Question: Does anyone ever see the NPHC allowing inclusion of a 10th group?

[Lindz928]

Originally posted by ladygreek
The latter.

wow.

[Tom Earp]

Wouldnt it Be Nice If All Greeks Expanded?

Granted, each Conference has Its Way of Looking at Expansion.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by Tom Earp
Wouldnt it Be Nice If All Greeks Expanded?

Literally?

[Tom Earp]

Does That Need a retort?

It reads as It Says!

Just what Is your post? Oh, Just what does Your Post mean?

[starang21]

Originally posted by ladygreek
Ask an Iota how long it took them to get in. Starang, where are you?

it took a long time...

[starang21]

Originally posted by ladygreek
the tenacity of the Iotas.

[Rain Man]

Originally posted by AKA_Monet
The NPHC constitution dictates that any group with an African American greek lettered focus can join them if they have been active for at least 25 years with an appropriate number of affiliate chapters.

Moreover, when I say greek lettered focus, I mean it is not for a "profession" in nature--such as only Biology Majors can join, etc. It has to be open to all people with a strong constitution.

It also must have a national and international office as well as conferences. And they must be willing to sign the agreements made between all the organizations for some of its activities--such as anti-hazing statutes, etc., a course for membership intake, accounting procedures, it main non-profit center or 501(c)3 status, etc. And the organization must be incorporated.

Moreover, like others NPHC affiliates stated that there must be at least 50% or more of its membership active at the collegiate and graduate levels.

There are also participations within the NPHC national and international conferences and conventions. And there are hefty dues that are required to be paid, yearly.

Here are the official NPHC Affiliate Member requirements, from the NPHC Website

Section 8. Eligibility for Affiliate Membership. To be eligible for affiliate membership in NPHC, a fraternity or sorority which did not hold membership prior to December 1995 must meet the following requirements. The fraternity or sorority shall:

a. Be devoted to general fraternity or sorority ideals and be in conformity with the NPHC Constitution and Bylaws and the NPHC Mission Statement.
b. Have been in existence for at least fifteen (15) years and shall have been incorporated in the United States of America.
c. Be national in scope and consist of a total of no less than one hundred (100) undergraduate and alumni chapters, which have a current financial membership of at least five (5) persons. Of the aforesaid 100 undergraduate and alumni chapters, a total of no less than fifty (50) must have been a part of the fraternity or sorority for at least ten (10) years.
d. Have constitutional provisions for a national convention, with interim authority vested in trustees, a board of directors or the officers who supervise the affairs of the fraternity or sorority.
e. Have undergraduate chapters recognized by and be in good standing with accredited four-year colleges or universities which offer at least a baccalaureate degree.

For the purpose of this section “accredited” shall mean institutions in the United States which are accredited by one of the regional accrediting agencies in the American Council of Education. Institutions located outside of the United States shall be accredited by the appropriate agency/organization in that locale.
For the purpose of this section, an undergraduate chapter is recognized by an institution, if its membership is drawn from students enrolled at such institution, and formal agreement with or recognition by such institution is required or implied.

Based on this criteria, not even the largest non-NPHC fraternities (Phi Eta Psi and Phi Delta Psi) is eligible to join NPHC, even thought Phi Eta Psi is a member of NIC. OTOH, I seriously doubt either org is clamouring to join to begin with.

Also, a younger non-NPHC org (founded 1993) Pi Psi addresses their non-membership status in NPHC in one of their websites' FAQ's:

(Taken from the Pi Psi Fraternity, Alpha Chapter website)

Is Pi Psi going to be in the NPHC?
PI PSI currently is not a member of the NPHC. At this present time we are not looking to join the NPHC because we must focus on growth, community service, and maintaining our standards. Maybe in the future Pi Psi will petition for that but not at this moment.

Also, another org founded in 1986, Beta Phi Pi, makes no mention of any planned NPHC membership.

So in short, IMHO the NPHC alienated and/or discouraged a lot of other orgs from even thinking about joining NPHC in the future.

[starang21]

Originally posted by Rain Man
So in short, IMHO the NPHC alienated and/or discouraged a lot of other orgs from even thinking about joining NPHC in the future.

by imposing restrictions on membership?

[Rain Man]

Originally posted by starang21
by imposing restrictions on membership?

By imposing (relative to NIC and NPC standards) very stringent restrictions on membership, to say the least. But I think as far and alienation and discouragement goes, membership restrictions are the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to NPHC/non-NPHC relations.

[Intense1920]

So our restrictions are "stringent" because we want to make sure an organization is well established before being granted membership?

[starang21]

Originally posted by Rain Man
By imposing (relative to NIC and NPC standards) very stringent restrictions on membership, to say the least.

how ridiculous.

[Rain Man]

Originally posted by starang21
how ridiculous.

I agree; the very stringent membership requirements are ridiculous indeed.

[Rain Man]

Originally posted by Intense1920
So our restrictions are "stringent" because we want to make sure an organization is well established before being granted membership?

No, they are stringent in that the number of chapters required to be in the fold are in this day and age, unrealistic, particularly in light of the fact that there are numerous GLOs (local, regional, and national) that have highly saturated the college student "market". Further, compare that to the NIC and the NPC's requirements for a new org to join, and I gotta say, the NPHC's restrictions are very stringent, as indicated.

Daggone Intense, how well established does an org gotta get? I understand and accept the fact that any particular org must get a few years under its belt to insure survival and a few more years under its belt to insure growth and stability. By no means do I advocate bringing "baby orgs" into the fold, but when an org has been in existence 30-40 years, that's a pretty good indicator right there that they ain't goin' away any time soon.

Truth be told, IMO the reason why the requirements are so stringent is that the NPHC does not want a 10th org in the fold (or 11th or 12th), especially considering how the process of admitting the 9th org was like pulling teeth.

[rocketgirl]

Originally posted by Rain Man
I agree; the very stringent membership requirements are ridiculous indeed.

Just a comment from a non-NPHCer - I think it's good to have stringent membership requirements...it will prevent you from having organizations in your council that cannot stand on their own two feet for a few years. I think that's one of the problems with the two national multicultural councils that are established. There are little to no requirements and that means any organization can jump on and fall off. Having requirements that basically make it so that the organization can exist without the council means that the org is not using the council to just "get their name out there". It also means that they can actually be a support for the other orgs in the NPHC that are already very established. A younger organization would not be much help in the NPHC.

Like TheEpitome1920 said, practically all the orgs that are Black focused that were formed that are not in the NPHC were formed because the founders weren't looking for anything they found in the NPHC. That probably means that they weren't trying to be down with the NPHC from jump.

Personally, I don't think it's alienation/discouragement...if you really want to be in the NPHC...join one of the organizations already in it.

[KSUViolet06]

In my opinion, the entrance requirements to the NPHC aren't to DETER anyone, because if a group REALLY wants to be a part of the council, they'll meet the requirements-even if it takes 30, 40, or 50 years to get there.