IU PNM Numbers

[Justhere]

I started this thread way back when and I thought I would update. Hope I'm posting this correctly. My daughter accepted a bid to an unhoused sorority tonight. It was a hard decision because the housed situation is so ingrained at IU that the unhoused are considered less desirable and these are 19 year olds we are talking about. The best part about this for me was....SHE ASKED ME FOR ADVICE! Jesus God I thought I was gonna pass out!

[suzy88]

Originally Posted by Justhere

I started this thread way back when and I thought I would update. Hope I'm posting this correctly. My daughter accepted a bid to an unhoused sorority tonight. It was a hard decision because the housed situation is so ingrained at IU that the unhoused are considered less desirable and these are 19 year olds we are talking about. The best part about this for me was....SHE ASKED ME FOR ADVICE! Jesus God I thought I was gonna pass out!

So happy for your daughter! Smart decision.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by suzy88

I have two daughters at IU, one in a housed sorority. I really believe that the un-housed chapters are just as valuable as the others. My daughter would tell you that living in the house has disadvantages. It is crowded and girls don't always get along. However, I can tell you that the general perception around campus is that the un-housed are less desirable. Congratulations to the mature, thoughtful young women who can see past this silliness. A lot of women at this age aren't mature enough to see it. However, I understand why this perception is so prevalent, when the sorority community at IU is so focused on living in the house.

I preferred to live out of house then in house. I loved my chapter sisters, but I didn't love living with all of them, all of the time.

[thetalady]

CONGRATULATIONS to you, Justhere, and your daughter! It is fabulous to see such a mature outlook. Big, happy, Panhellenic hugs!

[Eureka_mo]

My daughter did receive a bid tonight, from an un-housed chapter. Her Rho Gamma advised her to go to the chapter and give it a shot, which she did. She felt lucky to get any bid at all. Many girls on her floor didn't make it to pref. round at all, or didn't get any chapters that appealed to them and dropped out.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the recruitment system is set up to be a mutual selection process. If one party or the other does not feel comfortable (at the very least) with moving forward, it would be in the best interest of the PNM and the chapter to end the relationship. This not only ensures that another girl could move into a spot better suited to her, but also a chapter which gains a committed new member.

The message I was trying to get across was that she just didn't make a connection with the three chapters during pref. round. She continued to visit these chapters with the hope of finding that connection, but it just didn't happen. The fact that they are un-housed was a consideration for her; the idea of possibly living in an apartment frightened her a bit.

NO ONE said that the un-housed chapters are "less" than other chapters. They simply didn't feel comfortable to her. There were other chapters with houses that also didn't feel comfortable, but those did not end up on her list.

As far as wanting my daughter to be a part of Greek life and also bashing the system, that's totally true. The problems are not the fault of the girls in the chapter houses. Every sorority member my daughter came into contact with during recruitment was nice to her, and she actually enjoyed the process and meeting all the girls. I just don't understand why IU/PHA allows the system to continue the way it is. Why are so many qualified young women turned away from an experience that would benefit not only the girls, but the university?

[Griffins&Quills]

Tell her to give it some time. Recruitment is an emotional whirlwind. Please encourage her to spend a few weeks engaging in her new member process. Day to day sorority life is much different than recruitment and it can take time for that connection to develop.

She is bound to the bid for 1 year. If she finds out in a few weeks that she is uncomfortable and unhappy, she can always drop before initiation, if it comes to that, or she may find that she loves it!

[33girl]

That last question has been discussed in the multitudinous IU threads on here.

Mutual selection exists up to a point, but at many schools, the balance is tipped towards either sororities or rushees, usually the sororities. It's not just IU.

[MissyM]

I graduated a year or two before the first unhoused sorority came to IU, so it hasn't been too long since I was there, but I have not been able to see these unhoused chapters for myself. However, I am so grateful and happy that there are 3(!) more wonderful organizations that college women have the opportunity to participate in.

As an active, I was always thrilled with our new pledge classes but it was all too common to find out that spectacular girls (who had maximized their options) went bidless. All my sisters that were RGs have stories of consoling wonderful girls who were open-minded and yet came up short. This is how it is with our crazy, antiquated system that does not use RFM and refuses to change. I would talk with friends in other chapters and we all seemed to agree: yes- an unhoused new chapter might possibly be "less desirable" but we really felt it would benefit the Panhellenic community overall. The demand was there and we knew there would be women who could look beyond the house aspect. And having these organizations would not make IU Recruitment suddenly super easy. It would still be very competitive but just maybe, this would make a few more deserving people able to contribute to IU Greek Life.

