LeGaCy QuEsTiOn... I will love you forever if you can answer my question!

HeRmIoNeGrAnGeR · #1 10-08-2001, 01:25 AM

I went through Rush a month ago and I was confused about what to do during Rush if I'm a legacy to a Sorority I'm interested in. On pledge day the girls didn't ask me back with no explaination and my mom was told legacies don't count anymore, they are only a title and they don't have to explain why the alumaes daughter was rejected. Is this true? I'm not trying to start anything I'm just utterly confused lol! I would greatly appreciate any help I can get on the subject. Thanks a bunch.

#2 10-08-2001, 01:32 AM

Does Pledge Day=Bid Day/Night?

I don't know the legacy policies that the sorority has, but I know that AGD works this way.

Our chapter has to give serious consideration to the legacy out of courtesy to the member she is related to.

A legacy must be invited to at least one invitational round of events.

If we don't invite her back, an ADVISOR for the chapter must contact the AGD relative to inform her about the legacy's release. We have to do all we can to contact the relative before giving out invitations to the next rounds.

On the other hand, if a legacy makes it to the Preference ceremony, she must be placed on the bid list.

If the sorority is an NPC one, they should have taken steps to inform your mother (their alumna) about releasing you and why you were released. Simply stating "legacies don't count anymore" without any explanation is just plain rude, and if we were to ever do that to an alumna we'd be in serious trouble!

CutiePie2000 · #3 10-08-2001, 02:10 AM

Catherine,

Firstly, I am sorry for your disappointment.

Being a legacy to your mother's sorority is not a guarantee that you will be offered an invitation (i.e. bid) to membership in that same sorority. Legacies are supposed to receive "special consideration", but special consideration does not mean that you will be 100% be offered a bid to your Mom' sorority (on some campuses, being a legacy carries more clout than at others).

Here is the Legacy Policy from Delta Gamma (my Sorority):
"All legacies, regardless of whether they have been sponsored, are to be invited to a minimum of one invitational round of recruitment events. Legacies should be given special consideration by our chapters and every opportunity to meet our members. "

Invitational Rounds can be up and including, or excluding Preference Parties.....so you should have been invited back at least ONCE after the first round. However, there isn't a guarantee beyond that first invitation back, that subsequent invitations will be forthcoming.

It would have been nice if they had sent your mother some sort of a courtesy note, but in all honesty, I don't believe that they are obligated to.

TechAPhi · #4 10-08-2001, 02:18 AM

I can't speak for all sororities on all campuses, but just about everywhere I have seen and heard, legacies DO COUNT.

In Alpha Phi, a legacy is a prospective member whose grandmother, mother or sister was an Alpha Phi. Legacy stipulations differ for each sorority and fraternity.
The bond of having a family member in one's sorority is special and one that sororities want to encourage. However, it is not a guarantee that a woman will be chosen to be a member of her family member's sorority. She will be chosen based on her own merits. Likewise, a woman who is a legacy of any participating sorority is encouraged to look closely at that chapter. However, she should also look closely at the other chapters on campus to make sure the group she chooses the best house for her, not just her family member.

Alpha Phi has special procedures in place that pertain to legacies. I can't recall them off hand, but they are similar to those mentioned by OTW and CutiePie2000.

I am horrified that someone would say that "legacies don't count anymore"! How hideous (and wrong).

Jen

AGDLynn · #5 10-08-2001, 09:41 AM

I am not sure but it may vary from group to group as to who is considered a legacy. For example, it may be if your grandmother/mother-stepmother/sister is an initiated member. It may "stretch" to aunts and cousins but I'm not sure. A PNM is not considered a legacy if the relative is a "'New Member/Pledge", at least in AGD.

I know that my chapter definitely gives the legacy matter special consideration, but as mentioned before, the chapter has the right to offer/not offer a bid based upon how the PNM would fit into the current group.

If I was your mom, I would have made a formal complaint to the Chapter (and higher) about the "legacies don't count anymore" comment. It would be interesting to look into the future and see how the rusher's daughter was treated..hopefully, more tactfully!! Maybe it was just her view and not the entire Chapter's.

ladybug1116 · #6 10-08-2001, 01:48 PM

My sister was released from my sorority at another univeristy and they did call me to inform me but I just have to say they were rude! It was a very harsh phone call....It was like "I'm calling to let you know that _____ was released today" and then "click" they hung up.
Whether or not they liked my sister is their business but I AM a sister of that organization and I felt that I should be treated with respect. Just my 2 cents....

AXO Alum · #7 10-08-2001, 04:14 PM

LadyBug1116 -- that was TOTALLY inappropriate for them to do to you! I don't care if they were calling because your sister (while I doubt this!!) was the worst candidate out there -- you deserved the courtesy of not being hung up on! I would seriously advise you to call nationals regarding this situation! That was rude, and you deserve to be treated better.

As with others mentioned, if we do drop a legacy, we place the courtesy call, and to thank the sister for her rec letter.

