Sorority & Rush Information Sessions for High School Seniors - Page 3

justamom · #31 02-08-2003, 05:09 PM

You know what Kate, I don't think there's a real disagreement here at all. What started out as one topic has evolved into another. A few general statements were made and somehow, it got all out of whack!

I think one of the best statements you made was loosely about not knowing what a sorority was until you finished pledgeship and had some time as an active. I would venture a guess, based on my own Greek experience, many may NEVER really know...

No one in their right mind would argue that some girls who are so indoctrinated with the "system" make HORRID sisters while others who "stumbled" into the process may be the next National Officer. Yet, I think we all can agree that there IS a system and yes, it does differ from campus to campus. Most of us too would agree that for girls IN GENERAL, it is beneficial to know as much as they can about their campus and THEIR system.

I guess I feel
Knowledge is power.
Everyone has seen either Legally Blond, Animal House or Sorority Life

(This REALLY is sarcasm!)
Those who WANT it bad enough will seek out information.
It would be nice if everyone found a spot...but they don't.
Bottom line, IF someone really DESIRES to be in a sorority, it is because they have some concept of what a sorority is, or at the very least, what they THINK it is.

Are we all arguing if a girl should go out there and search for information OR, should it be spoon fed???
I've kind of lost what it is we are all talking about!

GPhiBLtColonel · #32 02-09-2003, 02:29 AM

...just returned from our regional leadership conference and while there I asked some of the collegians what they thought about high school info sessions for passing on sorority information and they all thought it was a great idea -- only one of the collegains I talked to (out of a total of just 8) had known anything about sororities beforehand. The others wished they had known something while in high school.
I then asked the girls what was the best way to get high school senior girls to COME to one of these sessions? To wit -- Our brand-new alum Panhel association did one session last year -- our first -- but it was poorly attended -- okay sure we did not deconflict the date with the high school prom calendar and our session was the day after the prom! (dumb I know)
But thanks to word of mouth we had other girls who were not there download our forms from the website and get them to us by our deadline to get recs etc...the girls who did come and/or who did get their paperwork to us -- we had 9 total -- all got into sororities except one (since this girl seemed to be a HUGE partier and was not much into studying -- this was a blessing methinks

)
Anyways, the collegians I asked about this said they thought I had a good idea to advertise our info session in the high school newspapers and they all said the ads should emphasize what is available once you become a member of a sorority -- particularly scholarships...
So I guess we will try that approach this year -- we DID deconflict the date of our session with the area proms --

and we shall see what increase -- if any -- we get in interest and attendance...I do like the idea of creating a booklet as someone posted earlier on this thread though I think that will have to wait til next year...
I think we will keep doing these sessions and we will continue to strive for good local publicity so more young women will see the Panhel name out there and realize it can be a good thing to join a sorority!

kateshort · #33 02-09-2003, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by justamom
Everyone has seen either Legally Blond, Animal House or Sorority Life (This REALLY is sarcasm!)
Those who WANT it bad enough will seek out information.
It would be nice if everyone found a spot...but they don't.
Bottom line, IF someone really DESIRES to be in a sorority, it is because they have some concept of what a sorority is, or at the very least, what they THINK it is.

That's part of the problem.

I think a lot of those who seek it out seek it out because of what can be stereotypical portrayals. Those who "really want it" may have a totally different perception of greek life if they've only seen the above portrayals. I'm not saying that they'd make horrid sisters, not at all! But the fact that someone *wants* it because she wants to live in a house like the "Delta Nu's" in Legally Blonde is going to get a huge culture shock if she thinks that Valpo sorority life is going to be like that! (I wish we all had over a hundred members and a house to live in!)

The other thing is, stuff like MTV sorority life may actively *turn away* quality women, because they get the idea that all sororities on all campuses are like that. If I thought that I needed to look like the girls of Delta Nu to get into a sorority, I'd never go through formal rush. Why bother researching the sororities if you feel that you don't have a chance against a bunch of rich, long-haired party girls? Again, it doesn't mean that they'd be great sisters, but how can you find out if they don't get interested in rush? By the time some women realize that sorority life isn't that stereotype, and *want* to rush, it may be too late for them since all of the houses are at quota and only want freshmen.

I think that we as individual sororities, and as GLOs in general, need to think about marketing. We want to attract many different kinds of women, not just one stereotype of women.

