Dear Troll
 

Seems to be the seasons for trolls. Here are stock answers to troll questions:

1. Should I drop my sorority/fraternity:
How can we know? We don't know you. Usually you are a newbie to these boards so we have no idea how to answer you. If you are thinking about dropping, DROP!

2. Does your sorority/fraternity/school haze?
Automatic answer: NO. It is illegal to haze so why would anyone on this board admit to doing it? Remember whatever you write today will still be available on the internet by the time you become a great-grandparent.

3. I belong to ABC sorority/fraternity. I was initiated last week but can't remember what the handshake/secret motto/ritual means. Someone please tell me!
Are you out of your mind? Do you really think people are going to post answers to ritual on a public board? It obviously does not mean much to you if you want someone to publicly tell you the answers to your questions. We don't know you. What proof do we have that you are a real member, not just a troll?

4. I am interested in joining ABC fraternity/sorority. Will some one please write me a recommendation. I really want to be an ABC. I have wanted this since I was old enough to talk but I don't know anyone in ABC so don't know who to ask.
You don't know anyone in the house? How do you know that this is the house you want to join? Would you set your best friend up with a stranger walking down the street? Then why do you think anyone would be willing to write a recommendation to an absolutely total stranger? Get off the computer and find a friend or relative who knows you to write the recommendation for you.

5.I am absolutely gorgeous, with top grades attending a top ranked school. I really want to join a top tier house. Why did they all drop me?
How would anyone on the board know? We don't know you, we don't know the active members in the houses who are extending bids. Could it be that you went to each house so full of yourself that no one could stand you? Just because you are oh so beautiful and won every beauty pageant your mother entered you into since you were born, that does not mean that those in the house can't see through your high and mighty attitude. None of us are sitting in membership selection sessions where your name is discussed. What goes on in membership selection remains in membership selection.

6. I joined ABC sorority. I am transferring to another school in which my sorority is not on the campus. Can I go through rush and join another house?
Every woman who joins an NPC chapter is told more than once that once you are initiated, you are ineligible to join another house. Clean the wax out of your ears during your new member meeting so that you learn about your house and know the rules for joining. They are in place to protect every house and ever member. Don't ask people on the boards to tell you how to circumvent the rules!


DaffyKD

ive noticed the increased troll traffic as well, love your preemptive response:D

Love this... but I SO miss BabyFuzzy. I was hanging on every word of her life... quitting her sorority, sleeping with whoever paid her the least bit of attention... and all of his fraternity brothers, law school or not. And now I'll never know if she was lavaliered by her Big! Life seems so empty...... :rolleyes:

Although I understand the intent of the post (and slightly humorous), some of the advice is not sound and this is read by everyone, troll or not.

*If you are thinking of dropping, DROP!
--> No, just no. This is terrible advice. Yes, they may end up dropping, but making the decision based on just thinking about it partially, will likely lead to regret.

*Do they haze?
--> It is illegal and everyone's policy to not haze. Do some people break the law/rules? YES. We don't know who and they won't tell you.

^^
Urm kind of missing the point on the whole drop/don't drop issue.

I'm sure every member goes through a phase where they think that maybe Greek life isn't for them, I certainly did. But I never EVER once considered dropping out of Kappa, I made a commitment for LIFE the day that i took part in my initiation ceremony.

If the "maybe i should drop out" thought does pop into your head, then you were obviously never that serious about your GLO in the first place, and yeah, I agree with Daffy and every other GC member that say:

"if you're asking random strangers if you should drop youir GLO or not, then drop"

^^That's ok- Splash was kind of a troll herself for about 95% of her posts.

Absolutely false. And I don't think Greekchat is the best place to go for this advice, because as you said we're all strangers, but I understand the rationale. You're probably not going to talk to your sisters about it and sometimes family or other friends isn't right either. It's anonymous and most likely a GLO member. General advice can be offered.

Going to your big and saying "I don't feel like I'm fitting in" or "I don't know if Greek life is for me" is what should be done. That's why posters have fun with those kinds of posts -- we're not the people that "potential dropees" need to be speaking with.

People dropped/resigned before GC was around. These newer members need to be able to function without the site.

Technology has made folks weaker.

That still doesn't make coddling our responsibility ;)

GC and the internet were around when I pledged, but talking to people who were directly involved in my process was not a foreign concept. That seems to be the case these days, though.

When I was an advisor, there was a girl in my chapter who wanted to “drop.” She was seriously considering it. She didn’t know if she could meet the financial obligations, and she said she didn’t feel like she was fitting in. She didn’t initiate with her class, which was her decision (and it was approved by National Staff), and she had many doubts. But eventually she decided to initiate, the chapter had a small ceremony for her, and she’s been happy as a clam ever since.

So yes, it IS possible for new members/sisters to think about resigning, but then to come to the realization that it's not as bad as they thought.

However, this girl went to her big first, then to the president, and the president directed her to the chapter advisor. She discussed everything with SISTERS whom she KNOWS, and then she thought long and hard ON HER OWN and decided that she wanted to stick it out. She didn’t come to a public message board and ask whether or not she should initiate or go her separate way.

The people who do come here regarding such matters remind me of the trolls who ask for advice, then get mad when you don’t tell them what they want to hear. I feel like the troll who is here asking if they should resign already KNOWS that they really want to, they’re just looking for reassurance that it’s the right thing to do.

It's troll breeding time so I have bumped this topic. Looks like a few more questions and answers need to be added since the current troll topic is recruitment with less than stellar grades.

DaffyKD

• I'm rushing at an SEC school. Will I get into a house?

