Quote:
Originally Posted by Little Dragon
As a member of one of the orgs that left NALFO, I think that NALFO's current situation is not due so much to some orgs changing their focus, as for the large difference in membership size between its member orgs. That is the main reason for the creation of NALFO in the first place, as many (not all) of its founding orgs could not meet the membership requirements for CNHL, which was composed of larger orgs.
I think LGLO/HLGLO's could work together well under the same council, if that council served as a trade organization. Those orgs are already well established, have a solid Alumni base, and may be looking, not so much at expansion (which of course they are) but at serving its members. Smaller orgs, be them LGLO or HLGLO, are looking towards achieving greater stability, still thinking their organizational structures, and expansion might be, although not necessarily, a greater priority.
NALFO's limitation on new orgs has lasted as long as it has due to NALFO's internal restructuring. It is very hard to find the right balance for its internal structure when each member org has a very different strategy in mind.
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I had not heard that NALFO came about because there were restrictions on participating in the CNHL. My understanding (and I was still an active at the time
) is that CNHL was formed by primarily East Coast founded organizations, and at the same time, we had West Coast Latino Greek Council. In discussions I attended locally on the topic at the time, NALFO was developed in an attempt to get everyone under one umbrella. But it very possible that it was a combination of many factors that lead to NALFO.
Whether LGLOs and HLGLOs can collaborate under one council (NALFO or otherwise) is doubtful to me at the present time, because many in LGLOs don't know quite what to make of the new "HLGLOs"--are you still Latina/o orgs? Are you saying that your orgs were founded by Latinas/os but now you are focusing your programming elsewhere? Is your demographic no longer predominately Latina/o, so that a student seeking a brotherhood/sisterhood with members of his/her own culture might not find what they are looking for in your org?
In my view, organizations that are no longer predominately Latina/o, and no longer place their primary focus on serving the Latina/o community will not have much in common with LGLOs, and therefore, it would be problematic to have them under the same council with LGLOs. I would not feel comfortable with having an organization so dissimilar to mine voting on issues that impact my organization (i.e. GPA requirements, pledging requirements, etc.).
