Zeta Tau Alpha at Tulane

[Old_Row]

I think it's really sad for everyone.

So what happens now? Did other sororities make presentations? Does Tulane offer a spot to one of them instead?

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by Old_Row

I think it's really sad for everyone.

So what happens now? Did other sororities make presentations? Does Tulane offer a spot to one of them instead?

ADPi is the next in line for stacked expansion.

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

ADPi is the next in line for stacked expansion.

When is ADPi scheduled? Wonder if this will effect their plans to colonize?

[HonestTheia]

Originally Posted by Old_Row

I think it's really sad for everyone.

So what happens now? Did other sororities make presentations? Does Tulane offer a spot to one of them instead?

Formal rush was over by the time ZTA started trying to recolonize, so there really aren't any options for any of them at the moment. Several houses offer COB, but I think that the only house with any space available is Theta (and no one really wants to pay ~$1200 in dues for a semester that only has a month and a half left). For freshmen, there is the option of COB-ing in the fall or trying formal rush next spring, but sophomores are much less likely to be given bids than freshmen. Another sorority might try to colonize as early as next spring, but the juniors who rushed ZTA probably wouldn't find as much benefit in being in a chapter for half of a semester at the end of senior year. The current freshmen and sophomores would be able to take advantage of that, though. But, everyone would have to repeat the colonization-rush process, which many of the disenchanted zta-invited girls might be unwilling to do (and even then, there's no guarantee of a bid).
No one wins.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by HonestTheia

"Those 150 women can go through recruitment and join the existing chapters"? NO, THEY CAN'T. Many freshmen girls decided not to do formal recruitment so that they could do Zeta, and most of the 150 are sophomores and juniors who cannot rush again. Recruitment isn't an option for most.

If Tulane's Panhellenic is that upset by the decision, they can hold a special re-rush for those 150 women and declare them "freebies" for chapters that may want to take them.

And sophomores and juniors can rerush, why on earth would you say they cannot? Their pledge to ZTA has been broken by ZTA's decision, if another group wants to offer them a bid today they are eligible.

[nolagreek]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If Tulane's Panhellenic is that upset by the decision, they can hold a special re-rush for those 150 women and declare them "freebies" for chapters that may want to take them.

And sophomores and juniors can rerush, why on earth would you say they cannot? Their pledge to ZTA has been broken by ZTA's decision, if another group wants to offer them a bid today they are eligible.

ZTA waited about a month following formal recruitment to start thier colonization. COBs were done right after recruitment when total was recalculated so there is very little chance of a bid this semester. Anyone committed to Zeta is free to go through recruitment next January. This does not solve the problem of the large sizes of existing chapters which is why extension was recommended in the first place.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by nolagreek

This does not solve the problem of the large sizes of existing chapters which is why extension was recommended in the first place.

How big did the chapters get before Panhel finally gave the greenlight to extension? This is something that doesn't happen overnight and everyone involved should have been aware of that. In other words they didn't go from 100 people last fall to 220 this fall. The only time that happens is when there's a monumental change to the whole institution (i.e. it adds a new school of study or something) or when a similar institution for some reason becomes undesirable to large numbers of new students.

[nolagreek]

When PhiMu was colonized in 2010, total was around 120. This was in the fall before recruitment. Tulane opened for expansion again in 2011 and selected ZTA and ADII for a stacked extension. Total was around 150 in the fall of 2011 and over 160 this past fall. Quota is has been been just below 70 for the past two years which brings total to over 200 after recruitment especially when quota additions are included. The issue is that PhiMu just brought more people into the system and did not really reduce total. Quota dipped for one year and then shot right back up to where it had been before. The large chapter sizes did not happen overnight but then it takes a while for the whole extension process. The percentage of women who are interested in being Greek has increased with extension.

