HELP--Chapter Falling Apart!!!

[jeh818]

I am extremely concerned and disappointed in the current state of my chapter.

Our president, though energetic and enthusiastic, is not a true leader. She does not possess the ability to command the respect of a room, much less a chapter of 74 women. While her ideas are there, the ability to persevere and implement them with grace and dignity escapes her.

In terms of the 74 members of our chapter, we are exactly that: 74 individuals. We have a problem getting girls involved, participating actively, and signing up for events. At this point, the problem is so bad that we have only 15 girls signing up for and participating in events. Respect within the chapter has also been an issue, creating cliques, hostility, and overall disharmony.
As far as Greek Life goes, Greek Row really dislikes us. The fraternity we are paired with for Greek Sing is much less than thrilled to be anywhere near our house. Sisters are disrespectful and unwelcoming, which portrays an incredibly stuck up image. This image is what the rest of Greek Life sees when they look at us. The women of our chapter do not get along with any of the other 3 NPC chapters on campus, as well as most of the IFC chapters. We are not respected or taken seriously among our fellow Greeks, and most chapters on campus are not even interested in doing mixers or socials with our chapter.

I am on exec and looking for ways to solve all these problems, because this is NOT the sisterhood I joined a year ago. PLEASE HELP!!!

[ASTalumna06]

First of all, do you think your president is having trouble because of the attitude of most of the members? Or do you think your members have a bad attitude because of poor leadership?

I've seen it go both ways.

Do you have consequences for members not showing up to events? If not, think about implementing some. The only problem is, if you don't have the majority of girls interested in participating at all, they're not going to vote to punish themselves.

You can try to have more sisterhood events. Or create smaller "sisterhood groups" and try to have the sisters hang out with the people in their group at least once a month.

Remember, though, that every chapter probably has at least one apathetic member. These people will never care (not as much as you do, anyway), no matter how much you try to convince them that it'll be worth it to be active in the chapter. Don't waste your time trying to motivate these people, because it won't work. As has been said here many times before... you only get out of Greek life what you put into it.

On the other hand, remember that you're not the only one in your chapter who cares (at least, I can't imagine you are). You say that about 15 girls truly care and sign up for events... so get those 15 girls together and show campus the image that you'd like to portray. Set up a campus-wide philanthropy project, go to parties and meet and talk to new people, send out letters of congratulations to other fraternities and sororities on campus after initiation, etc.

I'll be honest, when I first joined Greek life, I used to have a very poor perception of one of the other chapters on campus (and I know of others who shared the same thought). But when I started to attend more parties and mixers, and a few members of that chapter talked to me, it completely changed my mind. It really does only take a few people to turn things around.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by jeh818

I am extremely concerned and disappointed in the current state of my chapter.

Our president, though energetic and enthusiastic, is not a true leader. She does not possess the ability to command the respect of a room, much less a chapter of 74 women. While her ideas are there, the ability to persevere and implement them with grace and dignity escapes her.

In terms of the 74 members of our chapter, we are exactly that: 74 individuals. We have a problem getting girls involved, participating actively, and signing up for events. At this point, the problem is so bad that we have only 15 girls signing up for and participating in events. Respect within the chapter has also been an issue, creating cliques, hostility, and overall disharmony.

As far as Greek Life goes, Greek Row really dislikes us. The fraternity we are paired with for Greek Sing is much less than thrilled to be anywhere near our house. Sisters are disrespectful and unwelcoming, which portrays an incredibly stuck up image. This image is what the rest of Greek Life sees when they look at us. The women of our chapter do not get along with any of the other 3 NPC chapters on campus, as well as most of the IFC chapters. We are not respected or taken seriously among our fellow Greeks, and most chapters on campus are not even interested in doing mixers or socials with our chapter.

I am on exec and looking for ways to solve all these problems, because this is NOT the sisterhood I joined a year ago. PLEASE HELP!!!

It doesn't matter if the president sucks if everyone else is awesome. Don't place all the burden on her shoulders. Plus sometimes a president who is too much of a superstar is either distracting or a waste - our most dynamic girls were usually rush chair or membership vp, not prez, as it's arguably a more important function in perpetuating the chapter.

You need to have required events. If women aren't going to them, terminate them.

I would really like to hear the other side of this story - I have a feeling it isn't as bleak as you have portrayed it, rather you are disappointed that you joined a group that does not find the same things important that you do. I'm not saying you are lying, just that someone else from your chapter who could care less about Greek sing or mixers might be perfectly content with her experience.

[phisiglindsey]

Originally Posted by 33girl

It doesn't matter if the president sucks if everyone else is awesome. Don't place all the burden on her shoulders. Plus sometimes a president who is too much of a superstar is either distracting or a waste - our most dynamic girls were usually rush chair or membership vp, not prez, as it's arguably a more important function in perpetuating the chapter.

I definitely agree with this. Our president is a wonderful person, but a very busy person outside of the sorority. I feel as though those sisters holding the chapter up are in other leadership positions. Have you tried to talk to your executive board about the lack of participation or enthusiasm?

Like it's been said, if only 15 people are showing up out of 74, something is wrong with your system to maintain attendance. Why isn't there a required number of events sisters must attend? Or is there, and sisters just choose to defy the attendance system?

As for the rest of the Greeks, I would worry about that issue as much right now. I think when you fix the internal problems, a lot of other issues will be fixed as well. Get out on campus though, let everyone know who you are. Philanthropy is a wonderful way to do it!