Who is a Founding Sister/Brother of their Chapter?

adpiucf · #1 08-07-2003, 06:04 PM

Hi all, one of the PNM's on the rush thread had a question about what it is like to be a charter member of a colony/new chapter. Any input from the veterans out there?

aephi alum · #2 08-07-2003, 06:37 PM

It's a ton of work, but so very worth it!

As a colony of a national GLO, you will have lots of support from your national office. They will help you out with things like setting up your executive board and committees, your first rush (*ahem* recruitment

), etc. But you and your co-founders have to do all the actual legwork of getting recognized by the university, setting up your bylaws, choosing who your first officers will be, etc. - all while going through the new member program!

BUT... it is so worth it on that day when you are finally installed as a chapter and you get to sign the charter that will hang on the wall for the next 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 years. My second-happiest AEPhi moment was signing that charter. (The happiest, of course, being initiation

)

WhiteDaisy128 · #3 08-07-2003, 07:38 PM

I'm a founding sister of my chapter. We were colonized in September of 2002 and Initiated and Chartered on November 17th 2002. Yippy! 143rd Chapter of DG!

It is a TON of work...let me say that again...a TON of work. But it's also so much fun and a very rewarding experience. You name goes down in chapter history as one of the founding sisters...and that makes it worth it all!

adpiucf · #4 08-07-2003, 07:53 PM

Hi there, can you elaborate? What makes it a lot of work? Is every sister expected to be an officer? Tell us more...

Thanks for sharing!

erica812 · #5 08-07-2003, 08:05 PM

The best part of being a chapter founder is that you have the opportunity to create traditions that will be cherished by many "generations" of sisters. For example, we developed families right away, and I can't wait to come back to meet the "Angels" twenty years from now.

In my chapter, we had 10 sisters who are considered "charter members." Nearly all of us were either officers or committee chairs. Also, everyone is a pledge so there is no feeling of intimidation (although I don't really know if that ever exists among intiates and sisters, since this is my only sorority experience).

Yes, being a founder is a lot of work and a lot of pressure. Your success at Rushing and operating a chapter determines the future of your sisterhood. However, the rewards are great. You know that you have come away from your college experience having made change. You bettered your community and yourself.

Erica

WhiteDaisy128 · #6 08-07-2003, 08:35 PM

I don't know how other GLO's work, but this is my DG experience:

People who wanted to be officers or directors gave speeches at chapter and were voted upon. Being an officer in a colony is a ton of work with a lot of meetings, but it is also very fun being in the loop so to say.

Don't expect the sorority to jump right into the social scene, you will have mixers and stuff, but much of your first semester will be filled with meetings after meetings. You have combined new member (which everyone is) meetings with chapter meetings, which could last up to 2 hours. That doesn't include other comittee meetings held before hand. Some officers had meetings from 4-19 PM on Sunday nights (the last two hours being a chapter meeting).

The sorority has to learn all the national rules and regulations, which can be overwhelming.

To establish a good rep on campus, grades must be kept up, and we must participate in Greek Week and other Greek events with a big showing.

Some girls will drop, because it's not what they expected...but colonizing members lay the foundation for a great chapter...some people don't want to do the work.

Then you have move in to a new house. All the furnature has to be ordered and people have to volunteer to move in the house.

You have to have intensive recruitment workshops because most of the girls will have never even been through rush and you are expected to immediately be as competitive as the other chapters on campus.

All the fraternities want to do stuff with you, but don't always understand why you can't have alcohol there or why there isn't room in your schedule to fit in a mixer (DG requires 2 DG free weekends a month).

There is just a lot of work...but when you do all this work, you grow super close to your sisters. You laugh together, cry together, get frustrated together, and celebrate together. The pride that you get starting a group is amazing. It's neat to say that I am the 50th sister EVER to be initiated into the Eta Kappa Chapter of DG, AND a member of the very first pledge class...it's just cool.

sherbertlemons · #7 08-07-2003, 11:28 PM

Ditto everything WhiteDaisy said!

It really is an incredible experience. Hopefully, I'll be able to return to a strong chapter 20 years down the line, and see that I helped to make that possible.

It has it's disadvantages, too. At first, everyone has no idea what to do. They are constantly looking at their advisors for help. Things can be confusing, and we've had some major screw-ups before.

You also have to be patient. Remember, it is impossible for a group of 120 women to all be best friends in the space of a month's time. Sisterhood takes time to develop, and I think a lot of people tend to leave because they don't feel it developing immediately.

