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I have a genuine question/concern for the new members who were not yet initiated (thank goodness) into the organization in question. WHY can't you tell girls during recruitment that a chapter is on probation and/or is at risk of being shut down?
My freshman year, I was a new member of one sorority. This sorority was shut down about halfway into the new member process for a variety of (valid) reasons. My new member class was not yet initiated. It was a crazy time. We had someone from Nationals (I can't remember her title, kind of like a CDC for DG's) living in the house for WEEKS and on the day we were all supposed to be initiated we all got ready, including the lady from Nationals, and she got a call a few moments before initiation from Nationals to shut down initiation because they were about to revoke the sorority's charter. Yes, the chapter was a MESS. But the decision was that last minute. All of us new members were extremely confused. During the recruitment process, NO ONE had told us the chapter was in trouble, because our Pi Chis / Rho Gammas were not allowed to say a word about it. And no, I did not hear any kind of rumor or talk about how this chapter was such a mess. Word just didn't get around at my school like that. Perhaps this school in question is different, and the girls going through recruitment did know the chapter was in trouble. But the fact of the matter is, during recruitment, no one is allowed to say this formally, so how are the girls going through TRULY supposed to know? Having experienced this firsthand, I felt SO cheated. I would not have accepted my bid if I had known that getting shut down was even a remote possibility.
I understand that if girls are told a chapter is in trouble during recruitment, it will hurt their numbers greatly, and not many girls ( although there still may be some who won't care) will choose to accept bids from chapters in trouble. My response to this is- okay, so you're going to screw over these girls? I definitely got screwed over, just so my former chapter could "try to get back on their feet." Basically, my new member class was "used" to try to salvage what was left of the chapter. That is SO unfair for new members to be introduced into a failing chapter and having the burden of "fixing" it. When our charter was revoked, Nationals indeed told us that they had hoped our new member class would fix things. Oh, how nice, thank you for making my freshman year hell! It really was hell for me. I was absolutely humiliated when the chapter was pulled, seeing all my other friends getting initiated into their sororities. It is not something that new members take lightly and I feel for these former tri delt new members.
I was lucky enough to find another organization that accepted me despite my past. But it was not easy. And at first, it was a bit awkward having to fit in, being known as "the girl who WAS an XYZ, but is NOW an ABC." There is also awkwardness with bigs: my former big did NOT want me to be in another sorority and ceased all communication with me. Now, I am over it, but at the beginning, it sucked.
Just wanted to give this perspective. I really wish Nationals of my original sorority had not used my new member class like that. I really really think girls should be informed of any probation a chapter is on, because at least at my school, no one was allowed to discuss it during recruitment, and the sorority in question kept it extremely hush-hush. It was also not posted on our school's greek life website, as I understand it is posted on some school's websites. Once I was in the sorority, yes I knew they were on probation (a little too little too late), however every member told us it was "no big deal" and "nothing would happen"... yet we were shut down.
I am interested to see what you all think, or if anyone has been in similar circumstances. Sorry for the long post.
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