Mergers? Dissolution?

[Cookiez17]

On the Iota Alpha Pi topic, there was a thread where members reminisced on their time in the sorority, which was extremely interesting. I do know that some orgs did get absorbed into others (like Theta Upsilon getting absorbed by Delta Zeta.) I do wonder if information and ritual/symbols/etc. are kept in the national archives?

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I think that at this point, rather than merge, a group would leave NPC on a national level and compete on a different playing field. This way they would have national backing (so schools wouldn’t freak out about having a local) but they would not be constrained by quota/total/RFM rules. Just my opinion. It also depends if the group has a lot of $$ tied up in real estate/housing corporations.

Wouldn't such a group still want to be recognized as legitimate by the panhellenic/schools on which it has chapters, therefore still follow all campus quota/total rules?


It's possible that if a large enough group of NPC sororities wants to break from the current NPC and form a new playing field for recruitment, their new sorority grouping may acquire faster legitimacy with schools and/or panhellenics.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by kuriousiti

Hi all. My sorority (which I'll keep private) is rather small in terms of number of chapters, average size of individual chapters, and lifetime initiates. I love this organization and all it has done for me, but in the back of my mind I worry that years down the line, this small size (and its implications) could potentially pose some issues nationally–and cause some changes.

I was reading a Wikipedia article that mentioned that other NPC sororities in similar positions had merged with current NPC members (namely Delta Zeta) as recent as the 1960s, and I’m curious to see what other people think about this. I have a few questions/comments that might give some food for thought


1. ...(t)he current NPC ’roster’ has remained consistent since 1971....


4. Does the consistency of the NPC ‘roster’ give you hope that each of these organizations (regardless of how small they are or may be) will prevail?


Thanks for entertaining my rambling. I’d love to hear what you all have to say, even if you don’t answer the questions; any thoughts on the matter are welcomed!

I have always loved the fact that each NPC member group has unique histories and traditions. I wish those facts interested more women in today's halls of higher learning, as students might then be more interested in joining ANY NPC group rather than groups with the perceived smartest/richest/prettiest/most popular women.


Most NPC groups have also evolved beyond their earliest histories to include women their original founders would not have initiated, moving beyond Music Students Only---Teachers Only---This Religious Group Only---etc.


To the OP: Yes, I hope the consistency of each NPC member group remains strong enough that no group has to merge/dissolve.


I am also of the opinion that by neglecting to learn the continuous and evolving backgrounds/histories of some NPC groups, many students with strong anti-greek sentiments have been needlessly ripping apart NPC chapters in recent years.

[PKT4LIFE]

Originally Posted by kuriousiti

Thanks for showing me that! I took a quick look at part 2, just to get a better idea of their bigger picture goals, and I found their plan and blog posts really fascinating. I'm going to do some digging to see if my organization has written anything similar!

For anyone who's curious, here's the link to part 2!:
https://thetaphialpha.org/foundation...o-we-get-there

During the early-mid 1980's, I remember the Theta Phi Alpha Chapter at Cleveland State being on "Pins and Needles" because they were going to be "kicked out" of the NPC due to having less than the minimal active chapter # and whether or not their organization was going to be disbanding.

[kuriousiti]

Originally Posted by Cookiez17

On the Iota Alpha Pi topic, there was a thread where members reminisced on their time in the sorority, which was extremely interesting. I do know that some orgs did get absorbed into others (like Theta Upsilon getting absorbed by Delta Zeta.) I do wonder if information and ritual/symbols/etc. are kept in the national archives?

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php

So from the mini rabbit-hole of Iota Alpha Pi-related threads I just went down, I found this quote from a former member:

"The talk in the early 1970's when dissolution was being considered was that the identity of the sorority would be lost if they merged with another and it was my understanding that the majority wanted to continue with alumni meetings and maintain the [intergity] of what was and had been rather than change. My recall was there was also a lot of dissent regarding the admission of the non-Jewish members and what this might mean to the future, but that my only be my memory and not a significant factor. There was never any problem with diversity in the Nu chapter that I knew of."
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...t=31666&page=2

I think a few of us in this thread have hinted at this attitude; that each NPC member has such a distinct identity at this point, which makes a merger seem extremely daunting. Like I said earlier, I really hope it never gets to this point for my organization, but if this scenario were to arise, I'd personally be all for a merger, rather than throwing in the towel and disbanding.

[*winter*]

Originally Posted by PKT4LIFE

During the early-mid 1980's, I remember the Theta Phi Alpha Chapter at Cleveland State being on "Pins and Needles" because they were going to be "kicked out" of the NPC due to having less than the minimal active chapter # and whether or not their organization was going to be disbanding.

I googled their organization because I remember hearing about that situation, and I also know TPA has grown greatly since then. Turns out…they had a plan! Which is exactly the point: smaller organizations have been aware that this might become a problem and many are arranging things to head that off at the pass.

I’m not any expert but I don’t see any of the smaller NPCs folding (barring some exceptional unforeseen circumstances). They’re expanding in a way that makes sense for their organizations: taking on smaller chapters on smaller campuses, thus increasing their membership and alumnae presence without overburdening or overextending themselves. Where I’m from, the smaller organizations are thriving and have been for many years. They have name recognition, longevity and deep family ties here.

[carnation]

Someone mentioned how hard it would be to lose your ritual if a bigger group took you in. I can also see how a bigger group would not want to change their ritual to take in a smaller group's ritual.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by kuriousiti

This is a really interesting thought, that I failed to consider. If a current NPC member left the council, another council accept the addition of a new organization? If, for example, Chi O (I promise I’m just picking a random group, I love my Chi O friends) chose to leave NPC, citing low chapter numbers (iirc they are actually one of the larger groups!), which other council could they pick? Obviously they couldn’t join NPHC or MGC, since they don’t have cultural roots. I assume (and please, correct me if I’m wrong) that IFC wouldn’t be an option. The only feasible option I could see might be the Professional Greek council, however, I assume this would require that they pick a specialization.
Of course, this doesn’t factor in the possibility of an organization functioning without a governing council; which I don’t think is common (if it is actually a thing at all).

I would think they wouldn’t want to be hamstrung by a governing council at all. That was part of my point.

Originally Posted by Cheerio

Wouldn't such a group still want to be recognized as legitimate by the panhellenic/schools on which it has chapters, therefore still follow all campus quota/total rules?

I’m thinking that would be a chapter by chapter thing. If the group is always at total and always making quota (in effect, if the chapter is doing better than the national organization) then they could stay on that path. But if part of their reason of wanting to leave NPC in the first place is that the majority of their chapters do poorly in formal rush - in effect their “legitimacy” is what’s killing them - that’s also part of my point. They could take as many pledges as they want, as often as they want, without formal rush.

I don’t think schools are as worried about groups being in NPC as they are about them having a national body overseeing them. If that national body makes it clear that the reason they are leaving NPC is solely a numbers issue I truly don’t think the school is going to care.

[Titchou]

I have a couple of friends who were members of locals that were taken over by an NPC group. They could not alter the NPC group's rituals. However, they were allowed to continue some on a declining basis in separate events if they wanted or in a chapter history part of the ritual - if they did that.