AOII Eliminates Legacy Policy

[carnation]

I think that part of the reason that we'll never get that level of devotion is our quotas. You can love and appreciate the aims of Alpha Alpha Alpha your whole young life but if you're one of the 95% of PNMs who are cut from that organization during recruitment because they can only take 75 women, then all that appreciation is down the toilet and you better pick a different group or stay independent.

[33girl]

This too.

Heck, women rushing NPC are outright discouraged from the kind of devotion to a possible organization that NPHC women are encouraged to have.

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by Titchou

I just totally admire the NPHC members' dedication to their membership. NPC just hasn't figured out how to get to that level and it makes me sad. It is truly to be admired and emulated.

Thank you, but also we've been doing things largely the same for years and years. It's not hard to "copy off our paper" if you wanted to.

However, NPHC orgs fill gaps that groups of white women have filled with other community and civic endeavors for many, many years. For example, the Junior League. There is no black version of the Junior League, so black sororities have filled that need for black women after graduation.

I'm not saying the Junior League is the main competitor for college women after graduation, but let's also be honest that most college women don't stay engaged in their sororities after college. Alumnae initiation is the true pipeline. Maybe even moreso for NPHC fraternities than sororities.

Originally Posted by PersistentDST

I agree with all of this. The conversation never comes up in my Greek circles. I only know of one guy that was participated in NIC recruitment, dropped and ended up joining an NPHC organization.

Our councils offer different sorority experiences. We all offer leadership, service and social opportunities, but different nevertheless. Normally, it’s a pretty clear line between “interests” and “PNM’s,” regardless of race/ethnicity.

I keep seeing discussions about what the NPC organizations can do to attract more diverse young women to participate in recruitment. I honestly don’t think there is one special, magical answer to that question, because Black people (and non-Black POC) are diverse. The goal should be to see, understand and respect each persons differences (just say no to “colorblindness“), but to treat each PNM with the same kindness, consideration and expectations, right? Black PNM’s watch the same recruitment videos, obsess over chapter IG pages and plan their outfits and hair styles 3 months before recruitment just like everyone else. Just like their peers, they are attracted to the things that they believe NPC membership will offer them. You can’t poach someone that wants to be poached. Similarly, non-Black NPHC members saw something in our organizations that made them research and pursue us. They have the same expectations placed on them as our Black interests.

I agree with all of this. I wanted to tag you in before I answered, but I don't know you in real life LOL

Originally Posted by carnation

Here's what the 'poaching' is about: suddenly NPC and our groups have sent out directives to increase our diversity, even including classes and think groups on it. Some universities have bewailed the NPC/NIC lack of diversity, and unaffiliated people (and neither group has a clue) are forever posting sneeringly about sororities only having skinny white girls. I have seen people try to start discussions about this on FB and get dogpiled.

Sen has made a great post about why so many black women prefer NPHC (and this is pretty much what I've observed in the last 40+ years--PNMs choose the NPHC because the most involved women in their communities did). I would love to see the NPC hierarchy meet with NPHC and have a dialogue about this so they will quit blaming and punishing their groups for lack of diversity. We can try all we want but college students will go for the experience they prefer.

I don't know that a dialogue is really necessary, though. I just think that NPC alumnae groups need to show up in places that they're not accustomed to. In my home town, for example, there is definitely an alumnae panhellenic. But are they showing up in DC Public Schools to talk about the sorority experience?

Originally Posted by 33girl

We won’t get that level of dedication until we change the way we rush. For the most part, women join an NPC chapter because they like the women who are currently chapter members. I’ve read more than one post on here when the NPHC boards were more active from an interested woman who said she wasn’t sure she liked the current chapter members. The answer was usually something along the lines of “evaluate if this org is truly in your heart, and if so, be on about the business of Delta (or AKA, or Sigma, or Zeta).” They cultivate devotion to the National organization far above that of the local chapter. It’s the total opposite of NPC rush.

I agree with this, too. And with alumnae/alumni intake, we definitely encourage people who don't feel like the college chapter is a fit to just wait and pursue after they graduate. For me, I didn't come to know I wanted to pursue Alpha until I was a senior in college, but because I knew about alumni chapters, I was happy to wait until the timing was better.

