When did rec's become a thing?

[FSUZeta]

I don't recall anyone saying it hurt someone. Sometimes your questions border on private membership information, though I believe it is unintentional.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

I don't recall anyone saying it hurt someone. Sometimes your questions border on private membership information, though I believe it is unintentional.

Honestly, I think many (if not most) of his questions border on being “none of your business.”

[g41965]

I don't agree, there is a place for genuine historical curiosity here. Fraternities and Sororities have long held an important place inAmerican and Canadian culture. I don't think inquiring about the history of recs intrudes on modern day membership selection.
Port ant place in

[TriDeltaSallie]

Okay, I’m a sorority history dork so this question intrigued me. I pulled out my History of Delta Delta Delta 1888-1988 to see what it might have to say. Here is a relevant section (page 420):

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Tri Delta’s recommendation system has always had two main purposes: to provide collegiate chapters with information on rushees which is not available from other sources; and to recognize the concept of lifetime membership by giving alumnae a role in the membership selection process.

At first, the system consisted entirely of word-of-mouth recommendations or, as the Fraternity expanded, some letters of recommendation. The supplement to the Constitution in 1918 stated, “no student shall be considered for membership unless recommended and investigated.” However, no procedure was established to verify collegiate chapter compliance.

The 1928 Trieme contained a formal recommendation blank. A completed form on each pledge member was to be retained for two years in a chapter’s file. The 1931 Convention established the procedure for information cards to be filled out by a chapter’s rushing chairman and returned to alumnae recommenders within three weeks of the end of rush. The 1934 Governing Regulations included a new section on eligibility which stated, “A written recommendation properly filled in by alumna of Delta Delta Delta must be in the chapter files before a girl may be pledged.”

Between 1938 and 1940, the requirement developed that where there was an organized alliance, a rushee’s recommendation had to come from the alliance, not an individual. At the same time the state or regional system developed. The Trident, October 1940, contained the first listing of state and regional recommendation chairmen. The 1940-1942 Governing Regulations required that the recommendation for a rushee must be written by an individual alumna resident in the hometown and approved by the hometown alliance, if one existed. If no organized alumnae group existed in a rushee’s hometown, the state recommendation chairman would solicit recommendations from alumnae in the area and then process them back to the collegiate chapter.

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It goes on from there, but that's the information about the early days. I would guess most NPC groups followed a similar trajectory, give or take some years. Recommendation was changed to reference in 1970.