are there advantages??

[Stef the Pef]

Originally posted by KLPDaisy
I think I may have posted this story a while ago in a different thread but last year we had a pnm come through recruitment who seemed nice but was kind of shy and didn't really try to talk to us. We were going to cut her before pref but she facebooked the roommate of one of the girls in the sorority and would always send her messages like "tell KLP how much I loved them," "KLP is the best sorority," "I wanna join KLP," blah, blah, blah. We heard this and we decided to invite her back to pref because she was so enthusiastic about us. At pref she didn't really make a big effort to talk to anyone. As soon as pref was over, my sister's roommate called her to tell her that this girl had messaged her gushing about us. Yet in the long run, she ended up joining another sorority. I think she was just using facebook to get around the whole no talking to girls in sororities during recruitment thing. No clue if she did this with girls in any of the other sororities.

Isn't talking to members via facebook illegal at most schools? At Baylor, silence is silence--no talking on the phone, on IMs, on facebook, on LJ--nowhere.

As far as my take on those sites goes, I don't put info on facebook that I wouldn't want to come back and bite me in the butt, my LJ is friends-only, and my facebook photos are friends only. My myspace is pretty bare because I just joined to keep track of local bands I enjoy.

Think of it this way--a lot of employers are now starting to check out sites like facebook and myspace. Do you really want things like "I like to paaaarty!" affecting you later in life? And I don't know if this is an issue with anyone else, but I worry about relatives finding my facebook or myspace. If there's something on there that's not fit to show off to my family, I don't want it on there to be shown to everyone else. Our Panhellenic is really strict about facebook censorship (hate to say it, but what's common sense to me is censorship when enforced by rules) and we can't join groups about drinking or more illegal substances, can't have booze in our pics, etc., etc. Think of it this way--if you do get into a sorority, chances are, the "standards" officer is going to have certain rules and regs about appearances that overlap into your appearance on facebook, so don't put anything there that you might have to edit out later and save yourself some trouble by keeping it clean.

Sites like facebook can be a wonderful resource for chapters doing the rushing, though--posting positive info about yourself just makes us all the more excited about you! Put your best online foot forward and you should be fine.

[JaimeNicole]

As someone who had facebook going through rush / as a sister / and now as someone who knows the company that hired her saw her facebook, I always look at what's on my facebook profile and if I would be embarassed having my boss or parents see it, I don't post it... Anyone that knows me knows that I am a fun person and I like to go out... I don't need to remind them by having a picture from a sophomore year beer bong up there to prove it! There are ways to show you are an awesome person in PG (or PG 13) ways!

Just in my professional opinion from 3+ years of facebook stalking, it's WAYYY easier to make yourself look bad than good!

[CarolinaCutie]

AlphaFrog, stop being sanctimonious.

I will admit to Facebooking girls signed up for Recruitment as their applications became available in ICS. And I think y'all are giving way too much emphasis on "bad" stuff. The majority of profiles I viewed were helpful- they filled in some information that I wouldn't have been able to get from their recruitment application. I used it to see if they already knew anyone that I knew (small school), like a fraternity guy, so that if I saw that person later, I could ask about the PNM. It also helped me to put a face with a name BEFORE recruitment, so if we saw her around campus, we could make sure to smile very nicely.

I would certainly hope that each chapter uses appropriate discretion and balance when considering information that they gathered on Facebook. It's like when a fraternity guy tells you something about a girl that is negative... you have to evaluate the strength you'll place on that opinion as compared to the opinion you've developed of her during recruitment events.

So no, I don't think that freshmen girls should shy away from Facebook. Using a little common sense about what pictures and interests you put up is key, but I generally think Facebook can be positive.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally posted by CarolinaCutie
AlphaFrog, stop being sanctimonious.

I am NOT being sanctimonious, I'm being truthful. There is not one photo in existence of me when I've had more then one or two drinks. None with a drink in my hand. I said I've been smashed before. I've drank in letters. Heck, I've drank with my pin on, but there are NO photos of it.

[tunatartare]

Originally posted by Stef the Pef
Isn't talking to members via facebook illegal at most schools? At Baylor, silence is silence--no talking on the phone, on IMs, on facebook, on LJ--nowhere.

I think the girl got around it because she wasn't actually talking to a sorority member, just a roommate of one.

[kdonline]

Originally posted by adpiucf
I can assure you, if this did happen (and that's a big "if" considering the competitiveness of the FSU Greek System and the fact that rumors of all sorts fly about sororities during recruitment), it is not typical of any sorority. And if it did happen, it was likely instigated by members who are not officers, and thus their "sorting" has no bearing on the membership selection process.

I agree.

Since when would FSU sorority girls need a guy to tell them who is cute or not?

They've been doing it on their own just fine, year after year...

(* I am not trying to discredit FSU sorority members! *)

[adpiucf]

Rumors about sororities are on every campus! Ask ZTAngel or me about UCF. EVERY year, there is a rumor at recruitment that ADPi requires its members to attend mandatory bible study and that ZTA lines up its pledges in their underwear to circle their fat.

For the record, the rumors are just that-- rumors.

As for the guys being invited over... I can see some seniors calling their buddies at the XYZ house to come over and surf the internet with them and label PNM's for fun. But in reality, while that could very well happen, it is not how members are being selected and again, those comments would never carry weight or consideration on membership selection. Once someone has gone through recruitment on the other side, they'll see the ridiculousness of this scenario.

[FSUZeta]

kdonline, you are right! sorority girls at fsu(or anywhere else for that matter) have too much on the ball to rely on guys opinions of who they should ask to join their chapter. that is just too juvenile to believe. we all take our membership selection too seriously(and secretively) to allow ourselves to be influenced by some boys. it is absurd!!

and another thing, all of the chapters at fsu have wonderful alumnae advisory boards who would never stand for non-members influencing member selection.

[Stef the Pef]

Originally posted by KLPDaisy
I think the girl got around it because she wasn't actually talking to a sorority member, just a roommate of one.

Oh! That makes more sense now.