Colonization at the University of Alabama?!?

Originally Posted by flirt5721

Congratulation to all chosen to present. Although I am going to be rooting for AXiD and a chance to get our Alpha Tau chapter back.

I recall reading somewhere that the Gamma Phis are living in the AXiD house?

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by BamaMama

If a new group colonized AFTER formal recruitment, wouldn't that put them somewhat at a disadvantage starting out? It seems that the "prime" PNMs would have already pledged another group - leaving them with girls that didn't go through recruitment, dropped out for one reason or another, or were totally dropped by all the other groups. Group reputation is so strong at a school like Bama, and if you start out with the reputation of pledging anyone that didn't get a bid somewhere else, it's hard to shake that image, isn't it?

This is true for many colleges. At Washington and Lee, were 80% of women are Greek (it's higher for men), the successful colonizations have occurred when the new sorority actually participates in formal recruitment. In 1991, the first time W&L tried to expand, the group tried to recruit after formal recruitment, and failed--the chapter was never even installed. In 1992 and 1997, when Pi Phi and KD respectively colonized, they went through formal recruitment. The new groups were given a quota of campus total, and the old groups divided up what was left via normal quota procedures. This is also planned to be the process for any future W&L recruitments.

I know for a fact that in 1992 when Pi Phi was colonized the William & Mary undergrad chapter was brought in to run recruitment along with the alumnae and national representatives.

[hmd1014]

I recall reading somewhere that the Gamma Phis are living in the AXiD house?

Did Gamma Phi buy the house, or does Alpha Xi's house corp still own it? KKBama?

[flirt5721]

Originally Posted by OTW

I recall reading somewhere that the Gamma Phis are living in the AXiD house?

I honestly don't know if Gamma Phi bought the house or not. I'll try to find out.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by BamaMama

If a new group colonized AFTER formal recruitment, wouldn't that put them somewhat at a disadvantage starting out? It seems that the "prime" PNMs would have already pledged another group - leaving them with girls that didn't go through recruitment, dropped out for one reason or another, or were totally dropped by all the other groups. Group reputation is so strong at a school like Bama, and if you start out with the reputation of pledging anyone that didn't get a bid somewhere else, it's hard to shake that image, isn't it?

it depends.

when a sorority is colonizing after formal recruitment, they usually hold a presentation during the first round of parties(they are scheduled into the rotation) and every pnm would attend the presentation. they learn a little of the sorority's history, what opportunities the new colony will provide for her members, the projected timeline, etc. panhellenic makes sure that the pnms understand that the opportunity is there for the pnms.

believe it or not, some girls will drop out of recruitment in order to have the opportunity to be a part of something new. there may be lots of legacies from other chapters in the state who would want join. girls who have heard great things about other chapters of that sorority. girls who have a strong sense of adventure and are not afraid of a challenge and hard work.

when a colony is started, the national sorority wants a broad spectrum of women for the membership. they don't want all freshman, but they do want freshman. they also want sophomores, juniors and some seniors. they are building a chapter from scratch, so they need girls from each class.

as to taking rejects:we all know wonderful, well qualified pnms who are bidless every year. had things gone differently, had they listed xyz in their top choices instead of abc, they would have been part of the xyz new member class. fate happens. it doesn't mean that they were rejects-which makes me think of something or someone not worthy.

we also have to remember that the majority of the membership of each sorority will have no idea where patty pnm ended up on their bid list-for all they know patty declined their invitation. there will be members in each sorority that loved, loved, loved a particular pnm and were very disappointed when she was not invited back(or when she chose not to come back).

pnms seeking to become a colonist of a sorority have to go thru more scrutiny than the average pnm, because they are meeting local alumnae and/or national officers and former national officers. i wonder how successful many of us would have been had we been trying to become a founding sister of a colony? national officers understand campus climates and know what they have to overcome for the colony to be successful. founding a colony is a major investment and the national officers and local alumnae are going to do everything to make sure that the colony is a success.

panhellenic plays an important role in the whole process. if the panhel officers are enthusiastic about a new sorority coming on campus and really talk it up, the sorority chapters will catch that feeling too. promoting the colonization as a positive(which it is) and talking it up can help dispel the "that new sorority only took everyone elses rejects" trash talk. advisors to the established campus sororities also have an obligation to make sure that the addition of a new chapter is seen in a positive light and that their chapter remains positive and supportive toward the colony. alumnae of other sororities as well as parents have a big role to play too-by stating positive things about the colonization and getting the word out about the new group.it is never easy, and on some campuses is harder, but it can be successful.granted, it may be more difficult to colonize on a tradition-rich campus such as bama. but it can be done.

sorry for the sermon, but i was an advisor to a colony and know what a huge undertaking it is, as well as an exciting opportunity.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

it depends.

when a sorority is colonizing after formal recruitment, they usually hold a presentation during the first round of parties(they are scheduled into the rotation) and every pnm would attend the presentation. they learn a little of the sorority's history, what opportunities the new colony will provide for her members, the projected timeline, etc. panhellenic makes sure that the pnms understand that the opportunity is there for the pnms.

