Issues with Sisterhood and Respect
 

This semester, after transitioning into a new eboard with a new president, my chapter has been really struggling with cliques, trust, respect and sisterhood. I graduate in the Fall and it breaks my heart to see the way my chapter is going and I want to see it get better before I leave. We are a pretty small chapter with only 30 members, but we are one of the bigger ones on campus and with the way things are going I fear our chapter will die out in the coming years.


One of the sources of the problems we've been experiencing is our new president is very cold, blunt with a bad case of tunnel vision. The way she speaks to chapter members in a way that is not very respectful or compassionate about even the simplest of topics, and doesn't seem to realize it.


Do you have any suggestions on a) how to talk to the president about how the chapter is feeling b) how to improve the overall sisterhood aspect of our chapter? I was thinking of some kind of sisterhood retreat with bonding activities, but I'm just not sure.

This is a pretty amorphous example other than the president coming across as a cold person. Are people coming to activities? Are sisters terminating their membership? How are the trust and respect issues manifesting themselves?

Was the president appointed or elected?

This can be a tough situation. Without know more of the details it would be hard to give advise. Cliques are bound to happen but if the chapter has lost respect for the ritual and why they joined in the first place that is bad. Building up the sisterhood and reminding members what your sorority stands for would help out. The president is another issue. If she is a bad leader and is giving off a bad vibe then it will spread through the whole chapter. Was she elected or appointed? Sometimes giving a person power brings out the worse in them. This would be some to discuss as a whole exec/chapter and point out what she could possibly be causing.

As far as the president goes- she was appointed after receiving the second highest number of votes.
For the most part people are going to events, but multiple members have considered self termination- some actually following through, and some new members have dropped the process. Our public relations, Greek Relations, and philanthropic Relations are all flourishing, as members attendmandatory events and the business end is being run pretty efficiently for the most part.
The real issue is internal relations between members. Trust has been broken from lack of consistency in following procedures, specifically regarding voting/voting committees, as well as general “talking behind backs” which I think stems from a fear of confrontation and hurts peoples feelings. Because of the strain in all of our friendships, some people are beginning* to lose interest and motivation in their positions and in attendance which I fear will make things worse- as it has never really been an issue in the past.

Can you explain how your voting worked? Including who appointed the runner-up as president?

Where are your advisers in all this?

If their 30 person chapter is one of the larger ones on campus, I would not be shocked if advisors were either on paper only or nonexistent.

OP - is this a local or national sorority? If national, from what conference?