just because you feel the groups don't meet your philanthropic beliefs doesn't mean that you have enough girls to start an interest group or a new chapter on your campus. It just means you don't feel like you've found your home, and there might not be enough other girls who also feel this way.

Thanks for the awesome answers! Do you know how long this process will take? And how exactly are new members recruited? I'm going to be a junior next semester, but I have about 40-50 girls who are interested in joining.

[clemsongirl]

Originally Posted by gogreekorwhat

Thanks for the awesome answers! Do you know how long this process will take? And how exactly are new members recruited? I'm going to be a junior next semester, but I have about 40-50 girls who are interested in joining.

How long it takes depends on the group and other factors. If your school isn't interested in expansion, it won't happen at all. If they are then it will take at least a semester to announce that they're open for expansion and have an interest group that wishes to be colonized, receive interest packets, select group(s) to present, have these groups present, pick a new group, have that group come on and colonize, and then be installed as an official colony and then chapter. I'm not trying to scare you out of going for this if it's something you're truly passionate about, but I want you to know that it could not happen at all or take a very long time. I know of colony members on GC who graduated before their colony was installed as a chapter and had to come back to be initiated.

As for how sororities pick members, that differs too. Some groups won't consider interest groups at all, or the interest group might be absorbed wholesale, or a colonization team will interview girls inside and outside the interest group and hand-pick them.

If I were you I'd start by asking someone within your school's Office of Greek Life how they feel about an interest group being absorbed by a sorority and proceed from there. If they're against the idea it's not happening, but if they're not you've got a shot.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by gogreekorwhat

I feel like out of all the established NPC sorority chapters at my school does not exactly fit my philosophy and philanthropic beliefs. So I should speak to my school's Greek office?

Just to clarify, is this code for "I want to join a Jewish sorority"?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by KDCat

It's very unlikely that a single student can push a recolonization forward in this way. You're much better off trying to find a home in the current GLOs available at your campus or letting the issue go.

According to her, that isn't the case.

Originally Posted by gogreekorwhat

Thanks for the awesome answers! Do you know how long this process will take? And how exactly are new members recruited? I'm going to be a junior next semester, but I have about 40-50 girls who are interested in joining.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

According to her, that isn't the case.

I understand. But she (and her interest group) must convince the NPC sororities on campus to agree to expansion and the school has to agree to expansion. (If any of the remaining groups are weak in recruitment, they are likely to drag their feet on agreeing to it.) Then they have to advertise the opening and accept proposals from interested NPC groups. The NPC groups may visit campus to check it out before hand. They will visit campus and make presentations. The Panhellenic Council will vote on who they want the extension group to be. The school will approve that choice. An invitation will be extended and accepted. The extension will be scheduled and the sorority chosen will start working on building alumnae support and campus interest. Usually campus extension recruitment occurs after formal recruitment, so ALL of that would have to happen before August for OP to be recruited as a junior for a school that does fall recruitment, or December for a school that does spring recruitment. I just don't think that's a very likely scenario. It could easily happen before her senior year, but seniors are usually the smallest component of a recruitment class. Just on a timing basis, it's going to be difficult for OP to get a bid even if she does successfully convince everyone to engage in extension.

When KD was selected at WUSTL, it was almost 18 months AFTER the selection as announced happened that colonization recruitment occurred. WUSTL is currently open for extension and it's going faster this time. (The whole process took almost 22 months.) They plan on choosing a new group by the end of the year and holding colonization recruitment in late January or early February -- 10 to 12 months after the announcement that the campus was open for extension went out.

And all THAT is assuming that OP is chosen to get a bid. It isn't a guarantee. The sorority that is chosen doesn't have to take anyone and everyone in the interest group. They are doing recruitment and they get to choose their own members. They can invite or decline any potential new member they choose.

Colonization is not a strong bet if OP wants to be in a GLO.

[ramsey]

Originally Posted by gogreekorwhat

I feel like out of all the established NPC sorority chapters at my school does not exactly fit my philosophy and philanthropic beliefs.

I really don't think that you should let this stop you from seeing what amazing organizations those groups may be. I have to be honest. My sorority has changed philanthopy focus since I joined, and if I knew then, what i know now, and had the current philanthropy focus been our philanthropy focus THEN, I would have steered clear of my sorority because I significantly disagree with this organization (charitynavigator.org doesn't have anything nice to say about how they use the funds they raise and I think it's total crap that our girls are raising so much money for a company that's being wasteful...)

Anyway.... I love my sorority. My sorority is NOT the philanthropy. As an alumna, I choose to not be involved in that aspect anymore. I have other ways that I get involved in philanthropic efforts in my personal life. I would have hated to miss out on my sorority because I wrote them off dur to the philanthropy group they were associated with.

Just something to think about....

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by ramsey

I really don't think that you should let this stop you from seeing what amazing organizations those groups may be. I have to be honest. My sorority has changed philanthopy focus since I joined, and if I knew then, what i know now, and had the current philanthropy focus been our philanthropy focus THEN, I would have steered clear of my sorority because I significantly disagree with this organization (charitynavigator.org doesn't have anything nice to say about how they use the funds they raise and I think it's total crap that our girls are raising so much money for a company that's being wasteful...)

Anyway.... I love my sorority. My sorority is NOT the philanthropy. As an alumna, I choose to not be involved in that aspect anymore. I have other ways that I get involved in philanthropic efforts in my personal life. I would have hated to miss out on my sorority because I wrote them off dur to the philanthropy group they were associated with.

Just something to think about....

So what's your organizations philanthropy?

[ramsey]

Originally Posted by Nanners52674

So what's your organizations philanthropy?

LOL.

Now don't you think if I wanted it to be obvious what organization I was a part of that I would have just said so?

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by ramsey

LOL.

Now don't you think if I wanted it to be obvious what organization I was a part of that I would have just said so?

For starters people on GC who won't name their organization but make strong statements about Greek life or their chapter make me suspect. Just how it is after the years.

Aside from that, if you feel so strongly against your organizations philanthropy and for a good reason (how funds are spent, something I too look for and place importance in) I don't get why you want a hush hush secret.

Also a majority of the NPC organizations are involved in/with various large and well know organizations, so if one of them is so terrible I'm curious to know what it is.