Delta Zeta @ UF

[UF56]

I have some questions that I hope you ladies wouldn't mind answering in regards to Delta Zeta colonizing at UF. First of all why is it that they drop out of rush after the first round? It doesnt make sense to me because it would seem that by doing this that they are only going to get the girls who didnt get bids from the other sororities and wouldnt be getting top quality girls. Also what happens in a colonization? Yesterday when I was in class I was talking to an ATO, AGR, and an Sig Ep (we are all in a work group together) and the AGR mentioned that he thought Delta Zeta was coming and I said yeah they are. And they too wondered how colonization would work and how they would end a strong sorority if they didnt recruit girls until after rush is over. I mean do girls actually drop out of rush and wait until rush is over to try to rush DZ? I could understand that if they are a legacy but what if DZ doesnt give them a bid? And also does everyone get a bid from DZ? I was told that AZD tried recolonizing two years ago and ended up not doing so because they couldnt find enough girls that met their standards. Will the same thing happen to DZ or will they colonize even is they only have 20 girls? Because from what I have been told most houses here have over 180 girls in them. So any info you guys have would be helpful!! Thanks!

[33girl]

Usually a colonizing group drops out after first round because the women are chosen by the national organization's reps that are there. There is no way that can be done with the timing, hour long parties, etc of regular rush.

There will be girls who will drop out of rush to try to be a part of the new DZ. There will be girls who won't go through formal rush at all trying to get into DZ. And no, not all of them will get a bid.

The A Xi D situation was discussed on here, if you want to search for the threads.

[dzrose93]

If I recall colonization procedures correctly (it's been a long time, so don't quote me on this)... I believe the girls do the first round of rush in order to introduce their chapter to the rushees and just let them know that DZ is on campus and available to them. However, because the colony is new, they don't have the resources or the experience with formal rush to really compete well with the more established groups on campus.

Rush on the sorority side can be an expensive process, and it's also a rather complicated one if you're not used to dealing with all the ins and outs. Rather than throw the colony into the 'lion's den' immediately, DZ will start out slowly with the help of National consultants who will come down to assist the colony with the selection of girls.

So, what DZ will do is have a first round, which is usually the most informal and least expensive round of parties for a chapter to participate in, and during the round the girls will basically say to the rushees, "Hey, here we are... get to know us a little, and keep us in mind during Rush. We'll be around after the end of Rush if you're interested in pursuing membership." Kind of a "meet and greet and remember us for later" kind of thing.

Hope this helps a little bit!

[LexiKD]

As a brand new KD chapter we did the same for Recruitment. It was before our colonization and we needed to get across that we were infact a chapter but our intake would happen later.

Colonization is much different than recruitment and so much help from a national organization is needed. Also numbers play a huge part. A new chapter is looking for an entire chapter not just the amount you can take during recuitment.

Being part of a new chapter is rewarding but not always as easy as being a part of an established chapter but it is super fun!

[PenguinTrax]

Due to restrictions on size, etc., many young women will be cut from Recruitment without receiving a bid. There are just too many PNMs and not enough space in the houses - hence, the reason why a new group is colonizing.


Just because a PNM gets dropped from Recruiment, it doesn't mean that girl isn't 'top quality'. I mean, if you went through Recruitment and got dropped, would you want someone saying that you weren't 'top quality'? Please think before posting.

[shadokat]

We just did a colonization and we followed the same procedures as DZ plans to. Even with area alums and volunteers, along with HQ staff, there aren't enough people to do an actual recruitment. So what ends up happening is participating in the first round of recruitment to let the women going through rush know that the group is colonizing. THEN, you drop out and do interviews with the women interested in joining the colony. It actually works out very well. Campus total where we colonized is 50 and we recruited 43 women, so that was good I think. After that, we did COB to 50 and it worked out great. The colony will do their first formal recruitment as a group this fall.

[IowaHawkeye]

In response to your question -

I mean do girls actually drop out of rush and wait until rush is over to try to rush DZ?

For me - yes and no. I went through rush up until the pref parties - went to 3 of them and I more than likely would have gotten a bid from one of them, but I didn't sign my preference card. I knew the DZ colony was there - and obviously the National representitives knew I was there because they invited me to come see what they were all about.

Obviously, a lot of girls will not drop out of rush with their heart set on DZ - but many of them will keep the idea of something new, something they can help build into a strong and very respected chapter on the UF campus in the back of their mind.

Since the UF colony will be new, the national advisors will also be looking for leaders. I have heard it is hard to rush as a sophomore/junior... at UF - the DZ nationals will be looking for these women, and I am sure there are some of them - who maybe never rushed before, dropped out - and are top quality to provide leadership and experience to a new chapter.