It's kind of like me going to college. I never would have thought about Valparaiso University if they hadn't done a "Valpo Sunday" at church with alumnae speakers and displays and flyers about what Valpo had to offer. *Because* I saw that information, and heard about the good qualities of the school, I did want to know more. But I would have never "done the research" into Valpo if my church hadn't had a Valpo Sunday. Similarly, I think there are women who won't research what greek life has to offer until they are given *some* information about what NPC sororities are really like (both in general and on specific campuses).

So no, I don't think that women need to be totally spoon-fed, but if you want to have a more diverse, quality group of women to choose from, you need to market a broader and more accurate picture of sorority life to women. Again, not that that applies to every campus, but it needs to apply to some.

Valpo has seven sororities, and had less than ninety women go through recruitment. Sixty-five received and accepted bids (snap or otherwise) on bid day. That's *fewer* than some sororities take for ONE PLEDGE CLASS!

Like I said, if your campus doesn't have a problem attracting a diverse group of women, you may be fine... but GC has often had stories of women asking if they can get a bid as a sophomore. Wouldn't it be nice if they had known enough to decide whether to rush as freshmen, and decide to investigate sorority life on their campuses before it's "too late"?

gphiangel624 · #34 02-09-2003, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kateshort

Yeah, maybe your greek system at your school attracts a lot of women to recruitment, but that doesn't mean that it works at other kinds of schools in other parts of the country with other greek systems. And I think we'd get a lot of great women if it was better advertised to those who don't just want to be the traditional sorority-girl stereotype, or those whose families went greek in school, or those who are great campus leaders but who were turned off by the stereotypical frat-mat image. I really think we're missing out on some quality people. Sure, at some schools, these are the women that you get through COB, but how nice it would be to have them rush in the first place!

Just as a little addition to this, Annie is a member of my chapter and although it sounds as if a lot of women come through recruitment at UCR with knowledge about sororities, there really aren't a lot of women that come through recruitment, sadly. For those who are actually interested and informed, it's because they, as PNMs, are willing to get the information on their own (such as Annie did through GC). Formal recruitment at UCR really only consists of about 150-185 PNMs, at least over the past few years. Our Greek system is not really growing because of these numbers- it is thriving on the same numbers (most houses hit total of 70 probably once during a year, but then are down to 40 or 50 once people graduate... and we start over again with the same problem).

Although I somewhat agree with Annie about how it's usually easier and sometimes better for a chapter to take girls who are more informed than others (i.e. they know what they're getting into in the areas of dues, time management, etc), I also think that part of UCR's problem is weak publicity of the Greek system. We aren't really allowed to do much (no more dorm-storming, can't talk to PNMs over the summer anymore, etc.) and our local high schools don't really feed in many students. We're a commuter school, but people from up to an hour away from campus will commute, which leaves little time for social life.

Sad to say, but I just don't think if our particular school advertised to local high schools, it wouldn't get even 2% of the graduating seniors interested in recruitment at ANY school.

Manda03 · #35 02-09-2003, 03:32 PM

hey speaking of this if anyone knows about an information session in my area please email me or post on here..im from Dallas,Tx. thanks!!

justamom · #36 02-09-2003, 08:00 PM

Well, it sounds like you (Kate) and I are on the same page, because I too think the concept of marketing is a good one. In fact, I am of the belief that half of the strength of a sorority on any given campus has a LOT to do with the way they "market" themselves.

We just have a whole different problem with our location because
instead of helping, I really believe OUR Pan. Alum Assoc. closes doors to many girls. As an individual, I know I try my hardest to stir up interest in Greek life, but since AXO doesn't have a chapter at LSU, the best I can do is help them locate people to write a rec, make them aware of deadlines and such and share a few tips from GC along the way. Just like each campus is different, so is the mindset of the ones in control of the information. Here, it would appear they don't WANT to market rush...they would like to hand pick it.

Maybe if enough of YOU guys bang the drums, we will see some changes. Sad to say, or area is going backward rather than forward.

aephi alum · #37 02-09-2003, 08:40 PM

I wish I'd had the opportunity to attend an information session. Rush is stressful enough when you -do- know what to expect.

However - even if such a session had been offered in my area, my parents would never have permitted me to attend. My father in particular is vehemently anti-greek. Kate and JAM, I'm with you on the marketing idea, but it has to be directed at parents as well as at PNMs.

