Has the tradition of Legacies outgrown its usefulness?

[Barbie's_Rush]

Originally Posted by dukedg

I think it would be helpful to have a section on the rec form that asks about the alumna's involvement. I don't see the need to have DG create a massive system to try and track all these different levels of involvement. I would love to see a section, right under the portion dealing with the legacy info, with something like check boxes and you can check which, if any, items the alumna has participated in:

Advising
Donations
Alumnae Chapter
Panhellenic
etc.

Then the chapter members can consider this information along with everything else when making membership decisions about the legacy.

I do think in some ways, though, this is already happening. I mean, when I was an adviser, we knew which of the legacies that were coming through had active moms/sisters/grandmothers. Not generally ones who regularly donated to the Foundation, but ones who participated in DG activities because we either knew the alums personally or the sponsorship form stated this outright.

Even with the out of state legacies from very far away, it's still pretty easy to see which pnms have active mothers. They're the ones who have multiple glowing recs and letters from the mother's sisters who have known the daughter most of, if not all of, her life.

[violetpretty]

Sigma Kappa's RIF already has a section for that. It's true that nothing would really need to be said for alumnae whose legacies are rushing at the school where they volunteer, but it's important to note if the legacy is rushing elsewhere.

[dukedg]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Sigma Kappa's RIF already has a section for that.

Ooh, I'm jealous. Did you feel like it helped you when you were an active in making legacy decisions or did people not use it?

Originally Posted by violetpretty

It's true that nothing would really need to be said for alumnae whose legacies are rushing at the school where they volunteer, but it's important to note if the legacy is rushing elsewhere.

We knew about legacies whose mothers/sisters/whatever were active anywhere around the country through two sources:
1. we had heard of the alum when she was listed on the form and/or
2. the alum herself or others who wrote the recs stated the alumna's involvement in DG

I would certainly recommend that anyone who is an involved alumna makes sure that comes across in the rec letters.

[violetpretty]

I think it is a relatively new addition. Our RIF was revamped just last year. The chapter I advise (my alma mater) doesn't have many legacies going through, so we don't have this problem. I guess it's not that big of a deal to add it to the form, because the legacy relative involvement will most likely shine through in the letter of support, but it's a reminder to the rec writer to include/elaborate on that information.