When my chapter recolonized during the time i went through formal rush we too held our recruitment after formal recruitment and believe me, we did great and are very strong on campus for being so new - so don't worry about it

[UF56]

Thanks for all of your answers. Pnguin I did not mean any disrespect to anyone who has ben droppd out of recruitment, when I said that I was thinking about the girls like the girl in the orange and purple and the murderous ones that were posted in the Rush stories. So I hope that I did not offend anyone who has not received a bid, because that was not at all what I was trying to say. Once again I am sorry if I did.

[ROWDYsister]

I was wondering how this would work, too, but all the explanantions here make sense. It's way too big of an endeavor for a house to pull off as they're colonizing.

I'm sure DZ will fare just fine. The first couple of years will be the building years and are by no means all they have to work with. The girls who join will have a great appreciation for their chapter because they will have to give it their all.

[Aiya]

So has anyone figured out if DZ is going to build a house?

[Aphigal]

Hello.
IowaHawkeye is 100% right...DZ will be looking or a good mix of class years not just Freshman. So they will be able to take the best of the best in terms of those classes. Maybe people who were unsure of rushing thier first year but now regret it. Or people who transferred.

Also you will be surprised how many people come out of the woodwork for spots in a new group. AZD *may* (don't know the specifics) have had a hard time recolonizing and finding the quality of member they were looking for because the group had a very defined image (and chances are it was not positive). A new colony has no image and if it has any at all it would be positive. More women will come out for that.

At George Washington University Alpha Phi had 120+ women come out for 60 spots. I would be surprised if a similar situation doesn't happen at UF.

[UF56]

I have a question about the house. Does anyone know when the house will be built? Also where will it be built? And will the dues for DZ be smaller than the other sororities for the first year because there is no house, or are they going to rent a house, or if not that where will the DZ's meet if the house is not done yet? Will the house be on the same mansion style as the other sororities (except Theta)? And what about the pledge class, will they get all of the neat things like the other sororities do for them (i.e. the bag w/ letters, jersey, bid day t-shirt, ballons, cups, pens, pencils, hats, etc)? Sorry I have so many questions I am just wondering how different it would be and how it would work?

Thanks!!

[dzrose93]

Originally posted by UF56
I have a question about the house. Does anyone know when the house will be built? Also where will it be built? And will the dues for DZ be smaller than the other sororities for the first year because there is no house, or are they going to rent a house, or if not that where will the DZ's meet if the house is not done yet? Will the house be on the same mansion style as the other sororities (except Theta)? And what about the pledge class, will they get all of the neat things like the other sororities do for them (i.e. the bag w/ letters, jersey, bid day t-shirt, ballons, cups, pens, pencils, hats, etc)? Sorry I have so many questions I am just wondering how different it would be and how it would work?

Thanks!!

I am assuming that dues may be cheaper since the chapter doesn't currently have a house. However, the fact that they are planning to have one may change that. By that statement I mean, dues may be just as high as a chapter on campus that does have a house, because part of the DZ dues may be helping to pay the start up costs of getting a new chapter house. Do you see what I mean?

As for the pledge class, I believe that the girls will be treated the same as any other DZ pledge class with Bid Day baskets, shirts, etc. I don't think there is any reason for them to be treated differently.

The style of the house depends on the housing corporation, how much the chapter has to spend on the house, and National's preference. DZ has an alumna who is in charge of the National Housing Corp, so she will probably have a lot to do with how the house is designed. I know that my girls are currently working to update the interior of their house, and their plans had to be approved by her.

When and where the house is built depends on money, city and/or school regulations, zoning, etc. It could take a while. My brother's fraternity just built a new house this past year, and it had been in the planning stages for a few years before construction actually started. There is usually quite a bit of red tape that a chapter must go through in order to build a new house.

Hope this helps a little!

[UF56]

Thank you for the information, I feel like I have so many questions because it is something that I think that I would like to do, but I don't know whether to drop out of rush completely or go through with it. If on bid day I am not happy where I am supposed to go, can I not join there and try for Delta Zeta?

[Skchickie]

Originally posted by UF56
Thank you for the information, I feel like I have so many questions because it is something that I think that I would like to do, but I don't know whether to drop out of rush completely or go through with it. If on bid day I am not happy where I am supposed to go, can I not join there and try for Delta Zeta?

At UF, after pref round, when you rank your final houses, basically what you are doing is saying that you agree to go to whatever house gives you a bid, and that bid on you is good for a year. what this means is, if you sign the ranking card, you can't pledge another sorority for a year after.
Here's my advice. If you get through prefs and none of the houses really grab you, then drop, before doing the final ranking. Then, you are free to do whatever you want, be it rushing DZ or doing informal in the spring.

Good luck!