Old-School Greek terms wrong?

[KDLadyZK]

Originally posted by 33girl
It is, if you don't change the procedure.

If you have 1000 women going to 20 minute parties and then are cutting half of them....you're not participating in recruitment.

Recruitment is looking at who and what you want for your sorority and actively trying to get those women to join. Taking whoever decides to go to a series of parties is not recruitment.

And pledge is not and never has been a slang term.

A dictionary definition of recruitment is a process of adding new individuals to a population. That is what we're doing. And we have done the work to get those girls to come to the parties. We have built a reputation on campus, actively talked with the girls outside of the process to show many of the them was greek life is like, shown our own values so that others know what we stand for and the kind of members we want, we've encouraged our nongreek friends go to through the process because we think they would be an asset, and by setting grade requirements (atleast on some campuses) we have actively begun a selection based on what we want in the girls we are looking for.

Like it or not pledge is fast becoming a slang term although it may not have been in the past.

[33girl]

Originally posted by KDLadyZK
Like it or not pledge is fast becoming a slang term although it may not have been in the past.

**bangs head on desk**

PLEDGE IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN A SLANG TERM. "Slang" is a substitute for another word. Pledge was not and is not a substitute for anything else. It was and is used in official publications and rituals. MANY Greek organizations continue to use it.

And I see that James is on so maybe he can explain recruitment vs. rush (he does it very well) because I've done it about 80 times in this thread and apparently it's not processing.

[TSteven]

Originally posted by KDLadyZK
Using proper language in formal situations is being respectful. You many not agree with what authorities have deemed as proper language, but that doesn't mean that you should disrespect their decision.

For Sigma Chi Fraternity (and I'm sure other GLOs) "pledge" is the *proper* word to use - in all formal situations.

[TSteven]

Originally posted by 33girl
PLEDGE IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN A SLANG TERM. "Slang" is a substitute for another word. Pledge was not and is not a substitute for anything else. It was and is used in official publications and rituals. MANY Greek organizations continue to use it.

Thank you!

[David Alan Coe]

I think it is absolutely ridiculous to be a part of a Greek organization that doesn't have the good sense to call pledges by their name - pledges. Any of these ultra-liberal, yankee advisors that try to come in and ruin what little pride is left in the northern Greek scene should be fired from their menial position and left to do the work of Hillary Clinton instead of ruining the pride, tradition, and good status of Greeks everywhere.


"Y'all can go to hell. I'm going to Texas." -Davy Crockett

[kddani]

Originally posted by David Alan Coe
I think it is absolutely ridiculous to be a part of a Greek organization that doesn't have the good sense to call pledges by their name - pledges. Any of these ultra-liberal, yankee advisors that try to come in and ruin what little pride is left in the northern Greek scene should be fired from their menial position and left to do the work of Hillary Clinton instead of ruining the pride, tradition, and good status of Greeks everywhere.


"Y'all can go to hell. I'm going to Texas." -Davy Crockett

Saetex's new screenname?

[CostaDelMar]

I couldn't agree more with David Alan Coe. It seems today that greek organizations across the nation have been brainwashed into this new aged everyone is the same everyone is equal propaganda that is being spread by our liberal media. This politically correct way of acknowledging pledges is rediculous. The sad thing is this liberal nonsense is beginning to infest the once prestigious fraternities of the southeast. From Ole Miss to Virginia, national hedquarters are slamming once prominent chapters with quotas and stipulations that tarnish the prestige reputaions these great institutions once had. Today it seems like a numbers game. Every national chapter wants numbers, it seems the quality of memebers has taken the backseat to the goal of the national fraternity's 5,000 "new members" for the year 2006. It was once an honor to pledge a fraternity and earn the respect of the current brothers, it gave you a sense of pride that noone else could ever experience. However, now it seems that joining a fraternity is just something you do. Everyday I see kids wearing my letters that I wouldn't give the time of day to and its beginning to take its toll on the pride I once had for my great organization. Its time to take our stand so that chivilary and true brotherhood does not die out.

[shinerbock]

Finally, some sense on this board.

[33girl]

Originally posted by CostaDelMar
I couldn't agree more with David Alan Coe. It seems today that greek organizations across the nation have been brainwashed into this new aged everyone is the same everyone is equal propaganda that is being spread by our liberal media. This politically correct way of acknowledging pledges is rediculous. The sad thing is this liberal nonsense is beginning to infest the once prestigious fraternities of the southeast. From Ole Miss to Virginia, national hedquarters are slamming once prominent chapters with quotas and stipulations that tarnish the prestige reputaions these great institutions once had. Today it seems like a numbers game. Every national chapter wants numbers, it seems the quality of memebers has taken the backseat to the goal of the national fraternity's 5,000 "new members" for the year 2006. It was once an honor to pledge a fraternity and earn the respect of the current brothers, it gave you a sense of pride that noone else could ever experience. However, now it seems that joining a fraternity is just something you do. Everyday I see kids wearing my letters that I wouldn't give the time of day to and its beginning to take its toll on the pride I once had for my great organization. Its time to take our stand so that chivilary and true brotherhood does not die out.

I think you guys are looking at it from just a fraternity perspective. Quotas and numbers pressure have been going on for sororities for a long time. And that's in every region of the country.

Welcome to our world boys!

[shinerbock]

Perhaps true. While I love sororities, I certainly don't wanna become one.

[Tom Earp]

Isnt everything PC now?

[valkyrie]

I don't think this has to do with being liberal. I'm as liberal as it gets, and I think doing away with terms like "rush" and "pledge" is stupid. It's the result of people trying to ass kiss and appease those who speak badly of greeks (which isn't liberal, in my opinion).

Why should we give a rat's ass what people who don't like us/our organizations/our traditions think? If they think rush = hazing, why should I care?

[shinerbock]

I agree, its not really liberal. However, I think what that person was probably saying was that it is just another sign of the overwhelming attempt at being PC in our culture. While not really a liberal issue, it tends to be liberals pushing this sort of thing, in my experience.

[NutBrnHair]

"RUSH!"

There! Now I've done it. I've used a four-letter word on GC.

[AGDee]

This isn't really a greek thing, it's a societal thing. Terms change. Anybody remember George Carlin's monologue about "shell shocked" and "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome", etc? After each war there is a different term. We've gone from junior high to middle school, from managers to team leaders, from Presidents and Vice Presidents of corporations to CEOs, COOs, CFOs, etc. It's not that big a deal. We went from calling the members at the colleges and universities "undergrads" to "collegians". Times change, terms change.

Personally, I had no clue what the word Rush meant prior to hanging out with fraternity guys in college. Recruitment though, I understand (even though it sounds like the military to me). We recruit new employees at work, we recruit new members into our chapters, we recruit new people into the military, we recruit volunteers for the hospital.. it's a term people know. Perhaps everybody in the South knows the term Rush, but up here, it's like "What's that?" I don't think Rush has a negative connotation, I think people who aren't familiar with the Greek system prior to arriving to college simply don't know what it is. Recruitment doesn't mean it isn't selective, because the military is very selective, as are employers who both "recruit" all the time.

Whether people like it or not, our organizations are businesses. If they don't pull in enough money and members to function, then the business will go bankrupt and cease to exist. This is a reality. We're not a garden club, we're a business and we need to function as one at the Inter/National level.