Originally Posted by carnation

I think that part of the reason that we'll never get that level of devotion is our quotas. You can love and appreciate the aims of Alpha Alpha Alpha your whole young life but if you're one of the 95% of PNMs who are cut from that organization during recruitment because they can only take 75 women, then all that appreciation is down the toilet and you better pick a different group or stay independent.

That's part of it. I know a lot more goes into it than this, but NPC orgs have to be okay with being dramatically different sizes if they want to change the culture. I'd rather see a college campus with a huge chapter of Chi Chi Chi and a small chapter of Pi Alpha--if that's who they decide to be based on available interest.

This happens at large black colleges where 75 women may pledge AKA or Delta, 15 may pledge Zeta, and 5 may pledge SGRho -- and nobody is unhappy with those numbers because everybody is where they want to be (except the women who got rejected of course lol).

Originally Posted by 33girl

This too.

Heck, women rushing NPC are outright discouraged from the kind of devotion to a possible organization that NPHC women are encouraged to have.

I think here is a place to retell the brief story that my mom (a Delta of nearly 50 years) rushed at a Michigan college and ALL the sororities participated. She still has a memento from a Delta Zeta rush party (I think she got a bid). I am not sure how it was structured, but she went into the rush because it was mandatory to go visit all the orgs, and for all orgs to participate, even if they weren't necessarily giving out bids.

That said...

Me and NUPE4LIFE (former Kappa mod and friend of mine) discuss Greek life all the time, and we've come to the agreement that all Greek orgs should participate in some sort of mandatory first round event where all orgs are visited. This would build an appreciation of BGLO, LGLO, and MCGLOs among the predominately white organizations, while allowing those same orgs to "catch" people who didn't know about them beforehand, if that makes sense.

It puts everyone on the same playing field if you come to college not knowing the totality of Greekdom. This would allow the AKA and Delta legacy daughters that Carnation mentioned the chance to really see the other side, and would allow students who don't know any better have a chance to make an informed decision.

AND the elimination of legacy preference levels the playing field further.

Recs should indeed be next on the chopping block.

Sorry if this rambles. I'm used to speaking about this more than typing about it.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

Thank you, but also we've been doing things largely the same for years and years. It's not hard to "copy off our paper" if you wanted to.

However, NPHC orgs fill gaps that groups of white women have filled with other community and civic endeavors for many, many years. For example, the Junior League. There is no black version of the Junior League, so black sororities have filled that need for black women after graduation.

I'm not saying the Junior League is the main competitor for college women after graduation, but let's also be honest that most college women don't stay engaged in their sororities after college. Alumnae initiation is the true pipeline. Maybe even moreso for NPHC fraternities than sororities.



I agree with all of this. I wanted to tag you in before I answered, but I don't know you in real life LOL



I don't know that a dialogue is really necessary, though. I just think that NPC alumnae groups need to show up in places that they're not accustomed to. In my home town, for example, there is definitely an alumnae panhellenic. But are they showing up in DC Public Schools to talk about the sorority experience?



I agree with this, too. And with alumnae/alumni intake, we definitely encourage people who don't feel like the college chapter is a fit to just wait and pursue after they graduate. For me, I didn't come to know I wanted to pursue Alpha until I was a senior in college, but because I knew about alumni chapters, I was happy to wait until the timing was better.



That's part of it. I know a lot more goes into it than this, but NPC orgs have to be okay with being dramatically different sizes if they want to change the culture. I'd rather see a college campus with a huge chapter of Chi Chi Chi and a small chapter of Pi Alpha--if that's who they decide to be based on available interest.

This happens at large black colleges where 75 women may pledge AKA or Delta, 15 may pledge Zeta, and 5 may pledge SGRho -- and nobody is unhappy with those numbers because everybody is where they want to be (except the women who got rejected of course lol).



I think here is a place to retell the brief story that my mom (a Delta of nearly 50 years) rushed at a Michigan college and ALL the sororities participated. She still has a memento from a Delta Zeta rush party (I think she got a bid). I am not sure how it was structured, but she went into the rush because it was mandatory to go visit all the orgs, and for all orgs to participate, even if they weren't necessarily giving out bids.

That said...