CutiePie2000 · #8 10-08-2001, 04:42 PM

There is an excellent article here from AOII's magazine "To Dragma" about the legacy policy (for AOII but really can be applied to all NPC orgs). It beings on page 4 out of 6 pages.

Basically, yes, a legacy should be given special consideration, but legacies should be qualified in their own right for membership. Therefore, while legacies DO count, there is no 100% certainty guarantee, you know? Also, the collegiate members vote to see who they feel would be best compatible in the chapter, so again, being a legacy does not mean that a rushee is a shoo-in for membership.

Also, another thing too, is that if there are TONNES of legacies going through Recruitment, it is feasible that not all legacies will be extended a bid.

bruinaphi · #9 10-08-2001, 08:59 PM

Different groups have different legacy policies. It is my understanding that some groups have recently changed their legacy policies and no longer require phone calls to be made or legacies to be placed on the first bid list. For example, DDD's website says "In an effort to protect the privacy and feelings of a Tri Delta legacy, the Fraternity asks that no phone inquiries questioning the status of a legacy during recruitment be made to chapter members, advisers or alumnae. Likewise, the families should not expect to receive such calls. This policy leaves the legacy the right to say and do whatever she chooses about the invitations she does or does not receive." Click here for DDD's legacy policy.

As TechAPhi stated, in Alpha Phi we have special policies governing legacies and our Advisors and Regional Team members oversee the application of the policy along with our Executive Office. In Alpha Phi a legacy is any grandaughter, daughter, stepdaughter, sister or sister of an initiated Alpha Phi member. If a member has questions about the legacy policy they should contact the EO or their regional team.

Laura

AGDLynn · #10 10-08-2001, 09:09 PM

I can understand both sides of calling/not calling. It does put the PNM in an embarrassing situtation either way.

I know that it was difficult for some calls to be made, but as someone said to me "Sometimes the collegiates know things that the parents don't".

ErikaXO · #11 10-08-2001, 10:24 PM

Chi Omega is extremely sensitive to the legacy situation....we are obligated to give every special consideration to the legacies. This does not mean we are automatically obligated to extend them a bid, but we have very specific policies in place (I can't state exactly what that policy is here) regarding legacies/invites to further parties/bid list. I think it is pretty revolting that a chapter would actually be cocky enough to say that legacies "don't count" anymore; I can't think of any chapter that would say that on a national level. (Now that I have said this I sure hope it wasn't a Chi O chapter that did it!!!!!!) In our case, only a daughter or sister is a legacy, although a granddaughter/niece would be given due respect. Personally I think that any chapter which doesn't recognize the importance of, history related to and special bond created by encouraging family lines within a chapter really isn't seeing the forest for the trees.

tridgirl · #12 10-09-2001, 01:09 AM

After a hectic rush week working on the reference committee for my house I can tell you that at least for Tri Delta we have to invite back legacies for the first invatational night, and if they invited back to preference night they have to go on our first bid list. We tell all the girls rushing PNM's that they need to get to know the legacies extremely well because they will be a part of our house if they are invited back to preference. I can tell thought that from personal experience being a legacy usually had very little to do with a feeling of accpectence you feel in a house. I felt at home, and being a legacay just made that extra special.

aephi alum · #13 10-09-2001, 07:17 PM

I'm so sorry this happened

AEPhi has a similar policy to most of the other NPC sororities: A legacy is a sister, daughter, or granddaughter of an AEPhi. She must be invited back to the second round of parties. After that, she can be cut at any point up to and including pref invites. If she is invited to pref, though, she must be on the first bid list.

This is a courtesy extended to the AEPhi sister, not the PNM. Suppose a legacy only meets 1-2 sisters during first round, and they don't hit it off; she gets an automatic invite back, a "second chance" to meet more sisters at the next party, as a courtesy that is extended only to legacies. After that, she must prove that she would make a good sister on her own merits. But a PNM invited to pref is a woman whom the chapter wants to pledge, so a legacy is placed at the top of the bid list to ensure that she will match if she wants to.

You didn't say whether you were going through formal or informal rush. Informal works differently, and the chapter is under no obligation to extend a bid to a legacy in that situation.

Under either circumstance, though, the chapter should have been more polite - "legacies don't count anymore" is bull. Any AEPhi chapter releasing a legacy, especially during formal rush, had better have a d*** good reason to provide both the relative and nationals.

DeltaBetaBaby · #14 10-09-2001, 07:26 PM

Do your national GLO's recognize stepsisters, stepdaughters, or halfsisters of initiated members?

justamom · #15 10-11-2001, 08:44 AM

When we were lining up recs, a friend who is active on every level of Pan. Alum Assc., said I know you may have heard that legacies aren't guaranteed a bid, but XYZ legacies go to the top of the list and are offered a bid. She was very specific about it and it was not in the context of after round two parties.

I do not want to state the sorority of which she is an alum. I do know, as posted before, that LSU soros.cut tons of legacies this year, I just don't know if her's did. They only pledged one from our area that I am aware of. She was a legacy, but more important,a good candidate.