I think an information session would be most beneficial if it (a) stuck to general descriptions of how formal and informal rush works - things like what a rho chi is, what snap bids are, etc.; (b) didn't mislead PNMs into thinking that everyone gets a bid, you don't need recs (at some schools), fill in your favorite myth here...; (c) was open to all NPC groups; (d) was open to all HS senior women and their parents.

AnchorAlum · #38 02-10-2003, 01:14 AM

MANDA! Call the Panhellenic Office at SMU right away, they may be able to give you the dates of the Dallas Rush Forum OR the Richardson/Plano Rush Forum held at the University of Texas at Dallas, which you could call as well. Try the Student Life office. Both are held usually in the month of February, so get moving!!!
I was the Rush Coordinator for Richardson Panhellenic for a few years back in the late 90's and we usually had over 400 girls and their moms attend.
There was a sign in/register process, with a general session for all the girls. Then you broke up into groups according to where you were going to school - UT, A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, as well as out of state schools like OU and LSU. Then there was a group for "far away" schools. The in-states had an active/RhoChi from their schools to answer questions.
One thing for sure - the sheets they filled out were copied, given to each Alumnae Chapter's Rush Chairman so that these girls could get their recs no matter where they were going. The girls were also given a list of each sorority's alumnae contacts/Sponsorship chairs to contact about rush questions, rec requirements, etc.
Texas schools are very specific about photos, etc. while some schools in the North and Midwest tell the freshmen they don't even need a rec.
I will tell you this, however. If it is 1 a.m. and they like you, you're from out of state but have no rec, and Mary Sue from in state has one and they like her too - they take the path of least resistance. I always told the rushees to get recs and many times their Mother would call me when rush was over and say "Oh, boy were you right!"
I think it is important to have as much info as you can get, and to see girls from different groups. Understand that group ABC at Texas is very different than ABC at say, Indiana. Throw out preconceived notions, keep your eyes open and have fun!

GPhiBLtColonel · #39 02-10-2003, 02:28 AM

...encourage parents to come to our sorority info sessions as well -- last year even though we only had a handful of girls show up, all of them brought their moms -- none of whom had been in sororities! We had three collegiate sorority girls speak too (disguised as vanilla sorority girls -- no letters etc) and they emphasized what a great enviroment it was for girls who are away from home for the first time --what they said allayed some parents' fears...

I guess what I hope to hear from GC is how to get more girls who would typically not even consider sorority membership to attend our info sessions....is there a magic phrase? And I sure hope the newspaper ads in the H.S. papers work!

Manda03 · #40 02-10-2003, 05:32 PM

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIVE THIS..that meeting was yesterday...talk about discuraging. I wish there were someway i could just mail a resume and have an interview with someone and they could write me a rec..this is very complicated. Anyone have any suggestions..thanks again guys...

FuzzieAlum · #41 02-10-2003, 07:31 PM

Kateshort, you're right on. We know - but just the stereotypes - until we get up-close, first-hand experience. And depending on where you go, that experience may come too late.

Before college, of course I had heard of fraternities and sororities. And I "knew" they were for rich, popular types of girls, snobs and sluts and dumb blondes. That wasn't exactly an incentive for me.

When I started visiting schools as a senior, and my best friend started getting excited about rush, I changed my mind to some extent. OK, sorority girls were nice people and not snobby, but they still weren't "like me." I wasn't homecoming queen or rich, or even a cheerleader like my best friend - I wouldn't fit in.

No, none of the schools I applied to sent me rush info - although Greek orgs were visible in the glossy pamphlets. At the school I ended up at, I got no info on rush, period. Then that fall I started meeting Greek women, like my wonderful RA, and my friends who were planning to rush, and that got me interested. Luckily for me, formal rush was second semester, and anyway upperclassmen did get bids. But "luck" is the key - what if rush had been before classes? How would I have known I wanted Greek life, since, to my knowledge, I didn't know well a single GLO member?

For GLOs to maintain numbers and continue to exist, we must rush more than just those women steeped in Greek life from an early age. And if we don't want to be vilified or mocked in the forum of public opinion, we need to inform the general public that GLOs are not all Animal House and Sorority Life. You might not care if first-generation Sally from that small town goes Greek - but what about when she grows up to be university president? You had better hope she thinks well of the Greek system when the next Greek scandal goes down on campus, or she'll start closing your system down.