So I am just happy that these chapters have actually come to fruition and while they might struggle with their identity on a campus that hyper-focuses on having a house, I really think they have a true shot of being very successful and strong. IU is a school where getting to a bid to any chapter is beyond lucky (this is said across many campuses but I truly think it is IU that has lottery-esque odds) and these unhoused chapters are no exception.

I should add, that I also think another way to open up more spaces is to have more chapters require live-out policies. My chapter had a senior-year live out policy and when I was there more chapters began to open this up as an option for their seniors and it did help get a few larger pledge classes. But really, only at IU, one could think that anything less than 2 years in a house is not a "real" sorority experience.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by Eureka_mo

As far as wanting my daughter to be a part of Greek life and also bashing the system, that's totally true. The problems are not the fault of the girls in the chapter houses. Every sorority member my daughter came into contact with during recruitment was nice to her, and she actually enjoyed the process and meeting all the girls. I just don't understand why IU/PHA allows the system to continue the way it is. Why are so many qualified young women turned away from an experience that would benefit not only the girls, but the university?

Re: the bolded. In my opinion the "problems" with Indiana bed rush (no quota/total system) are "the fault of the girls in the chapter houses." They have their reasons for maintaining this system; they have the power to change it. They choose not to. The University and the Panhellenic Association cannot dictate membership to each chapter. These are private membership organizations and they alone determine membership.

If nothing changes, nothing changes.

[33girl]

That's kind of like asking 15 year olds to rationally look at a proposal to raise the driving age to 17. They're too emotionally invested to see the positives even if there are negatives in the current system.

I know if I were in that situation, I'd be terribly afraid of increased chapters resulting in poor retention and more than that, of getting lost in the shuffle. I don't think it's only about wanting to stay "elite. " This is an age group loath to reveal its vulnerability and it's easier to say "we want to keep it elite" rather than "I'm really worried of our chapter getting too huge and no one noticing me."

[DubaiSis]

And I'm sure the various sorority headquarters have had plenty of words about this. But it's got to be pretty hard to command change from on high when all of the chapters at IU are very successful and among the largest chapters in the fold. The risk of that phenomenal success may be worth the couple weeks of horrendous PR they get following bid day. Do I wish they'd ease up on the housing issues? Yes. But is there strong reason to maintain status quo? Also yes.

Not having had a chance to analyze the numbers, it did look to me like some chapters grew by 5 or so members, or about a 10% increase. That seems like a good step.

[FSUZeta]

But they're not the largest of our chapters. They are not the largest by the choice of the chapter members, who cling to an archaic system like a life preserver. When the vast majority of sorority chapters throughout the country successfully use RFM AND have no problem filling their houses, and have happy members that can be held up as examples of the benefits of using RFM, IU can present no valid argument. Gradual change ain't gonna cut it.

[pinksequins]

Though there may be an increase in the numbers of new members per class, what is the initiated member retention rate? How many get fed up with living in the house and resign rather than live in yet again?

[33girl]

That's actually one of the reasons held forth for keeping the system as is - that retention rates are far better than similar schools.

Then again, I'm guessing that women who find the idea of living in for 2-3 years repugnant do not rush in the first place as they know that's what is expected. If the system does change, undoubtedly some of the people who love it now would have never taken part, and vice versa. Just as many people on here say that if they had gone to a different school they might not have been Greek.

[suzy88]

[QUOTE=DubaiSis;2305413]And I'm sure the various sorority headquarters have had plenty of words about this. But it's got to be pretty hard to command change from on high when all of the chapters at IU are very successful and among the largest chapters in the fold. The risk of that phenomenal success may be worth the couple weeks of horrendous PR they get following bid day. Do I wish they'd ease up on the housing issues? Yes. But is there strong reason to maintain status quo? Also yes.

Gosh, I hope they are worried about more than PR. If they live up to their own stated values, they should be more concerned about how this system affects the self esteem of the young women involved. My daughter's chapter at IU is by far the most successful chapter in the country for her sorority. The national advisor stated to her that the national org is in favor of dumping bed quota. Somehow, though, it never get done. I suspect that most nationals approve of getting rid of this system as well. There are rumors that next year will be different; hopefully they are true.