Recently I transferred due to family circumstances and the need to be closer to home. I was already initiated into a chapter at my previous school, in which I received a bid through continuous open bidding and not fall rush. Being our chapter was so new to campus, the recruitment process was a bit messy, and none of the direct panhellenic rules were ever shared with new members. Also, with not going through rush and meeting all the chapters my university had to offer, I feel as if I didn’t choose the “best fit” for me. Now, there is no chapter of my old sorority at my new school I am restricted from joining another NPC organization. Being a transfer student especially, I want a way to be involved and make friends. From personal experience, sororities are a great way to do so. I believe NPC’s rules are quite outdated as well. I came across a petition that I think is very well sought out and is applicable to many young college women. I pasted it below as well as the link to sign it in support! I feel many of us could benefit from a change in the unanimous agreement, especially with the current lack of sorority enrollment.
“The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is the governing board for 26 sororities and women's fraternities. The NPC has a policy that states, in general, once a young woman is initiated into any of the organizations it governs she is never again eligible to join another organization other than academic or local. I am interested in getting the NPC to amend that policy so any young woman who may want to join another organization will be able to do so. I believe that if a woman has a negative experience in one organization that she should be able to have another chance finding some place that can provide a positive one for her. I'm not petitioning for dual membership. This is for those young women who choose to no longer be a member of one organization in favor of going through the process of finding another one. Below I have provided an example-
Example- Ashley went through recruitment for Greek Life at her school which has five sororities all governed by the NPC. She was initiated into Sorority A, but then realizes it wasn't a good fit or had a bad experience and now feels "stuck." Under the current NPC policy, even if Ashley "disaffiliates" with sorority A, she cannot go through recruitment again to be a part of sorority B, C, D, or E because they're all governed by the NPC. With the amendment of the policy Ashley will be able to follow some sort of process in order to disaffiliate and go through the recruitment process again for an opportunity of finding an organization that is a better fit.
It is important to note that I support the Greek community. Greek members do amazing things for their community and the organizations help cultivate outstanding women. I am disaffiliated from the organization I was once a part of. It is because of the negative experiences I witnessed and had myself that I believe this policy needs to be changed. All young women who decide to go through recruitment don't have to feel "stuck" in an organization that they're not happy in. Especially with the current climate in regards to Greek Life, why wouldn't we want ALL of the young women choosing to be a part of an organization to have a positive, healthy, and encouraging experience? I believe this is a wise alternative to the regulation in place now.
My solution is to have this as a second chance, one time, re-do. No monies paid for dues will be returned and this is all at the risk of the young woman; no organization is required to offer a bid. The Greek System is supposed to empower women and I believe an amendment to this rule would do that. The reality of the situation is that new membership periods (the time before initiation) is too short and that people change. What was once a good fit for us may not be a good fit for us a year from now. In the Greek Community, particularly for women's organizations, it's said that "it's not four years, it's for life." Unfortunately, that's not always true. We don't expect women in bad relationships to leave them and stay single forever so why is it expected that a college aged young woman should never join another NPC organization? Yes, there are people who may take advantage of this, but we have no place judging those who want to leave their organization. No choice is without consequence, but by and large college is still a time to be able to take a risk with a support system in place.
Lastly, certain fraternities have regulations in place where a young man can leave his initiated organization, receive a letter of release from that org., and then be initiated into another organization. How is it acceptable for the men's organizations to have this privilege and yet, we don't deem it necessary or unequal that women don't have this ability?”
https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/npc-time-to-change
