Alpha Xi Delta closes its doors

[AlethiaSi]

Originally posted by Jae
Maybe the newly-crowned alumnae were overweight and/or not attractive (hence the chapter operating at half the membership of other houses) and the advisors wanted to rush new, fresh, pretty faces in the house that wouldn't be deterred from joining "an ugly sorority" or one that no fraternities want to party with. Get mad if you want to, but this type of thing is happening with one of the sororities on my campus right now and is a real possibility.

when i read this- i definately had a flashback- my sorority was known as the ugly fat lesbian sorority... known as the nu sig pigs- N X tra food.... nu sigma cow... etc etc.. and started dying off- the sorority that had been around for 75 as a local was down to 4 sisters.... i didn't pledge till last spring and i'm very proud of our sorority-up to 23 sisters and over 1500 alumni but we are still fighting the stereotypes..... there are girls of all shapes and sizes and i love them all- shown that we are more than just looks- plus we party like crazy anyway.... my point is- this does happen- it is a reality- but stick together things will turn around if your numbers are low- and for those that did not.. i am truly sorry but you will always have your sisters and i'm sorry others could not share that with you.....

[AXPAlum]

Originally posted by AXORissa
you know, it doesn;t make sense to recolonize a chapter while there are active alum still attending the school! At Rutgers, if chapter closes here, it must wait at least 4 years before it is allowed to recolonize. That gives all the current members time to graduate, so things like this wouldn't happen! granted, I know the National wants to restart a chapter right away, especially at big Greek schools, but it doesn't seem logical to me. I would be SO insulted if my chapter closed, granted alum status, then I was told I couldnt wear my letters so people wouldn't confuse me with the "new" sisters... I find it distasteful to re-colonize so soon.

Not entirely true you know. We decided to close our chapter at Rutgers because we felt the members were not following the rules and treating the house with respect. So we threw them out and restarted last spring, only 2 years after kicking them out. Sure there are some members floating around, but we do not let them get involved with the new chapter without our permission. Recolonization periods depend on the control and efforts of the entire group. It might be easier to wait until all remenants of that past are gone, but it is very simple to restart sooner.

AXPAlum

[33girl]

AXPAlum,
I think it's easier for guys to recolonize than girls....I don't think (huge generalization) that guys get as hung up on the image of what the group is as girls. Guys tend to think this is what we make it, girls tend to think this will make us what it is.

p.s. where have you been hiding?

[aephi alum]

G8Ralphaxi, I am so sorry you had to go through all that.

I feel your pain, to some degree. The year after I went alum, my chapter was reorganized. I was still around for grad school, so I saw what went on, but I wasn't directly involved. Basically the chapter was told to get a certain number of new members, or else. They didn't get enough NMs, so national officers came in and interviewed everyone and forced about half the chapter to go alum. A few women just deaffiliated outright (by their choice). It was really painful to see so many women who had worked so hard for the chapter, in some cases women whom I had rushed in, being told "guess what, you're alums now" ... or turning in their pins.

At the time, it made no sense to me that nationals was concerned about low numbers, so their solution was to cut the chapter's size in half. It still doesn't really make sense, but my chapter has really come back - still far under total, but strong nonetheless.

I don't think the new alums were told they couldn't wear letters, but a lot of them were so upset that they just didn't.

lifesaver - hear hear

[breathesgelatin]

Originally posted by aephi alum
They didn't get enough NMs, so national officers came in and interviewed everyone and forced about half the chapter to go alum. A few women just deaffiliated outright (by their choice).

Am I getting this right? They only selected certain people to go alum??? In other words, "You are cool enough to remain active... You are not"????? Please tell me I understood this wrong.

[aephi alum]

Originally posted by breathesgelatin
Am I getting this right? They only selected certain people to go alum??? In other words, "You are cool enough to remain active... You are not"????? Please tell me I understood this wrong.

You didn't.

If I recall correctly, the newest sisters who had joined that fall were exempted from the process and kept on as actives. Everyone else had to go through the interview process.

I think nationals also took a heavier hand in recruitment for a year or so following that. The chapter's doing pretty well now - but then again, six years have gone by.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

That sounds brutal aephi alum.

I know some sororities turn all of the active sisters into alumnae in order to reactivate. This is usually the last step before closing down and recolonizing several years down the road.

