An "Outsider's" View of the Recruitment Threads

[SoTrue1920]

I'm quoting so much because it's only 5:00 am where I am, and my brain isn't awake yet.

Originally posted by AOIIalum
This is really interesting to read about. It must be so different for you as a NPHC member to see everyone talk so openly about our formal recruitment events! Trust me when I say what is being shared is only the public knowledge type things. Much, much more goes on behind the scenes.

Well, I have a little bit of insight on how NPC rush works, but it's been ages. I'm sure things have changed a great deal. Also, back when I was an undergraduate, both the NPC and the NIC advisors worked assiduously to keep the organizations segregated. I was never openly discouraged from going through NPC rush, but others have been. A (white) woman who once wanted to join Zeta Phi Beta at my alma mater was told by this woman "My dear, this is the south, and these things just aren't done!" Both advisors were eventually "reassigned", and the woman who sought membership in Zeta did become one of my sorors.

At the time, I was a college freshman who had come from a background where she had friends of all races, creeds, colours, and religions. I didn't really know anything about the NPHC, and I went through NPC rush because all of my friends from high school who also attended my alma mater were going through it. It seemed like the thing to do at the time.

With how NPC groups recruit, we try to emphasize choice and to keep an open mind...especially when a young woman expresses that they only want one group. The goal is to match as many women to groups as possible.

I can't speak for others, but I was "encouraged" to do my research first, get to know members, participate in their community service projects, and after about a year, make my intentions known, but not overtly. Since I didn't know anything at all about the NPHC, I attended interest meetings for all three of the sororities that were on campus at the time. My niece's experience was completely different from mine. She's known pretty much since high school which sorority she wanted to join, and that's exactly what she did once she was eligible.

BTW - thanks for the clarification about the new member period. I think I got my idea from reading threads at Greekchat where new members weren't initiated until the end of the semester that they pledged.

RE: NPC alumnae initiation, I always had the perception that involvement stopped after you graduated from college. After working as the assistant to a woman who was a very active KKG alumna, my assumption was corrected.

Thanks, AOIIalum!