33girl · #42 02-10-2003, 10:05 PM

I totally agree with kate & fuzziealum and of course, I am going to take another opportunity to proselytize for deferred rush.

I don't mean this silliness where the freshmen are segregated from Greeks for a semester, but the women get a chance to know the sororities as real people, and get their bearings as well.

If I would have gone to a "pledge first semester or nothing" school, I never would have. I had just spent the last few years putting up with the "A Group" (those of you who have seen Romy & Michelle's HS Reunion will understand

) and the last thing I felt confident enough to do was go through rush. Luckily, I got to spend my first year hanging out with sorority members and getting to know them on my floor. It made me realize this was something I wanted to be a part of and COULD be a part of because all that high school bullshit was over and done with.

I think there are a lot of women out there like me, who want time to figure out who they are and realize they are no longer just someone's sister or daughter or whatever they did in 7th grade. When you don't give them time to do that, you are shutting out a lot of people.

#43 02-11-2003, 01:11 PM

Out of curiousity... for those of you who didn't have Greek friends or family before college... how did you hear about sororities and fraternities?

I keep hearing people say "of course I knew what fraternities and sororities were..." how?

I'm just curious, because as I stated before, I had never heard of it before college (and my school didn't send out anything about ANY student orgs, much less greeks)

adduncan · #44 02-11-2003, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 33girl
I think there are a lot of women out there like me, who want time to figure out who they are and realize they are no longer just someone's sister or daughter or whatever they did in 7th grade. When you don't give them time to do that, you are shutting out a lot of people.

AMEN TO THAT!

One of the things I like about the BU Rush/Recruitment system is that freshmen rush 2nd semester (formal only) w/ COB/Informal reserved for sophomores/juniors during the 1st semester. So not only do freshmen get to settle in, "find themselves" (to paraphrase 33girl) and get to know the school, they can actually learn about what GLO they might fit into best, and maybe hear some rush stories first-hand from the COBers. (No, it isn't the same, but it isn't walking in blind, either.)
Part of the reason this works may be because there is no dedicated Greek housing, so those logistics do not factor into the equation of when new members need to be decided upon.

Quote:

Out of curiousity... for those of you who didn't have Greek friends or family before college... how did you hear about sororities and fraternities?

You're going to hate this but.........
My first/primary impressions were made by popular media. You know, those God-awful made-for-TV movies in the 70s, not to mention sitcoms w/ a teenage-girl demographic. Which is probably why I waited til sophomore year to rush. After I got to school, I had the opportunity to meet people in GLOs and get a more accurate impression.

Adrienne (PNAM-2003)

PhiMuLady150 · #45 02-11-2003, 01:23 PM

I grew up in Ohio so I didn't hear anything about greek life until my 2nd summer at Camp Greystone in Tuxedo, Nc. The majority of girls who attend this camp are from the south and generally have greek life in their heads by the time high school rolls around. Also, the majority of female counselors at this camp were in sororities. My counselor that year was a Kappa Kappa Gamma and she had Kappa Kappa Gamma EVERYTHING around her bed! Frames, pillowcases. pictures etc etc.

I didn't think much of it until my mother told me that she was against sororities and that she didn't want me in one. Being a "good girl", I was set on my guns no to join GLO. However, all my friends began rushing and I felt I was missing something. My best friend Cate is a Kappa Alpha Theta at SMU and we talked daily during her rush week, I have never talked to someone so excited about rush! Her mother even purchased the book, "Ready to Rush" for her prior. Also, she had extra pressure because of potentially being chosen to debut in Nashville(hometown). She was a legacy to Pi Beta Phi but knew that if she didn't go THETA or TRI-DELT, she wouldn't be invited to debut. Basically because the committee that choses the girls is made up of THETA and TRI-DELT alums. Anyhow, she was in love with THETA from the start and she got her wish. SMU has a pretty compitative greek system and I believe THETA, KKG and Pi Phi are the top houses.

Anyhow Spring of 2000, I was invited to informal parties for Alpha Phi, Sigma Kappa and Phi Mu. Alpha Phi never called back, Sigma Kappa called on Bid Day and told me they couldn't offer me a bid because of my GPA and long story short, I was a Phi Mu by the next week! My college experience with Phi Mu wasn't long due to transfering to UNCC but I am enjoying alumnae status!

But really, if it hadn't been for camp or my best friend, I probably wouldn't have joined a sorority.