believe it or not, some girls will drop out of recruitment in order to have the opportunity to be a part of something new. there may be lots of legacies from other chapters in the state who would want join. girls who have heard great things about other chapters of that sorority. girls who have a strong sense of adventure and are not afraid of a challenge and hard work.

when a colony is started, the national sorority wants a broad spectrum of women for the membership. they don't want all freshman, but they do want freshman. they also want sophomores, juniors and some seniors. they are building a chapter from scratch, so they need girls from each class.

as to taking rejects:we all know wonderful, well qualified pnms who are bidless every year. had things gone differently, had they listed xyz in their top choices instead of abc, they would have been part of the xyz new member class. fate happens. it doesn't mean that they were rejects-which makes me think of something or someone not worthy.

we also have to remember that the majority of the membership of each sorority will have no idea where patty pnm ended up on their bid list-for all they know patty declined their invitation. there will be members in each sorority that loved, loved, loved a particular pnm and were very disappointed when she was not invited back(or when she chose not to come back).

pnms seeking to become a colonist of a sorority have to go thru more scrutiny than the average pnm, because they are meeting local alumnae and/or national officers and former national officers. i wonder how successful many of us would have been had we been trying to become a founding sister of a colony? national officers understand campus climates and know what they have to overcome for the colony to be successful. founding a colony is a major investment and the national officers and local alumnae are going to do everything to make sure that the colony is a success.

panhellenic plays an important role in the whole process. if the panhel officers are enthusiastic about a new sorority coming on campus and really talk it up, the sorority chapters will catch that feeling too. promoting the colonization as a positive(which it is) and talking it up can help dispel the "that new sorority only took everyone elses rejects" trash talk. advisors to the established campus sororities also have an obligation to make sure that the addition of a new chapter is seen in a positive light and that their chapter remains positive and supportive toward the colony. alumnae of other sororities as well as parents have a big role to play too-by stating positive things about the colonization and getting the word out about the new group.it is never easy, and on some campuses is harder, but it can be successful.granted, it may be more difficult to colonize on a tradition-rich campus such as bama. but it can be done.

sorry for the sermon, but i was an advisor to a colony and know what a huge undertaking it is, as well as an exciting opportunity.

I respectfully disagree. There are situations in which recruiting AFTER formal recruitment is a death sentence for the colonizing sorority. I can't speak as to whether this is the case for Alabama, but I think it's certainly the case for my alma mater. See my above post....

It's all to do with what your current Greek percentage is, IMO.

Again, I say this not having been the advisor to a colony or any such thing--only having been on a very predominantly and competitive Greek campus.

[33girl]

This is an odd question, but is there any way for the sororities presenting or Bama to know how many possible legacies of the presenting groups would be at the school? Would Panhel have that on their forms?

I mean, tradition is tradition, but if you are a quadruple DG legacy I can see where you might really want to be in a new colony rather than one of the established groups, especially if none of them really tickled your fancy.

Hoping this kind of makes sense...

Oh, and BamaMama, if a colonization happens at a school like this, it'll be known WAY ahead of time and publicized - it's not like the girls will go through rush and then at the end be told "oh by the way, Mu Nu Nu is colonizing if y'all are into that."

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

This is an odd question, but is there any way for the sororities presenting or Bama to know how many possible legacies of the presenting groups would be at the school? Would Panhel have that on their forms?

I'm not sure how they would find this out. I know that the sororities make it a point to point out how many alumnae and alumnae chapters they have in the area, but I don't know about legacies.

[Titchou]

Since the University has not closed out it's Freshman class yet, they don't even know who will be attending in the fall. There's no way to know about legacies at this point. The only way to know is if they include that information on their recruitment application sheet...and not all PNMs are up front about that.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Since the University has not closed out it's Freshman class yet, they don't even know who will be attending in the fall. There's no way to know about legacies at this point. The only way to know is if they include that information on their recruitment application sheet...and not all PNMs are up front about that.

I didn't mean so much freshmen as I did sophomores, juniors and seniors who may have gone through rush and not joined a sorority previously. I guess what I'm asking is whether Panhellenic keeps those apps on file, and whether they might have any bearing on who's chosen.

[aopirose]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I didn't mean so much freshmen as I did sophomores, juniors and seniors who may have gone through rush and not joined a sorority previously. I guess what I'm asking is whether Panhellenic keeps those apps on file, and whether they might have any bearing on who's chosen.

I see what you are saying. If that type of information is kept, I could see how that information might be interesting but it might not be that useful. As Titchou said, not all PNMs are that forthcoming. They might not have listed a legacy sorority who was not on campus.

[kk_bama]

Originally Posted by flirt5721

I honestly don't know if Gamma Phi bought the house or not. I'll try to find out.

It's not something we're discussing publicly at this time.

[flirt5721]

Originally Posted by kk_bama

It's not something we're discussing publicly at this time.

I'm sorry for my comment. It is not my place to discuss the situtation and I will not be discussing any time soon.

[texas*princess]

I'm confused why it's so taboo if one org bought a house from another?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

I'm confused why it's so taboo if one org bought a house from another?

because one of the groups might or might not be colonizing there, for starters. kk_bama is usually very forthcoming about things so if she tells me to MYOB, I'm going to.