Me and NUPE4LIFE (former Kappa mod and friend of mine) discuss Greek life all the time, and we've come to the agreement that all Greek orgs should participate in some sort of mandatory first round event where all orgs are visited. This would build an appreciation of BGLO, LGLO, and MCGLOs among the predominately white organizations, while allowing those same orgs to "catch" people who didn't know about them beforehand, if that makes sense.

It puts everyone on the same playing field if you come to college not knowing the totality of Greekdom. This would allow the AKA and Delta legacy daughters that Carnation mentioned the chance to really see the other side, and would allow students who don't know any better have a chance to make an informed decision.

AND the elimination of legacy preference levels the playing field further.

Recs should indeed be next on the chopping block.

Sorry if this rambles. I'm used to speaking about this more than typing about it.

Everything that you said here. And cheers to pointing out some of the best points by others in this thread, and especially cheers to the bold text.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by carnation

Here's what the 'poaching' is about: suddenly NPC and our groups have sent out directives to increase our diversity, even including classes and think groups on it. Some universities have bewailed the NPC/NIC lack of diversity, and unaffiliated people (and neither group has a clue) are forever posting sneeringly about sororities only having skinny white girls. I have seen people try to start discussions about this on FB and get dogpiled.

Sen has made a great post about why so many black women prefer NPHC (and this is pretty much what I've observed in the last 40+ years--PNMs choose the NPHC because the most involved women in their communities did). I would love to see the NPC hierarchy meet with NPHC and have a dialogue about this so they will quit blaming and punishing their groups for lack of diversity. We can try all we want but college students will go for the experience they prefer.

But this is the very point. College students WILL go for the experience they prefer. At least they should, and we should be encouraging that.

And they'd prefer not to get yelled at when mom has a hissy fit because their darling daughter didn't make the same choice they made 30 years prior.

Again, this legacy decision didn't happen overnight. And no, I don't think it's "bad timing." I think a giant movement and the in-our-faces-all-day-every-day thing needed to happen to wake us all up and take action on something (e.g. our legacy policies) that some people have been talking about for at least a decade. Sometimes we all need one giant slap in the face to realize that maybe we're not doing everything perfectly and could use a change.

And let's also not pretend that some members, chapters, and even organizations as a whole haven't openly been racist, or at the very least, non-inclusive. You really think that all of our "picture-perfect" chapters filled with 100+ tall, skinny blondes is treating all potential members as equals? You think they're giving the black girl, or the overweight girl, or the girl with the pink hair the same opportunities as someone who looks exactly like them? Please.

Originally Posted by 33girl

This too.

Heck, women rushing NPC are outright discouraged from the kind of devotion to a possible organization that NPHC women are encouraged to have.

Truth. We push away women who are truly dedicated and we give a pass through rounds to women who may want nothing to do with our organizations.

Look, I don't know what all the answers are, but we really can't continue to do the same thing over and over, year after year, decade after decade, and expect to survive. Change is inevitable. And major events occurring today - BLM, COVID-19 - are going to drastically change how and why women attend college years from now. Are we going to be able as NPC sororities to adapt and be relevant for the 18-year-olds of the future?

[carnation]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

And let's also not pretend that some members, chapters, and even organizations as a whole haven't openly been racist, or at the very least, non-inclusive. You really think that all of our "picture-perfect" chapters filled with 100+ tall, skinny blondes is treating all potential members as equals? You think they're giving the black girl, or the overweight girl, or the girl with the pink hair the same opportunities as someone who looks exactly like them? Please.


Look, I don't know what all the answers are, but we really can't continue to do the same thing over and over, year after year, decade after decade, and expect to survive. Change is inevitable. And major events occurring today - BLM, COVID-19 - are going to drastically change how and why women attend college years from now. Are we going to be able as NPC sororities to adapt and be relevant for the 18-year-olds of the future?

18-year-old have always wanted the same thing--to be accepted. I know that my organization and many others have lots of black, overweight, and pink/blue/whatever color of hair women. I doubt that many chapters sit down and make a plan for excluding these groups. Actives pick who they like.

However, having watched the rush of a purple-haired woman at a college where I taught, I don't blame the sororities for cutting her. She was out to shock the women there and having done so in parties, raged because she was cut across the board. Same for a lot of the women in the "Weird Rush Stories" thread, and this is why I don't believe in being forced to accept everyone.

