Recruitment 2010 news

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Re Arkansas - didn't they add AOPi a couple of years ago?

Yes, AOPi has joined the campus, and done so very successfully. I believe they came in 05 or 06.

Carnation is right. It takes a lot of money to compete with the older, more established chapters on campus and the main way to compete is with housing. AOPi did a good job - built a beautiful house right on sorority row - which made all the difference so early.

Anyone who comes on campus must adhere to some pretty strict housing rules set by the U of A, but, imo, it is worth it. What an opportunity for a GLO to build a strong chapter! There are SO many women interested in Greek Life!

I believe it is an actual hardship on the current chapters to keep giving them these large pledge classes, and the University is doing nothing to alleviate these problems

(can you tell I get riled up about this?)

[sweetmagnolia]

My friend from KU is considering dropping, but I gave her some bits of advice I've seen offered to some disappointed girls here- she seemed to really take hearing 'go forward with recruitment like the chapters you have left are the only chapters on campus, because they are for you'. She said she's going to sleep on it- we've been talking and she's very exhausted and feeling kind of ill. Hopefully things will feel better to her in the morning.

[NUBlue&Blue]

Originally Posted by gee_ess

I believe it is an actual hardship on the current chapters to keep giving them these large pledge classes, and the University is doing nothing to alleviate these problems

(can you tell I get riled up about this?)

It is hard on these chapters to keep having such large classes, no matter what the scale. Even at Georgia Tech, where the pledge class numbers were in the high 40's, that was about 10 girls too many for the size of their chapter rooms, dining rooms, etc. After about 4 years of even just an extra 10 girls, you're bursting at the seams.

On the other hand, it's hard to do anything about it with any kind of speed. It's kind of like building new schools in fast growing areas (if you're from the Atlanta area, you know what I'm talking about). By the time something can actually be done, the problem is so big that the relief isn't enough. The process for adding a new chapter to campus takes awhile, and in old established places doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be successful right away either. And then there's the problem of equality in housing...depending on the commitment from the national office, there may or may not be money for a house. In the case of my daughters' chapter at GT, they were the newest chapter (until the addition of Alpha Phi) on campus, coming on in 1989 but did not have a house until just a few years ago. It was relatively new when my daughter was a freshman in 2005 and they are unable to hold chapter meetings there because they have too many girls.....already. And they have the newest and biggest house.

For everyone's sake, I wish it was easy.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

The process for adding a new chapter to campus takes awhile, and in old established places doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be successful right away either.

This is the biggest problem. If sororities KNEW they could come in and have huge numbers immediately and keep them there, they wouldn't hesitate to take out the mother of all loans because they'd make it back in a few years with member dues. However, the university cannot make women join chapters, and at some of these schools the rushees would rather be nothing at all than go "new sorority."

The only thing the university could conceivably do would be to put an immovable cap on the groups (i.e. no group can have more than 200, screw quota) and again, if girls at schools like this got dropped by the "top" group they want, many would rather drop out of rush completely.

It's a really huge risk that can conceivably cripple a whole national organization if it doesn't work out well.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by sweetmagnolia

My friend from KU is considering dropping, but I gave her some bits of advice I've seen offered to some disappointed girls here- she seemed to really take hearing 'go forward with recruitment like the chapters you have left are the only chapters on campus, because they are for you'. She said she's going to sleep on it- we've been talking and she's very exhausted and feeling kind of ill. Hopefully things will feel better to her in the morning.

You know how it's said sometimes the difference between hope and despair is a good night's sleep. Add onto that this PNM is feeling a little ill and you have one very unhappy young lady.

[KSUViolet06]

Aren't there a couple other schools with this same kind of thing going on (huge chapters, huge quota, need for expansion, other NPCs hesitant make the investment of coming to campus?)

[sweetmagnolia]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

You know how it's said sometimes the difference between hope and despair is a good night's sleep. Add onto that this PNM is feeling a little ill and you have one very unhappy young lady.

She's also pretty lonely- none of her quad-mates have moved in yet, and I think with all the quiet she's found a lot of time to ruminate over the disappointments of the day. She's the one who talked me into doing recruitment this year, too, so I just hate to see her so bummed.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by sweetmagnolia

She's also pretty lonely- none of her quad-mates have moved in yet, and I think with all the quiet she's found a lot of time to ruminate over the disappointments of the day. She's the one who talked me into doing recruitment this year, too, so I just hate to see her so bummed.

i am sure that you gave her good advice. i hope that she will buck up and continue on. i know that you will continue to be a good friend and will listen to her-that will help so much. please let us know what she ends up doing.

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by 33girl

This is the biggest problem. If sororities KNEW they could come in and have huge numbers immediately and keep them there, they wouldn't hesitate to take out the mother of all loans because they'd make it back in a few years with member dues. However, the university cannot make women join chapters, and at some of these schools the rushees would rather be nothing at all than go "new sorority."

