Indiana University 2014 Recruitment

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by silver_blue

Totally agree. I meant that if you are out of state (ie not an Indiana) resident that it probably not be worth it to attend IU if you are dead-set on being in a sorority. If you are in state, Purdue and Ball State are great options if you want a big public school, and with scholarships, the cost of schools like Butler and Depauw are also options and they both have thriving greek systems too.

Gotcha. I have no idea why so many kids from my (Illinois) high school went to Indiana. I assumed at the time it was easier to get into IU.

[Iu mom]

This is so sad. My daughters rho gam has called (not texted) to check on her and take her to dinner. She is just as confused she said as my daughter. Sadly we love all the other aspects of IU - her major and the campus - it's just this situation. She will keep her chin up and be sure to attend sorority open events- she just found out that a house she loved took 36 legacies which was almost their whole class. My sorority didn't honor her as a legacy...

[silver_blue]

Originally Posted by Iu mom

This is so sad. My daughters rho gam has called (not texted) to check on her and take her to dinner. She is just as confused she said as my daughter. Sadly we love all the other aspects of IU - her major and the campus - it's just this situation. She will keep her chin up and be sure to attend sorority open events- she just found out that a house she loved took 36 legacies which was almost their whole class. My sorority didn't honor her as a legacy...

I know this from my school's recruitment and without delving into membership selection info, each sorority has different policies regarding how they treat legacies. My sister was in a different sorority at my alma mater and she said it was really hard for them to cut a legacy, while I know that's not the case for other groups.

I feel for your daughter, IU mom, please PM me (this goes to anyone really) if you need to talk/vent about the disappointments of IU rush and/or the details of my transferring and joining a sorority at my new school.

[stbemtpynest]

Originally Posted by Iu mom

My daughters rho gam has called (not texted) to check on her and take her to dinner. She is just as confused she said as my daughter.

What a sweet rho gamma! It certainly takes a special kind of woman to want to be a rho gamma at IU, knowing she will have to deal with the heartbreak of so many bidless women. I sure wouldn't want that job! I can barely stand reading this forum without bursting into tears

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by Iu mom

This is so sad. My daughters rho gam has called (not texted) to check on her and take her to dinner. She is just as confused she said as my daughter. Sadly we love all the other aspects of IU - her major and the campus - it's just this situation. She will keep her chin up and be sure to attend sorority open events- she just found out that a house she loved took 36 legacies which was almost their whole class. My sorority didn't honor her as a legacy...

Here you go - post #568.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by Iu mom

This is so sad. My daughters rho gam has called (not texted) to check on her and take her to dinner. She is just as confused she said as my daughter. Sadly we love all the other aspects of IU - her major and the campus - it's just this situation. She will keep her chin up and be sure to attend sorority open events- she just found out that a house she loved took 36 legacies which was almost their whole class. My sorority didn't honor her as a legacy...

Not every legacy CHOOSES to join her mother's, or her biological sister's, sorority.

True Story: A member of PDQ* sorority (*all sorority names intentionally made up, for panhellenic reasons) had four daughters.

The first daughter went to her Mother's Alma Mater and chose to join RFC sorority, not her mother's.

Second daughter (legacy to PDQ and RFC) attended Indiana University and chose to join LPJ sorority with her best friend from high school, whose Mom was LPJ at a Southern University.

Third daughter (PDQ, RFC, and LPJ legacy) focused SOLELY on joining ITT sorority, but never became a sorority gal.

Fourth daughter also attended Indiana University, yet even as an RFC, PDQ, and LPJ legacy ended up choosing GR sorority.

P.S. this is NOT GC's Carnation Nation!

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by Cheerio

P.S. this is NOT GC's Carnation Nation!

LOL! How many of Carnation's daughters have rushed to date? ... and none of them has joined Pi Phi! I can think of only one Carnation Nation daughter who joined a sorority where she was a legacy (two of her daughters joined Chi Omega).

As far as legacy policies go, legacies CAN be cut. For example, AEPhi considers the sister, daughter, or granddaughter of an AEPhi to be a legacy. A legacy going through FR must be invited back to the first invitational round as a courtesy to the AEPhi to whom she is related. A legacy who makes it to preference must be placed on the first bid list. But at any point after that first invitational round and before pref, she can be cut.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by Mom64

So, it seems, if you have a daughter is set on being Greek, discourage them from attending IU despite the strong academic program.

I agree with the first part. I'm not sure I see IU as an academic mecca. They really aren't very selective (accept 75% of applicants) and their middle 50 stats aren't that great.

Originally Posted by sigmagirl2000

this whole idea makes me really confused as to why the unhoused chapters have a negative stigma... I can't fathom anyone wanting to live in a dark room without heat or lights when they could have their own room in an apartment

LOL. Think about how nice it would be to have a dorm room, but know that when the others on the floor are loud and noisy, or if it is the middle of the afternoon and your roommate is listening to music and studying in your room, you would have a big large space where it was always dark and quiet and it is dedicated just to sleeping.

The thing I never understood about sleeping porches is how you manage to wake up when you're supposed to without waking up the whole porch.

I'm glad The Ohio State University finally stopped their "Quota is always 50" rule. Because there, at one point, quota was 50 no matter how many women went through.