[Tom Earp]

LXA when it closes a Chapter, normally waits for the Final Members to be gone ((4/5)) years.

But, unless the infractions are not that big, but many and depending on the Size and Name of the Campi does swing weight along with the Alum Group working with them.

While not being there and just reading what has been stated on site, It sounds like a raw deal. But not for me to decide. If the National promised certain things and renighed, shame on them.

[AXORissa]

Originally posted by AXPAlum
Not entirely true you know. We decided to close our chapter at Rutgers because we felt the members were not following the rules and treating the house with respect. So we threw them out and restarted last spring, only 2 years after kicking them out. Sure there are some members floating around, but we do not let them get involved with the new chapter without our permission. Recolonization periods depend on the control and efforts of the entire group. It might be easier to wait until all remenants of that past are gone, but it is very simple to restart sooner.

AXPAlum

Ok, maybe I was misinformed, but I always remember hearing that you had to wait until the current actives were alum... I thought thats why Alpha Sig and DI Phi waited so long until they were able to come back. Maybe its an AXO thing then, i dont know? (do any AXOs here know what our position is on the issue?)

I still stand by my opinion that a national org SHOULD wait a while, anyways. Any reputation the chapter may have will be gone, and it seems easier to start completely fresh... and its not like Rutgers is so Greek friendly to begin anyways.

the new Crow house looks amazing, btw.

[sugar and spice]

This thread is really sad, and I definitely don't blame anyone who turns their back on their national organization after treatment like this. The problem is that often we put too much faith in our national officers to do the right thing, and usually they're right, but they are just as human as we are. The problem is that they're running a business, and you're a part of a sisterhood, and it's sometimes difficult to reconcile those two. I don't think that's any excuse for stuff like this, though. I think it's super trashy to ask someone not to wear their letters.

[AXPAlum]

Originally posted by AXORissa
Ok, maybe I was misinformed, but I always remember hearing that you had to wait until the current actives were alum... I thought thats why Alpha Sig and DI Phi waited so long until they were able to come back. Maybe its an AXO thing then, i dont know? (do any AXOs here know what our position is on the issue?)

I still stand by my opinion that a national org SHOULD wait a while, anyways. Any reputation the chapter may have will be gone, and it seems easier to start completely fresh... and its not like Rutgers is so Greek friendly to begin anyways.

the new Crow house looks amazing, btw.

Thanks, I put a lot of energy into that place, and I think the new group will fit in well there.

As for the waiting rule, it is traditionally how some nationals approach a clean slate to their collegiate chapters. Get rid of them and then redo it. In other instances, it is the university that imposes the rule, OFSA in our case, and force a chapter from being able to return to campus for X amount of years.

Alpha Sigma Phi was a bad situation, and I felt bad for how they got thrown off. Being on the judicial board, it was a tough situation with how to deal with them. Delta Phi hasn't returned yet, and I don't know if they have plans to come back. St Elmo's is magnificent from what I hear these days.

For AXO, I won't post any comments here, not that they are bad, but it's something we could discuss over PM if necessary. From what I hear though, you guys are coming back in a good way... Did you put those letters back up yet though?

Rutgers is improving it's relations with the Greek community, so don't think things are getting better. I've read through the steering committee's draft report from Dr. Dennis and I think it has potential. The greek life there is only as good as you guys want it to be. Just have fun and don't worry.

AXPAlum

[AXPAlum]

Originally posted by 33girl

p.s. where have you been hiding?

It's really nice to see someone remembers me I've been so busy these past few months, sometimes you just don't have enough time to do everything. Boston is getting cold again so soon, so I'll be returning to this message board a little more. Hopefully I can add to the wisdom of the message board a little more

One that note, what did I miss ?


AXPAlum

[justme]

Ok, I'll preface this with: I am new to the whole Panhellenic thing. As a member of a local chapter that wants to go National so badly it hurts, I have tried to learn as much as I can about how Panhellenic works. On my campus we have a struggling chapter. They are the main reason that my group has not been allowed to pursue a National Organization officially. (We've been speaking to one group quietly, and have been given advice on what we need to do to prepare ourselves but our local Panhellenic does not want to bring on another National group with one already struggling to make their numbers.) It's rumored that the struggling group may close and recolonize next year.