The only thing the university could conceivably do would be to put an immovable cap on the groups (i.e. no group can have more than 200, screw quota) and again, if girls at schools like this got dropped by the "top" group they want, many would rather drop out of rush completely.

It's a really huge risk that can conceivably cripple a whole national organization if it doesn't work out well.

I wish Irishpipes would chime in - I know she was involved in the ARkansas AOPi experience and could give more info. Aopi came in with big plans and huge support nationally, and it made all the difference on campus. I can't speak to their actual numbers, but the "feel" (tent talk?) on campus is they are a good group and are building a good solid reputation.
I am sure it was tough and stressful and quite expensive, but I really believe that they are doing well and adding to Greek Life.

With regard to how slow the process is, I imagine that is true, but the 'head in the sand' approach to this that the U of A takes is so frustrating. Just get the ball rolling!!

[irishpipes]

You rang??

AOII came on in 2007. I can't even begin to explain that whole process. First of all, Arkansas is certainly one of those schools that you would think NPCs would be drooling at the opportunity to charter. However, when it came down to it, the 2 groups presenting with AOII (Delta Zeta and Phi Mu) both withdrew from consideration before panhellenic voted. Not being an insider of DZ or Phi Mu, I don't know exactly why that happened, but I could muster a good guess.

In my opinion, Arkansas is quite similar to another SEC school - Ole Miss. Huge Greek system, huge chapters, huge interest in Greek life, very few NPC chapters. Seems like everyone wants a chapter at these schools but few can take the plunge. AOII invested millions in that chapter. That kind of investment is somewhat crippling even if it works out - you have to pass on other potential expansion opportunities, you risk the assets of the entire fraternity, etc. The panhellenic as a whole was not particulatly inviting to AOII in some ways, the university is difficult to work with (regarding land, construction, etc.) and Fayetteville is not a big metro area with lots of alums. I think most NPC groups would have difficulty making it at Arkansas. PNMs are Greek savvy there. They understand southern name recognition as far as sororities go. Certain groups might not fare well becaue of that. Very similar to Ole Miss.

I think Arkansas needs a new sorority or 2, but there aren't lots left on Maple, which is sorority row. The old DG house is still there and is owned by the university. It is my understanding that DG retains rights to reclaim that house should they recolonize. (And that is a lovely house with a fabulous location.) The university owns all of the remaining land. AOII owns our house but leases the land it sits on from the university. Bizarre. Our construction was delayed 1 1/2 YEARS due to red tape with the university. We lost many members because of this delay.

Some very strong NPCs have folded at Arkansas and I think that scares off potential colonies as well. A very strong, southern group colonized there in 1989 and made quota for the first time in 2006 I believe. It is a tough campus. I really think only a very small handful of NPCs would have much of a chance of success despite the desperate need for new chapters.

Just my 2 cents.

[carnation]

Hey, that was a 2 million dollar post! You are right on about Arkansas. I think it's very telling that 3 of the 4 groups who left UA didn't even try to come back when y'all presented.

[DubaiSis]

Do you think with RFM the numbers problem is diminished for new chapters? It seems that my national has had nothing but stellar installations over the last several years, which seems to coincide with RFM pretty nicely. Now the housing problem... that IS a problem. But I've also wondered if it wouldn't work for 3 chapters to colonize at the same time so that they could all build together, even if off Greek row somewhere. That wouldn't be an option for Normal U, but for the SEC-style schools, I think they could easily accommodate that kind of increase in chapters. What do you think? Am I completely off base? Be nice if I am ;}

[gee_ess]

Hi Irishpipes! Glad you posted!

I get depressed just thinking about how tough things look for other groups on this campus. But, I do think AOPi did it the right (yet very expensive) way which is why they were more successful earlier than the other newer group.

I SO SO SO wish DG would take a good look at coming back. There are alums still in Arkansas - and they are old enough to provide financial assistance. Plus, with strong DG chapters at schools close by (like Ole Miss, Mizzou) this seems like a good fit.

If I just had a magic wand!

[carnation]

And Theta too!

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

Do you think with RFM the numbers problem is diminished for new chapters? It seems that my national has had nothing but stellar installations over the last several years, which seems to coincide with RFM pretty nicely. Now the housing problem... that IS a problem. But I've also wondered if it wouldn't work for 3 chapters to colonize at the same time so that they could all build together, even if off Greek row somewhere. That wouldn't be an option for Normal U, but for the SEC-style schools, I think they could easily accommodate that kind of increase in chapters. What do you think? Am I completely off base? Be nice if I am ;}

I was posting at the same time as you!
I know very little about expansion, so I cannot say. But, it does seem like this might be a good idea. Probably a near impossibility to pull off since it seems like the planets and stars would need to align perfectly to get two or three groups to come on at the same time.
And yes, I do think RFM helps newer, smaller chapters get quota, but there is nothing to force those women to accept the bids.