Some people are talking about change in organizations--acceptance, inclusiveness, and diversity. Fine, but don't go trying to tear up the organization you just pledged. I would never think of pledging AEPhi and then announcing that the Star of David offends me and you just better get all of them out of the house or I'll sue. Yet this has happened with traditionally Christian NPCs--"take the New Testament out of the ritual or I'll raise hell at conventions/print the initiation ceremony online (we saw a few of those here on GC several years back)/act offended at every chapter meeting", etc.

We are all looking for high quality women who will work hard and make us proud of our organizations.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by carnation

18-year-old have always wanted the same thing--to be accepted. I know that my organization and many others have lots of black, overweight, and pink/blue/whatever color of hair women. I doubt that many chapters sit down and make a plan for excluding these groups. Actives pick who they like.

However, having watched the rush of a purple-haired woman at a college where I taught, I don't blame the sororities for cutting her. She was out to shock the women there and having done so in parties, raged because she was cut across the board. Same for a lot of the women in the "Weird Rush Stories" thread, and this is why I don't believe in being forced to accept everyone.

This is extremely antecdotal and is missing the big picture. And who here is arguing that a chapter should be forced to take anyone and everyone?

Some people are talking about change in organizations--acceptance, inclusiveness, and diversity. Fine, but don't go trying to tear up the organization you just pledged. I would never think of pledging AEPhi and then announcing that the Star of David offends me and you just better get all of them out of the house or I'll sue. Yet this has happened with traditionally Christian NPCs--"take the New Testament out of the ritual or I'll raise hell at conventions/print the initiation ceremony online (we saw a few of those here on GC several years back)/act offended at every chapter meeting", etc.

We are all looking for high quality women who will work hard and make us proud of our organizations.

Again, not sure where we're ripping up the very fabric of our organizations and destroying decades of history by eliminating our legacy policies.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

This is extremely antecdotal and is missing the big picture. And who here is arguing that a chapter should take anyone and everyone?Again, not sure where we're ripping up the very fabric of our organizations and destroying decades of history by eliminating our legacy policies.

Haven't you seen articles online for years that scream that sororities are exclusive and must be made to take all interested women? They've been all over the place.

My story about the purple-haired girl is hardly anecdotal. Read "Weird Rush Stories" again. I bet that hardly a recruitment goes by at big schools where there aren't several women who do this kind of thing. There are many women who do things that aren't acceptable to the sororities at their campus and then scream unfair when they don't get a bid. Thinking here about a girl who pulled trains with men all over campus the summer before her freshman year and then went berserk (and so did her father) when she was cut from all 7 groups after first parties. Women like this want to break the rules and they don't care if they embarrass their GLOs, but they'll tell the world how wrong sororities are for not taking everyone.

I have written in this thread why I don't think the legacy policy is responsible for the lack of diversity and neither are recs...I won't write it again. Legacy policies and ripping up our fabric have nothing to do with each other. I think the timing of these organizations in announcing the new legacy policy is ridiculous. Not to mention, recruitment starts in a month and there are some very angry alums out there.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by carnation

Haven't you seen articles online for years that scream that sororities are exclusive and must be made to take all interested women? They've been all over the place.

Yes, I have. And I don't think eliminating the legacy policy is going to change this, nor does it force a chapter to "take everyone".

My story about the purple-haired girl is hardly anecdotal. Read "Weird Rush Stories" again. I bet that hardly a recruitment goes by at big schools where there aren't several women who do this kind of thing. There are many women who do things that aren't acceptable to the sororities at their campus and then scream unfair when they don't get a bid. Thinking here about a girl who pulled trains with men all over campus the summer before her freshman year and then went berserk (and so did her father) when she was cut from all 7 groups after first parties. Women like this want to break the rules and they don't care if they embarrass their GLOs, but they'll tell the world how wrong sororities are for not taking everyone.

I'm not sure how the legacy policy has anything to do with crazy potential new members. There will forever be "Weird Rush Stories", and they will be generated because of PNMs with different-colored hair and PNMs who are tall, skinny blondes. Crazy doesn't discriminate.

I have written in this thread why I don't think the legacy policy is responsible for the lack of diversity and neither are recs...I won't write it again. Legacy policies and ripping up our fabric have nothing to do with each other. I think the timing of these organizations in announcing the new legacy policy is ridiculous. Not to mention, recruitment starts in a month and there are some very angry alums out there.