[Mom64]

I am still so confuse as to why the Greek system which promotes the empowering of women would have such an exclusive selection system at IU. To tell women they are "not good enough" to be in their chapter and for many the entire "Greek system" after meeting most of these women for 45 - 175 minutes is atrocious and reminiscent of middle school attitudes and bullying.

The system at IU probably will not change because those who are accepted into it are made to feel special to be admitted into such an exclusive system. While every PNM may not be a perfect fit for every chapter, with 21 chapters there should be a fit for everyone.

[silver_blue]

Originally Posted by Mom64

The system at IU probably will not change because those who are accepted into it are made to feel special to be admitted into such an exclusive system. While every PNM may not be a perfect fit for every chapter, with 21 chapters there should be a fit for everyone.

This sums it up perfectly, I couldn't have said it any better. At virtually every other school, there is usually a fit SOMEWHERE for everyone. Yes, even at Alabama and Ole Miss.

[Katmandu]

To tell women they are "not good enough" to be in their chapter and for many the entire "Greek system" after meeting most of these women for 45 - 175 minutes is atrocious and reminiscent of middle school attitudes and bullying.


And for a potential member to tell the un-housed chapters that they are "not good enough" just because they are un-housed after meeting them for 45-75 minutes is also atrocious and reminiscent of middle school attitudes and bullying. You are angry and hurt, but formal recruitment consists of each side making snap decisions after brief parties. In fact, a 45 minute party is long in comparison to many.

In competitive recruitments, most, if not all of the potential members are pretty, smart, active and accomplished. That makes them average in the pool. We all agree, IU is a difficult situation, but no one is telling the PNMs they are not good enough. In fact many of the girls who went bidless could well have active members who were pulling for them and deeply saddened that they didn't end up high enough on the bid list and come running to the house on Bid Night.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by Mom64

I am still so confuse as to why the Greek system which promotes the empowering of women would have such an exclusive selection system at IU. To tell women they are "not good enough" to be in their chapter and for many the entire "Greek system" after meeting most of these women for 45 - 175 minutes is atrocious and reminiscent of middle school attitudes and bullying.

The system at IU probably will not change because those who are accepted into it are made to feel special to be admitted into such an exclusive system. While every PNM may not be a perfect fit for every chapter, with 21 chapters there should be a fit for everyone.

I think part of your post identifies a limitation of recruitments in general - not just IU, and I fear some of that is getting lost in this IU discussion. At any recruitment, members are making invitation decisions based on very limited time and information about the PNMs. That is why there is heartache in every recruitment - even ones that aren't competitive at all. It may be atrocious in your words, but it is the nature of sorority membership selection. It is not bullying. These members are doing the best they can with the resources they have. That is why GCers repeat over and over that personal relationships with sorority members are so crucial, because these relationships increase the amount of information a chapter has about a PNM. It is like having extra recruitment party time beyond those 45-170 minutes.

I hold IU's PanHellenic responsible for the archaic recruitment practices there, and I think it is high time for significant changes to be made. But there won't be a system (*cough* Tufts *cough*) where there is a fit for everyone. Chapters have the right as private organizations to decline membership. In most systems, there is a place for most PNMs. I believe that a change to a quota/total system would achieve this at IU as well.

[TAMUAlphaPhi]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

I think part of your post identifies a limitation of recruitments in general - not just IU, and I fear some of that is getting lost in this IU discussion. At any recruitment, members are making invitation decisions based on very limited time and information about the PNMs. That is why there is heartache in every recruitment - even ones that aren't competitive at all. It may be atrocious in your words, but it is the nature of sorority membership selection. It is not bullying. These members are doing the best they can with the resources they have. That is why GCers repeat over and over that personal relationships with sorority members are so crucial, because these relationships increase the amount of information a chapter has about a PNM. It is like having extra recruitment party time beyond those 45-170 minutes.

I hold IU's PanHellenic responsible for the archaic recruitment practices there, and I think it is high time for significant changes to be made. But there won't be a system (*cough* Tufts *cough*) where there is a fit for everyone. Chapters have the right as private organizations to decline membership. In most systems, there is a place for most PNMs. I believe that a change to a quota/total system would achieve this at IU as well.

I love this post for so many reasons! And I want to share a small addition to the sentence I highlighted with a bold font.

Something that I think PNMs (and those who love them) need to keep in mind is that the PNM also only has this small amount of time to get to know the chapters. To me, THAT is the reason PNMs need to keep an open mind about every chapter throughout the entire process. It's the "business case" for maximizing your options.

I'm sad for all of the well-qualified young ladies who went bidless at IU. But my heart really breaks for those who completed the entire process, kept an open mind, maximized their options and wound up with out a bid.

[AOII Angel]

This is really the last accepted form of Greek hazing. Jump through these hoops and we MAY let you be one of us. ETA: and the survivors perpetuate the system because the feel special for making it through.

[silver_blue]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

This is really the last accepted form of Greek hazing. Jump through these hoops and we MAY let you be one of us. ETA: and the survivors perpetuate the system because the feel special for making it through.

Amen. You hear tones of that in some of the posts from some IU alumnae in this thread. I'm sure they don't mean to come across that way, but I am sick to death of hearing about how they "couldn't imagine not living with their entire chapter" or "having 100 person pledge classes." Stop diminishing/demeaning the greek experience of 99% of other women on this board just because you're a special IU snowflake.

I swear, nothing beyond basketball gets me more riled up than the idiocy of IU's recruitment system.