Colonization and initiation. Beginning. Middle. End?

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

For Psi U it depends. You have to go through three steps with a varying amount of time. First you are a colony, then a provisional chapter then a full chapter. My own chapter took something like four years to go all the way. Yet we have a provisional chapter that only had less then a year as a colony so it depends.

Woooooow

[Senusret I]

And I guess I should answer the question from an Alpha perspective (I'm sure someone else will answer for APO

For Alpha....after reviewing the documents on the public portion of the website, it SEEMS like the initiation is concurrent with the granting of the provisional charter. But it clearly states that chapters are provisional for the first two years. Permanent charters are automatic after two years unless something is amiss. If the provisional charter fails, then the remaining college students are considered members of the sponsoring alumni chapter.

So basically, if it fails, they're still members.

[MysticCat]

In Phi Mu Alpha, initiation and chartering both come at the end of the process.

ETA: It is a two-phased process. Phase I, which must be completed within 2 years (but can happen more quickly) is basically the organization period. Phase II is nine-weeks long and is an intensive probationary member period. As I recall, colonists are pledged at the beginning and initiated (and chartered) in week 8.

[amanda6035]

What aopirose said.... I had written this long response and realized she pretty much said the same thing...that's how we did it.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

For your GLOs expansion process, at what point is the initiation of the members?

Are they initiated at the same time the chapter is chartered -- at the end of the whole thing?

Are they pledged, then initiated, then have a probationary period before the chapter is chartered?

Are they initiated at the very beginning without a pledge process and then work toward chartering?

Is it somewhere in between or none of these?

I am curious.... some of my questions about Pike at Howard still linger and now I want to know how all types of GLOs might go about this.

I feel like I asked this before, so if I did, my bad.

Well, first there is an interest group. Which means you are totally on your own, pretty much, until you get enough people/interest to start a Colony. Then there will be a Colonization Ceremony or some other suchness. As an interest group you're not really recognized by campus, can't schedule meetings in the union, not part of ifc, HOWEVER, if you are part of a interest group and then leave, your chances - depending on campus- of getting bid somewhere else are pretty slim.

After you are a colony you can take pledges, usually. These pledges get totally hosed because they don't just pledge to join, they pledge to become a founding father, and then have to still do all the installation work after they are finished pledging.

Once all the standards have been met (your chapter size is about average for your campus, you're not failing classes, etc.) you get installed. To answer your question, the night before installation, we were initiated by members from other chpaters (you have to be brothers to start a chapter so you are all initiated first, then installed)

Then you get installed and be prepared to do the really hard work, establishing yourself, etc. (because IFC didn't like you at all as a colony and will hate you even more for making it) and it really is the first year or two AFTER initiation/instalation that the "laying the foundation" really happens.

Hope that helped.


ETA: Colonists go through the Pledge Ceremony, so the pledges to the Colony are actually Pledging other Pledges

[33girl]

The interest group has requirements to fulfill for chartering. Women are not initiated as members until those requirements are met. This is eons ago, but if I recall, the women are initiated and then the chapter itself is installed (on the same evening that is). If there's someone who wishes to be initiated and she graduates before the chapter is fully chartered, she can be initiated as an alumna.

[Thetagirl218]

My colonization experience was fairly similar to the others that have been posted thus far. When the chapter was colonized, I was a new member, when we were chartered, I went through initiation.

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

ETA: Colonists go through the Pledge Ceremony, so the pledges to the Colony are actually Pledging other Pledges

This was the process for some of my guy friends who were founding fathers of their fraternity. They had a Fall pledge class, and a Spring pledge class during which time they were a colony and all of them were pledges. They all became the Alpha class when they were initiated in the end of the Spring when the chapter was chartered.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Thetagirl218

This was the process for some of my guy friends who were founding fathers of their fraternity. They had a Fall pledge class, and a Spring pledge class during which time they were a colony and all of them were pledges. They all became the Alpha class when they were initiated in the end of the Spring when the chapter was chartered.

Interesting. With us, once the colonists have pledged (the beginning of Phase II that I described above), no other men can join the colony until after initiation/chartering. Again, though, that occurs 8 weeks after pledging.

[Senusret I]

Very very helpful! Thank you!

I would also love to hear from non-social groups out there.

[couggirl]

Out of curiousity, are members of the colony allowed to wear letters?

[aopirose]

Originally Posted by couggirl

Out of curiousity, are members of the colony allowed to wear letters?

Yes for AOII.

[AlwaysSAI]

I'm more familiar with the colonization process of SAI because it was pretty recent for my chapter (1999) and not so current on the Phi Sig policies.

In SAI, you first must form an interest group of at least 15 non-graduating girls of sophomore status or higher. The group must form themselves and become a free standing organization that volunteers in the community, hosts events, raises funds, etc. The interest group has to submit letters from the President of the University and the Head of the Music Department in support of Sigma Alpha Iota. An official pre-colonization visit must be held with school officials, group member and an official Sigma Alpha Iota representative.

Once the group is approved to colony status they must meet certain goals which include weekly meetings, minutes of each meeting, service projects, fund raisers, elect officers, establish a bank account...etc, etc. The colony must show evidence of operating for 6 months post the pre-colonization meeting.

A post-petition meeting is held with another representative who must observe certain things, meet with certain important people and report back to the NEB with their recommendation to approve/not approve the group for colony status. If the group is approved, the NVP or other rep will perform the pledging ceremony for the colony members and they will begin the Member in Training period.

The Province Officer, Faculty advisor, or other appointed Fraternity member will conduct the Member in Training sessions for the duration of 6 to 10 weeks. At the end of the MiT period, the colony members must take and pass the national membership exam.

At the end of it all, the colony is installed as a chapter and then initiated over a weekend--the whole thing usually takes 1 and 1/2 days. The installation day must include a reception and musicale.

Sorry....I talk too much.

ETA: I'm gonna look up the Phi Sig process now.

[knight_shadow]

My organization's process is somewhat similar to RU OX Alum's. A group would start as an interest group to show that they can run an organization on their own. Once they've met the expansion requirements, they complete a founders program and are granted colony status (at which point, they become full-fledged brothers). The group remains a colony until it meets chapter requirements and presents itself at National Conference. If, for some reason, the chapter/colony doesn't make it, the guys still remain brothers. I haven't heard of this happening, though.

Originally Posted by couggirl

Out of curiousity, are members of the colony allowed to wear letters?

For my organization, yes.

[rufio]

I was the last pledge class of the colony before we became a chapter. So i pledged, went through pledge process and was initiated at chapter installation with all the brothers, making me a founding father. but basically as a colony we had the same education program that we do as a chapter only in the colony, in IHQ's eyes, everyone (pledges and actives) are one in the same until chapter installation. the distinction between pledges and actives was solely for the colony purposes. kind of like a practice run before the big show.

when we were colony, our pledges didnt have pledge pins, but we had colony pins. But only the "active" colonists could wear them. When we were installed we traded in the colony pins to IHQ and received our Member Badges and separate pledge pins for next semester.

so for us, we became a colony and everyone is initiated at installation into full brotherhood.

[magichat]

as a pike I am interested, whatever happened to the colony at Howard? I have heard some stories that I cannot believe are true. It seems as if they have just fallen off the face of the earth.