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Sciencewoman, I wholeheartedly agree. As a woman in science myself (funny with your username!), it has been interesting to see the way that the times have changed. From what my mom has told me and from what I have learned about ASA, I am very blessed to not be the only woman in my classes and to not experience condescension. As a former teacher's sorority, ASA prioritizes education and I have an incredible amount of respect for our founders who wanted to encourage other women to go to college back in 1901. It gives me a new perspective on what a privilege it is to attend a university in a formerly male-dominated field.
As far as the conversation on "WRCs" goes, on my campus we are considered as such. However, we do decently at recruitment and usually make or get extremely close to quota. Our chapter total is on the higher side and we are involved on campus. I believe our issue is that we are a young chapter on an old Greek campus, with some chapters being here since the 1870s, and we are simply not polished yet. We also do not have a house, which can be make or break here, though many of my sisters enjoy that we have more freedom in that regard. If you had asked me as a PNM if I wanted to join ASA, I would have laughed. They were not impressive during recruitment and I didn't want to go back. But over time, I started to see that they were genuine women who had a lot to offer and the national organization had values that aligned with mine. Additionally, the young age of the chapter presented the opportunity to help lead the growth and leave a legacy for the members who will come in the future. In the end, I can't imagine not being in ASA and would not trade my sisters for a different chapter any day.
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