[AXOrushadvisor]

Originally Posted by nolagreek

ZTA waited about a month following formal recruitment to start thier colonization. COBs were done right after recruitment when total was recalculated so there is very little chance of a bid this semester. Anyone committed to Zeta is free to go through recruitment next January. This does not solve the problem of the large sizes of existing chapters which is why extension was recommended in the first place.

Curious about the COB after recruitment. Was there not a moratorium on no COBing with Zeta coming on? I would think that would have used up some of Zeta's potential new member pool. Total was recalculated down or up after COB? Is it normal to wait a month after recruitment to start a colonization process? Seems like a long time and your captive audience wouldn't be so captive any more?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor

Is it normal to wait a month after recruitment to start a colonization process? Seems like a long time and your captive audience wouldn't be so captive any more?

Yes, but the Bitter Betties are also probably a lot less bitter. The last thing you want as a new colony is a bunch of women who come into it 2.5 minutes after not getting bids with the attitude of "ABC didn't want us, so screw them, we'll all join the new colony and show them." You would hope the people doing the interviewing etc would be wise enough to catch that, but you never know.

[nolagreek]

Mardi Gras fell between recruitment and the colonization start so that may have been a factor in the timing. There was a moritorium on COB for just over three weeks during the Zeta colonization period. Three weeks is the maximum specified in the NPC. Total is recalculated each semester as the average of all groups and total did go up because of the new members. I don't know if COB was a huge impact since all of the groups were within 5% of total in the fall and everyone took quota. My impression is that there were not many COB offered.

[HonestTheia]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Look, you are a disappointed PNM. We get it. You need to step away from the computer. You as a student are not privy to the inner workings of a national sorority. There is much more to it than whether or not there were 150 strong women available. You don't know what was budgeted and what was needed from the sorority stand point. Tulane's point of view is only part of the story, and obviously not the most important part in the end. Getting on Greek Chat and slamming ZTA for being unrealistic, wanting to be the "best" right out of the gate, etc is not fair and sounds like sour grapes. This is a terrible situation, but you are attributing a lot of your own skewed views onto ZTA when you have no knowledge as to their side of the story. I will stipulate that the women that ZTA chose were outstanding...there just weren't enough in ZTA's view to continue. Now there is no reason for you to stay here and talk about ZTA. No one is calling the PNMs failures. Stop.

Thank you for attempting to discredit and undermine my every word and point as sourness. Calling ZTA's expectations unreasonable isn't "slamming" ZTA. Saying that Zeta left behind a great many disappointed girls isn't "slamming" ZTA, nor is it "slamming" ZTA when they themselves can be quoted as saying that they wanted to come in as the best. I have nothing against ZTA itself; I just think that they approached Tulane University in the wrong way and realized it too late. You're right in that this argument (that you at one point said you would not continue) is pointless, for as I don't have all of ZTA's story, you have none of the story.
Also, you're wrong- I wasn't a Zeta PNM, my roommate was, and it was pretty heartbreaking to watch her throw away all her ZETA pins, buttons, and beads, especially after watching her fall so in love with them. After she had watched me craft everything for my little this semester, she was pretty thrilled at the prospect of having her own little someday. But thank you for trying to lecture and kick a young girl whom you perceived to be a heart-broken PNM when she was presumably down.
And while it does little to change a business-oriented organization's mind on colonization, I would say that the girls involved are the most important part of a sorority.

[AOII Angel]

You are obviously going to read maliciousness into my posts where there is none. I do have the story.

"

Originally Posted by faithful.sister

National Council of Zeta Tau Alpha has regretfully decided to discontinue our efforts to recolonize our Beta Kappa Chapter at Tulane University.

The Tulane women who expressed an interest in joining ZTA were outstanding; however, the number of women interested would not have provided our new members with the quality experience a colony should have. We had hoped to bring these impressive students a unique opportunity to recolonize a chapter, and we regret that we cannot do so at this time. We wish them all the best and hope they will find excellent ways to stay involved at Tulane.