When would have been a good time? At what time of year or under what circumstances do you think all alumnae would be happy?

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

This is extremely antecdotal and is missing the big picture. And who here is arguing that a chapter should be forced to take anyone and everyone?

Again, not sure where we're ripping up the very fabric of our organizations and destroying decades of history by eliminating our legacy policies.

But ripping up the legacy policies is just the start. This is just the very beginning of the dramatic changes to come and come quickly. Hold on to your seat. I think we will all be rather nonplussed by purple hair, when inclusion at ANY price becomes the goal of our organizations. And it is certainly coming.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by thetalady

But ripping up the legacy policies is just the start. This is just the very beginning of the dramatic changes to come and come quickly. Hold on to your seat. I think we will all be rather nonplussed by purple hair, when inclusion at ANY price becomes the goal of our organizations. And it is certainly coming.

What she said!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by carnation

I think that these groups were trying to figure out when to dump it on their members--99.9% of whom were not given a say or a vote in this--and then voila! All this horrible stuff happened in this country and by eliminating the policy at this time, these groups could virtue signal!

And I'm sure that's why these alumnae are upset... because of all the virtue signaling...

Originally Posted by PersistentDST

I think the diversity conversation is very layered. There are more reasons than just having options.

It’s also about having an honest and deep look at current NPC membership. Is everyone ready for inclusiveness? Organizations can post about support for diversity and social justice all they want, but still have sisters wearing blackface on Snapchat or proudly attend a “Mexican” party, where actives are dresses as stereotypes. I’ve even seen troubling comments from alumnae in the past few weeks. Those things hurt the reputations of all of the NPC and damage the things you are working towards. As a POC PNM (or a parent), I may second guess participation in recruitment when these things happen yearly at different schools across the country. It’s not that we generalize, we know it’s not everyone, but no one wants to land in the system where it happens. No one wants to be down the hall from the “sisters” that smile in your face and then say the n-word on social media. No one wants to complain to their chapter leadership about micro-aggressions, only for nothing to be done about it. No one wants to be the token.

It’s not just about parents wanting their daughters in the NPHC because of culture and tradition, it’s also about safe spaces. Will they be supported and have a positive sorority experience in the NPC? I’d rather have my loved ones be GDI’s than potentially have them deal with discrimination.

At this point, the inclusiveness focus should really be on two groups:

1. The diverse actives and alumnae who fell in love with your sororities and may have some perspectives about what can be done for your membership, because they are your sisters. Before I would speak to anyone, I’d give them the opportunity to talk about their experiences and share ideas.
2. The diverse PNM’s who are committed to the recruitment process. The goal should be to see, understand and respect each persons differences (just say no to “colorblindness“), but to treat each PNM with the same kindness, consideration and expectations.

While I appreciate the concerns about poaching from the NPHC, it’s a non-issue for us. However, clear and present are the POC PNM’s on message boards asking if they should consider recruitment. Those are the young ladies that need the inclusion commitment from your organizations.

All of this. And quite frankly, when AST posted their "messages of inclusion" on Instagram, which read much like other NPC organizations' messages, there were a lot of members who demanded more. There were sisters who were flat out upset. It was disheartening to read at first, but I agree that more needs to be done to ensure our members and chapters are not only more inclusive, but aren't flat out racist. We can't just post a message of inclusion and think that's enough. We need to take action.

I attended a workshop a couple weeks ago which included both collegians and alumnae of all NPC organizations, and the first part of it was a question-and-answer portion where black women in the NPC were asked questions about their recruitment experiences. They provided answers for everyone to hear ahead of going into smaller breakout groups for more personal discussions. One of the women when asked, "What should chapters do to be more inclusive," answered: "Just like white women, we're not all the same. Make all women be seen and heard for who they are. But understand that black women are probably putting the most on the line by showing up for NPC recruitment." This really speaks to everything you said above, PersistentDST.

