Commuter School Rush

[ASTalumna06]

You're right. I attended a smaller school and I'm in a different part of the country. But that doesn't mean that all of my professors love Greek life and throw names at me every time I ask.

I know of students from all over the country who take this approach, at small schools, large schools, public and private. I've heard of people obtaining between 5 and 20 names from just one professor.

Also, I never said it was their "job" to find new members for our organizations. But wouldn't it make sense to ask a person, who works with students every day and knows their personalities and their capabilities, for suggestions about who we might want to recruit into our organizations that stand for high academic performance, generous philanthropic endeavors, and good values?

Besides... doing this hurts... who? You send out a letter, it's free, and at the very worst you don't get a response. Oh no, not that!

[33girl]

Well, what a professor thinks is spiffy and what 18-21 year old members of a chapter think is spiffy may not be the same thing. Plus there are plenty of things professors don't know about their students. It's kinda like the moms who don't know their daughters are slutting it up all over myspace.

[LatinaAlumna]

On the surface, it might make sense to ask professors for recommendations. However, some students might not appreciate being recommended by a professor for a student organization, particularly a greek organization. Perhaps I am just more mindful of my students and their privacy than others you have encountered are. I wouldn't let anyone send letters to my students unless my students agreed ahead of time that this would be okay. I also would not want to risk appearing to favor one greek organization over another. If I advertise for one, I must do it for all of them.

[ASTalumna06]

I never said "ask a professor for a name and then write that person a letter extending them a bid".

Obviously this process is used to tell a PNM about your organization and to get them to attend recruitment events. It's the same thing as if some random person just showed up at an event. At least this way you're contacting a good number of people that you don't know and may never have gotten a chance to talk to. If someone shows up at your recruitment event after reading a letter about an organization that's involved in academics, philanthropy and rituals, and they go there looking for something else (like alcohol and getting laid), then they're incredibly stupid, you'll probably be able to pick them out immediately, and then get rid of them.

[LatinaAlumna]

^Then what are you talking about? Are you asking professors to hand out flyers? I don't know of any campus that allows professors to just turn over lists of names to organizations, so I really don't get how you are accomplishing this.

[ASTalumna06]

and if someone doesn't like the letter, they throw it away. I highly doubt someone would get extremely offended by a Greek letter org. sending them a letter. and if they do, well... I'd hate to see how they react when they get a call from a telemarketer

[ASTalumna06]

all you do is ask them, "do you know of anyone in your classes who you would see fit to be in a greek letter org?" ... if they do, they give you their names. i didn't say they have to advertise for you. they just let you know of any good students in their classes.

[LatinaAlumna]

I would have been incredibly annoyed if I found out my professor referred my name to a sorority. He/she has no idea what I am interested in, or what type of sorority I would want to join (if at all), or if I am already part of a different one.

If your idea works for you, keep going with it. It's just not something I would ever do in my own role, nor is it something I would have appreciated as an undergraduate.

Edited to add:

"do you know of anyone in your classes who you would see fit to be in a greek letter org?"

See fit? Wow...I don't think ANY faculty or staff member should make judgements as to which students are "fit" to be greek.

[ASTalumna06]

I could explain this all day and you still won't understand. So I'm just going to leave it. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine. It was just a suggestion.

[LatinaAlumna]

No, I understand you. Perfectly.