My crystal ball says yes. err, no. err, try again later.
Again, we CANNOT tell you how it's going to turn out EVEN if you give us your whole life story and promise us you're cute as a button. Chances are if you have the grades and the credentials you will find a home SOMEWHERE, but that somewhere may not be the chapter you had your hopes set on. And that is a CHANCES ARE, not a guarantee.

• I'm going through rush now and I was cut by all but the 3 worst houses. Should I drop out?

Again, my magic 8 ball says yes, err no, errrr still unclear.
This is part of being a grown up. Sometimes you have to make choices you don't want to make that will affect your future for a long time to come. The reason we tell you so often to go ahead and pledge is because once the pressure of rush is off, and you see the sorority women in the unvarnished light of day, your opinion of them will likely change for the better. But hey, it's your life, and there are great outcomes that can occur by dropping out. I just wouldn't expect it.

• I can't decide if I should go through recruitment because (and you can fill in the blank... I'm not like those girls, I have a tough major and I'm going to be too busy, I'm a lesbian, I'm thinking about transferring to unknown school at unknown time in the future). Should I?

Magic 8 ball says - It is certain, Better not tell you now, my sources say no
We can't answer this one for you either. My suggestion is go through rush and see what you think. It costs you very little money and time to find out if it's the right thing for you. And in regards to my example questions:

Assuming that your major is harder than anyone else's is pretty shaky ground. Sorority women are smart cookies and to assume they're all fill in the blank easy major is going to get you in trouble. It's all about time management.

There is no like those girls. Sorority women are a mixed bag. There may be chapters on your campus that are oddly homogenous, but if you don't fit it in with them, there's another chapter that will be a better fit. Or not, and you'll know that by having gone through rush.

Lots of people entering college think about transferring as an option down the road. I wanted to go to a far away school and my parents told me they wouldn't pay for that until I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Once I got into my sorority and settled in school, I couldn't imagine giving all that up. But many students do, and it works out just fine. Que sera sera.

As far as sexuality, my perception is that is not the hot button issue it once was. But just as your choice to accept who you are and come out of the closet (or not) was your decision, whether or not you decide to out yourself in a recruitment environment or to your sisters at some later point is your decision. My standard answer is you don't have to tell your whole life story, but don't lie either. You want to share as much about yourself as you are comfortable with.

More?

It appears to be troll season once again so I have brought this thread out of retirement.

DaffyKD

This is my 4th time rushing. I only like half the chapters because I don't feel like I fit into the others. Will recruitment be hard? Will my special golden chosen chapters love me as much as I love myself? If I tell the chapters that I dropped those other unworthy ones, will they love me more and recognize I'm a special snowflake?

Yeah, recruitment will be hard at many campuses. Some places practically only accept freshman. You will be given what you are given. Be happy with what you've got and accept it, you ungrateful brat. Most likely if they dropped you last time you went through recruitment, they won't like you any more than last time.

I am an initiated member of XYZ. I am going to transfer to a very small school in which no one knows me. Is there any way that the Panhellenic at my new school will know that I am already an initiated member of XYZ?

Don't be so sure that no one knows you, especially in this day of social media. Have you ever looked at the friends of your friends on FaceBook? I have 2 friends who know friends of mine who I would never have imagined had connections with each other. I friend who lives in another state, has never lived in my state and she is friends with one of my high school classmates. No idea what the connection may be, but in the famous words of a Disneyland ride, "Its a small world afterall!"

^^^Taking it one step further:

If you were terminated from your sorority, or resigned, or transferred and there isn't a chapter of your sorority at your new school, and you think you'll just "re-rush", don't be so naive as to think that no one will contact Panhellenic at your new school once your plans are known, thanks to social media. We always hear about it, because no one can keep this kind of thing quiet. We will hear about it, and Panhellenic at your new school will as well. Most definitely. Rest assured.

Look on the bright side: you just saved yourself another recruitment registration fee! Use it for a spray tan or mani/pedi or whatever...

Not to mention people in your home town who you may not know, but who have heard about your second initiation (or plans to rush at New U) from local or regional chitchat. A small world, indeed.

^^^
There is a follow up to this story.

I pledged XYZ at State U., but then was going to transfer to Small College that didn't have my sorority. I resigned before transferring (rather than pay the dues I owed that semester.) My daughter Miss Awesome is still a legacy of XYZ, right? I have been writing rec letters for all of her friends that asked because I told them I was an XYZ. How would NPC groups know where I pledged or for how long?

By checking in the records their HQ keeps. Even just flipping through the sections of the most recent printed copy of the XYZ alumnae directory ("maiden" name, married name if different, and list-by-chapter) would come close to verifying or falsifying a claim to be a member. If there's still a question, HQ can be contacted.

Those poor friends of a daughter: a "rec" from a non-member is worthless; why would someone DO that?

For collegians, because they are silly enough to think that they might actually still be members in some instance. Women need to be told that self-terminating or being terminated renders you an "un-person" in the eyes of the sorority. In other words...you never existed as an XYZ.

For 15+ years alumnae, honestly, I think a lot of times they just aren't sure what happened back in the day and not doing it maliciously.

In recent years, some recruitment applications have been asking for both the name and the membership number of any Greek relatives you have. I'm assuming that if they ask for this, they check up on it. There must've been a lot of fake legacies lately.

I also assume that there've been numerous fake rec writers because the rec forms from several sororities ask for more information on the rec writer than they used to.

Bringing this to the top again. Once again we are seeing some of the same questions. Sorry I forgot to bring it up at the beginning of recruitment season.

DaffyKD

But what do I do if I was cut by everyone and want to start my own fraternity/sorority?

Sorry for the thread bump, but this is too good not to share....

http://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos...63&oe=5570E1B8