It is indeed a lot of work. Everyone's learning the ropes at once, while being expected to behave like an established chapter. That's hard.

However, I would not give up being a founding member of the Eta Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma for anything. I'm so proud that I got a chance to do this, and was lucky enough to gain an incredible group of sisters in the process.

KappaSunshine · #8 08-07-2003, 11:49 PM

YES! I had a very similar experience to the other founders out there. It is a TON of work, and it takes TONS of dedication. Long meetings, heavy responsibilities for everyone, and on top of that, the group is trying to build its part/image in the greek community AND give itself a good reputation with the faculty and administrators....on top of trying to set up traditions and normal sorority events (and bond with a large group of ppl who you might not know as well as you would if you'd gone through the new member process together at an established chapter)!!!! It can be really overwhelming. Not to mention, most members of the Greek Community (at least at my school), simply do not understand what it takes to found a chapter, and tend to think we had it easy.
WHEW!
But in spite of all that, being a founder is AMAZING! It is simply one of the best things in the world. When we got our charter, I was so happy to be able to bring it back to my campus. I know our affiliation with KBG is something generations of sisters will cherish. Our traditions, our family lines, the things that are so special to me...they are just a start for many Kappas to come. I'll graduate college knowing I left school a better place than when I entered it, I'll know I helped create a community which so many women will treasure in the future...and I had a great time doing it!
I couldn't imagine being closer to anyone than I am with the other founding sisters...we've been through so much together and proven to each other a million times over how dedicated to each other we are. (sorry for getting so sappy there, lol, but it means a lot to me!)
If you have more questions, feel free to PM me!

AUDeltaGam · #9 08-08-2003, 12:41 AM

I'm a founding sister of the recolonization of the Delta Sigma chapter of Delta Gamma. I agree with what everyone has said- a LOT of work, but SO worth it!

Kevin · #10 08-08-2003, 12:58 AM

We were a colony for 3 long years. We became a chapter March 9, 2002 -- The 272nd chapter of Sigma Nu, Mu Tau.

My badge number is 5.

That makes me "MTV" (as in the Roman numeral 5)

Tom Earp · #11 08-09-2003, 10:55 PM

Is it hard? You Damn right it is!

Starting a Local to MAYBE AFFILLIATE with a National, hell is damn tuff!

Strted in 1965 Fall! 1st rush formal, =0!

Kick in the head! Rushed 12 guys. Never initiated them as we affiliated with LXA at end of year of school! 1966!

Yeah, My BrotherHood!

Lot harder than this sounded, but, I would never give this experience for the world!

Still hanging in for eons! Why, Cause I love itr!

PhiDeltAlum · #12 08-10-2003, 12:23 PM

I was part of a group that re-started my chapter. You want to talk about hard?? Try starting out with only 4 members, inheriting a debt of $16,000, with absolutely no help from your nationals. The prevailing joke in our fraternity province was we were a dead chapter, its just that no one told us. To say that we were screwed and lied to in the very beginning is understatement. Despite all our work, "technically" we weren't considered "Founding Fathers" even though that is what motivated us in the first place.

After two full years we still only had 15 members while other chapters had an average of 40-50. The 4 of us at times paid more attention to fraternity matters than school. A ton of work doesn't even begin to comprehend my experience. That's why I always roll my eyes when I hear some colony folding when they started out with so many people with the full support of their school and fraternity headquarters. Some colonies think it's hard, but many of them don't know how easy they have it.

What sucked for me is that the fraternity finally started to really take off during my senior year.

Anything can succeed, as long as you want it bad enough.

WhiteDaisy128 · #13 08-10-2003, 12:38 PM

I totally agree with everything that KappaSunshine, PSPGirl, and sherbertlemons added! It's so neat to see that everyone had similar experiences...it's hard, but it is so worth it. Tomorrow work week starts! Yay! The girls moved into our FIRST house yesterday!! It's so exciting to see it all happening!

squashfly3 · #14 08-12-2003, 12:39 PM

hey!! i'm not a founding member of a sorority...but i was the first NMC class for the sorority after they became a colony. so i got to help set the standards for pledging since i was an alpha

which is cool..but definitely not as much hard work as it is to bea founder. i watch the founding sisters and it makes me want to work even harder for the sorority because i see how much that they have done for us and the sorority to bring it to the point that it is at now.

Dionysus · #15 08-12-2003, 12:49 PM

I'm one of the two last remaining founding brothers of this chapter. It was an adventurous experience indeed. We had a whole lots of up and downs-which is completely normal in the chartering experience.