[carnation]

I have such mixed feelings about recs.

As I mentioned in another thread this week, they are not used to introduce Miss Upper Class Clara to some preppy sorority. If she's everything they want, they already know about her. If you believe that that's all sorority recs are good for, you probably believe that sororities have nude pillow fights every night.

They can be very useful. A solid rec from someone who knows a small-town girl can let a chapter want to know more about her and possibly lead to a bid. They can also warn us about a PNM who is likely to cause trouble in countless ways. I have only written 3 no-recs in all these years and have gotten thankful calls from 2 chapters who had not known about both girls' arrests for aggravated assault. Twice each.

They can also be worthless. Many PNMs are finding recs online now from various Greek parent groups, and a rec from a total stranger who knows nothing about a girl's character does a chapter no good, especially if a girl is "toxic". See the last paragraph.

Required by the national group or not, recs will still be utilized by sororities. There are still too many women who come into recruitment who are unknown by the chapters, like out-of-state women. It's hard, though, to trust some rec writers.

What are your thoughts?