Okay, so now on with my comments....

My understanding is that NPC has a relatively new rule (3-4 years or so old) that says that a group can close its chapter and recolonize within one calendar year without having to repetition Panhellenic or go through a Panhellenic vote. After the one year, the chapter is subject to all of the usual permissions - i.e., the campus must be ready for expansion and the local Panhellenic must vote for expansion - and then there is no guarantee that the chapter that recently closed will be the one selected to expand.

If my understanding of the policy is correct, then I don't blame an NPC group for wanting to reopen a chapter within the year. Otherwise they are risking never returning to that campus, right? If you ask me, NPC may be setting the member organizations up for failure.

With that said, I don't really see anything wrong with wanting a new chapter to be able to establish its own identity. How can they do that when everywhere they look, women are wearing letters that don't actually belong to their local chapter? What's so wrong with asking members of the former chapter to quietly fade into the background while this new group of women build their new chapter. Seems to me that letting the "old" chapter members be involved is like seeing a sign on a restaurant, "Under New Management", walking in, and seeing the same hostess, servers, and bartenders... why would I expect the food to taste any differently?

Personally, I think this particular issue is OLD. Alpha Xi Delta's name keeps coming up over an issue that is three years old. AND, I might add, that while the perceptions of a chapter member are very real and I don't doubt that this is how she perceived the way everything played out, there are at least two sides to every story and we have only heard one - okay two if you count the campus newspaper which I always take with a grain of salt.

I think this has been a good discussion but I would suggest that if anyone sees a reason to continue the topic, that a new thread be opened that isn't aimed at one group in particular.

[AXORissa]

Originally posted by AXPAlum

As for the waiting rule, it is traditionally how some nationals approach a clean slate to their collegiate chapters. Get rid of them and then redo it. In other instances, it is the university that imposes the rule, OFSA in our case, and force a chapter from being able to return to campus for X amount of years.

oh ok, I guess I dont really know much about it, being that we weren't in that situation.


I PM'd you...

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by justme

With that said, I don't really see anything wrong with wanting a new chapter to be able to establish its own identity. How can they do that when everywhere they look, women are wearing letters that don't actually belong to their local chapter? What's so wrong with asking members of the former chapter to quietly fade into the background while this new group of women build their new chapter. Seems to me that letting the "old" chapter members be involved is like seeing a sign on a restaurant, "Under New Management", walking in, and seeing the same hostess, servers, and bartenders... why would I expect the food to taste any differently?

Personally, I think this particular issue is OLD. Alpha Xi Delta's name keeps coming up over an issue that is three years old. AND, I might add, that while the perceptions of a chapter member are very real and I don't doubt that this is how she perceived the way everything played out, there are at least two sides to every story and we have only heard one - okay two if you count the campus newspaper which I always take with a grain of salt.

I think this has been a good discussion but I would suggest that if anyone sees a reason to continue the topic, that a new thread be opened that isn't aimed at one group in particular.

The problem is that, like I said in my post, the national officers are seeing this from a business standpoint whereas the collegians are seeing it from a sisterhood standpoint, and that can lead to a lot of hurt feelings. As mentioned earlier, asking these new alums not to wear letters (a privilege that every alumna should be allowed) is basically the equivalent of saying "We're ashamed of you, and we don't want our national organization to be associated with you." And no sisters should ever be treated like that. Like KR said, if they don't want these sisters wearing letters, they need to have the guts to terminate them altogether instead of giving them alum status and then not allowing them to do anything that alums would normally be able to do.

I don't think anybody is associating this solely with Alpha Xi Delta, though. It's a Panhellenic problem. As mentioned, Sigma Kappa asked collegians of a closed chapter to do the same thing, and I'm sure many other organizations that do immediate recolonizations have similar policies. And none of us have perfect IHQs who treat their sisters perfectly fairly all the time. I'm sure most of us can tell horror stories about one member of our IHQ who should just not have been in the position she was in.

Do immediate recolonizations work? It seems like most of the stories I've heard about them are negative, leading to hurt feelings on the collegians' side and no real improvement for the new chapter since there is no time to let their previous reputation die. Girls are still hesitant to join a chapter with a "reputation" (true or not), even if the girls in that chapter are completely different from the ones that created the reputation. Does anybody know of some successful immediate recolonizations?