National Council thanks the members of the Greater New Orleans Alumnae Chapter and collegians from Delta Kappa Chapter at Louisiana State University and Delta Nu Chapter at The University of New Orleans for their help at Tulane We are also grateful for our dedicated Traveling Leadership Consultants who worked so hard to find potential new members and for our Extension Team who conducted infoviews for five days.

We appreciate the efforts of the Tulane Panhellenic Council, the office of Fraternity and Sorority Programs and the Division of Student Affairs for their help and hospitality. Tulane is a very special place and Zeta Tau Alpha hopes to be able to restore our Beta Kappa Chapter in the future."

Part of healing is letting go of bitterness. If you weren't one of the PNMs, then you really have no business coming on GC pushing this any further. Go comfort your roommate. This attempt to explain things on the Internet does no one any good.

[HonestTheia]

"

Originally Posted by faithful.sister

National Council of Zeta Tau Alpha has regretfully decided to discontinue our efforts to recolonize our Beta Kappa Chapter at Tulane University.

The Tulane women who expressed an interest in joining ZTA were outstanding; however, the number of women interested would not have provided our new members with the quality experience a colony should have. We had hoped to bring these impressive students a unique opportunity to recolonize a chapter, and we regret that we cannot do so at this time. We wish them all the best and hope they will find excellent ways to stay involved at Tulane.

National Council thanks the members of the Greater New Orleans Alumnae Chapter and collegians from Delta Kappa Chapter at Louisiana State University and Delta Nu Chapter at The University of New Orleans for their help at Tulane We are also grateful for our dedicated Traveling Leadership Consultants who worked so hard to find potential new members and for our Extension Team who conducted infoviews for five days.

We appreciate the efforts of the Tulane Panhellenic Council, the office of Fraternity and Sorority Programs and the Division of Student Affairs for their help and hospitality. Tulane is a very special place and Zeta Tau Alpha hopes to be able to restore our Beta Kappa Chapter in the future."

Part of healing is letting go of bitterness. If you weren't one of the PNMs, then you really have no business coming on GC pushing this any further. Go comfort your roommate. This attempt to explain things on the Internet does no one any good.

That is a limited version of the story that says nothing more than "there weren't enough members, so we didn't colonize." And you seem to have missed the places where I answered the question on the current options for the PNMs, and when ADPi would colonize if they choose to do so. I've offered far more information on the subject that you have. I stated my reason for coming here earlier - these girls would not have been failures, and people were implying that they would have been. While ZTA might have had hidden reasons for not colonizing, I resent people saying that it was "good" that ZTA didn't colonize. And, as you are no more a part of Zeta than I am (and since this subject really relates to you in no way, shape, or form at all), you really have even less business here than me. I offered information; you offered condescending criticism of my mentality in an attempt to render my points as bearing no weight. Good night.

[AZTheta]

HonestTheia, your statement that "the girls involved are the most important part of a sorority" (and your other posts as well) illustrates your myopic view of the situation. No one implied that the "girls" would have been failures. Those were your words. There was no condescension or patronizing in anyone's posts in this thread. You missed the significant regret and loss being expressed.

No NPC sorority lightly reaches the decision to not proceed with an expansion effort, or to close a chapter. Expansion is more than a matter of warm bodies to reach a number. It is complex, and a significant undertaking on all levels. A new chapter needs a strong foundation. That is the bottom line here, and something that you are not grasping. We respect our Zeta Tau Alpha Panhellenic sisters; we have all been in that situation. You have not.

nolagreek, yes the system CAN absorb 150 new members. Many chapters at AZ (where total is 220 and many chapters are ABOVE that) hold chapter meetings in on-campus facilities. Recruitment has been restructured to accomodate the 1200+ PNMs each August. Total has been raised repeatedly in the past several years. Think outside the box!

I agree with AOII Angel's comment that we may well be reaching the tipping point of sorority expansion.