Originally Posted by PersistentDST

I think the NPC should also think about inclusion outside of recruitment activities. Perhaps chapters make a commitment to meeting, collaborating and supporting diverse organizations on their campus. Not a mandate...but a genuine commitment. Build trust with the campus community outside of the NPC/NIC. It’s about creating the culture. Once others see and feel that commitment, you may be surprised who approaches about joining. Sometimes it’s about learning to be comfortable in those spaces and meeting the diverse PNM’s where they are.

Another question asked in the workshop was: What were some of your fears entering recruitment? One woman made mention of glancing around during the first round of recruitment and realizing that no one else really looked like her. She believed she would have to work twice as hard as everyone else to receive a bid. Perhaps if she saw - even outside of an official recruitment event - the NPC sororities "mixing" with other more diverse organizations, that would have made that woman feel more comfortable. How many women of color out there didn't have that same level of confidence, even if minimal, to even try? How many walked away or thought NPC wasn't for them?

I'm sure the white NPC members here were already nervous and freaked out enough when they were a PNM. Add on that extra level of anxiety, panic, and feeling of being excluded and then wonder if you would have even tried, especially if you had no personal connection to any NPC.

Originally Posted by andthen

Its a long time in coming not only to perhaps alleviate a barrier but more and more people are attending colleges and by virtue of this become involved in greek life. As more and more individuals become members and then have kids of their own there is bound to be a proliferation of legacies, as compared to the early part of the 20th century where not a lot of women were attending college. Simply put regardless of the reason I just don't see the practice as sustainable long term.

Exactly this.

Yes when there is such a big shift there is going to be some who are all for it and those against it. But honestly groups need to evolve and really need to look within their own membership beyond those who have remained actively involved past college, what will help sustain and help these organizations. After college as some have noted there is a bit of attrition from NPC group members. Why? I feel as though this is the elephant in the room that no one wants to address. Even if your legacy decides to join your sisterhood still doesn't mean that mom/daughter will continue involvement with ABC after DD graduates. Even within my own geographic area outside of the alumnae group I'm involved with there are loads of sisters who live in the area and choose not to be involved? Again why? Often times when I am out volunteering somewhere I will often see NPHC members or even MCG's represented and they represent their organizations proudly. For whatever reason at least where I'm at this doesn't seem to be a big thing or as much of a priority.

All this to say I feel like groups should be seeking out members who really want to be involved and participate not just for their collegiate years but beyond. Look I understand that sometimes life happens to all of us as adults, illness, kids, aging parents etc. But at least from my vantage point there is a small yet vocal portion of the population that feel as though ending legacies will signal doom and gloom. But frankly and take it from someone who doesn't adapt well to change, we do need to evolve. We do need to at least crack the door open to provide opportunities to be more inclusive especially at the campus level.

For those of you who raised daughters sharing your experience with your sorority and the joys of it that is wonderful. And no one is diminishing that or telling you to not share those stories. But at the same time, your kids need to find their own path to which ever group suits them the best. So they might not share in the ABC sisterhood with you, but instead decide hey I'm more of an XYZ, that's still something to be celebrated because your child is exercising healthy independence.

This this this. We have much bigger fish to fry, and us NPC groups have struggled to make the 'Not just four years... but for life!' more than just a slogan. Where is the disconnect? Why do PNMs and members only value the collegiate experience and dismiss alumnae membership? There are now so many ways for sisters to stay involved after graduation, but there is a huge dropoff. What messaging are we not getting across? Are we pledging legacies simply because they're related to a sister and not because they're going to truly advance our organizations beyond a few years?

Originally Posted by thetalady

But ripping up the legacy policies is just the start. This is just the very beginning of the dramatic changes to come and come quickly. Hold on to your seat. I think we will all be rather nonplussed by purple hair, when inclusion at ANY price becomes the goal of our organizations. And it is certainly coming.

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. All I know is that organizations have talked for years about getting rid of their legacy policies and something finally occurred to make them act. It always seems that NPC orgs won't make any huge, meaningful change until their backs are against the wall.

Question: can anyone tell me - outside of diversity or upset alumnae or doom and gloom and "the end of sororities as we know them" - what is the actual problem in getting rid of the legacy policies? Are they sustainable? As andthen mentioned above, at what point - if we're not already there - do so many women go to college and join sororities that we have too many legacies and the entire system gets watered down and becomes obsolete? When does it become - again, if it isn't already - too much of a burden on chapters to push through all of the legacies signing up for recruitment?