New Rutgers Sorority is on Fire!

[PiRhoPres]

Hey I just thought it would be good to ask some questions from people who know more about these things then I do. My sisters and I were in a very bad situation for some time at another local sorority. We all loved each other, but did not like the way the group was particularly because it involved founders who gave power to one person who didn't know what they were doing. Five of us left this one and decided to make one of our own. This was probably the best choice we made since we have done more in weeks then the other one did in years. We pledged a Beta class last week of girls we were overjoyed to have. So I just am starting off with a few questions.

Can we take new letters after giving up our old ones in this new group?
What are some things we can do to get good publicity right off the bat?
What is a good way to create a relationship with other greeks on campus with out looking like we're kissing up?
How do we go about inviting them to mixers?
One of our main reasons for leaving was that our old sorority wanted nothing to do with other greeks which to us made no sense.
What are some things that are the prime elements of every greek organization? I'm pretty sure we have a good idea, but we don't want to miss anything.
And lastly what aspects of our organization should never be told to non-members? Were all really confused about that.
Also I was wondering if locals ever got involved in stuff like Greek Week and step shows?

[OmegaPDPrez]

Originally Posted by PiRhoPres

One of our main reasons for leaving was that our old sorority wanted nothing to do with other greeks which to us made no sense.
What are some things that are the prime elements of every greek organization? I'm pretty sure we have a good idea, but we don't want to miss anything.
And lastly what aspects of our organization should never be told to non-members? Were all really confused about that.
Also I was wondering if locals ever got involved in stuff like Greek Week and step shows?

I dont understand how you were able to be a part of an org. that made no sense to you. What type of NME did you do before you crossed? ( you dont have to go into detail ) It seems that your original program lacked a little on organization and forming a bond between you and your ex? sorority sisters. Even tho you have crossed your own beta line I have to ask if you have a NME procedure. I think before you cross any more pledge classes that you and your girls should discuss some ground rules and laws that will uphold your org. I hope this helps in reference to some of the questions you asked:
Something that i feel is the most important in keeping your group together is establishing a strong sisterhood. This can be done in a number of ways that is unique to every organization. Sisterhood is what makes a sorority. You must also make sure that your members represent what your organization was founded on. Shared common intrests are a big help when establishing a group of this nature. I think that it is really important for all of your members to know what is expected of them and what they contribute to for the success of your organization.

Most of the ritual that sororities have is only known to its members- things like pledging, each group has its own, initiation ceremony is only known to the crossed members, selection process, your government and anything else that you feel should be kept sercret.
Things that might be important to share would be the reasons why you created such an organization to begin with. Your goals as an organization, can also be made public, in the sense of maybe community service. Being involved in Greek week depends on your school. I am a student at LaSalle and Local organizations do not participate in any Greek week activity but ask you Greek advisor about this!

Just remember that you must stay organized- write down everything and talk with your sisters.

[PiRhoPres]

Thanks we have an idea of what we want, and ofcourse we have been writing stuff down maybe even more then needed. What you said about getting into something we didnt really know about is partly true we were misled when we joined the other sorority and told that it was something entirely diff. from what it really was. We would told that what we were getting ourselves into was something we all were very excited about, but it turned out to be not that entirely. What we want is to form a group that is in actuality the group we thought we were joining. We have decided we want our main philanthropy to be aides awareness and research. We came to a common agreement on it, because it is something we all feel strongly about. We have things in common but we are also very different to. For instance one of our sisters is premed another is theater arts, but we all have similar personalities that bond us.

[Ch2tf]

In general, some of your questions concern me. It seems like you started the sorority, with very little understanding of what greek life is like, even though you were part of another organization. Your asking about taking letters, yet you've already chosen some. Your asking about elements of greek life, yet you've already created the group. I would suggest you think long and hard about why you decided to create another organization. I took a quick peak at your myspace page. While I am not suggesting that you hide your history with the previous organization, I don't think it is wise to describe/define yourselves as the ex-ABC girls. Talk about who you are and what you do. In personal conversations/rush/informationals, etc. maybe it comes up that you were formerly part of another group (and that other group doesn't necessarily have to be mentioned) but you will not create a separate identity by defining yourselves as the former ABC sisters. Also, if you're still deciding on thinks like symbols, that is fine, but I wouldn't recommend posting that information until it has been clearly determined (and it doesn't always even have to be posted). As far as some of the questions you asked in the op:

Originally Posted by PiRhoPres

Can we take new letters after giving up our old ones in this new group?

That is something that you need to check with the University and something that you will have to decide upon as a group to include in your constitution. I know that for NPC/NPHC/RPHC I don't think you can join another organization after having accepted membership (been initiated into) another organization. I don't know if the same goes for locals at RU.

Originally Posted by PiRhoPres

What are some things we can do to get good publicity right off the bat?

What is the mission/purpose of your group? My suggestion is to keep doing those things, and do them well, and your work will be recognized. As for direct advertising like flyering, etc. I have to recommend speaking with the University about this as well if you are not sure what their policy is on this. I remember that unrecognized groups are not allowed to advertise on campus. If you are, I would recommend flyering, seeing if you can get links from the student activities/greek life homepage, etc.

Originally Posted by PiRhoPres

What is a good way to create a relationship with other greeks on campus with out looking like we're kissing up?

Start from the ground up. Maybe you have friends in other organizations, speak to them about doing a mixer or community service event together. If not maybe start with organizations that have similar goals to yours. But if I remember correctly RU has clauses about holding events with non-recognized groups, so you may run into a tough time. But look into it and find out.

Originally Posted by PiRhoPres

What are some things that are the prime elements of every greek organization? I'm pretty sure we have a good idea, but we don't want to miss anything.

What is it that you think is/should be prime elements of greek life? Use those, you very may well "miss something" but you can't always be everything, if you know what I mean.

[preciousjeni]

This is pretty off-topic but I went to check out the other sorority (ZSA) and on wikipedia it says that the sorority "Founder's Circle" was completed at "The Office Beer Bar & Grill in Bridgewater, NJ." It made me chuckle.

[PiRhoPres]

Yea I honestly don't blame you for that. I didn't even know they had a wikipedia how interesting. We do want to stop being associated with them, not be the ex ZSA girls. It's a weird situation we wanted to create a lot of change because we liked there mission purpose and vision but they didnt live up to it. We wound up leaving only because of one girl who had power and refused to give it to anyone else. Other then her we have a great bond with the other sisters who stayed. They decided to keep fighting for what needed to be done, we no longer could. We are working on mission, purpose, vission etc. We actually have a big meeting tomorow where were going to make things clearer. Again thanks for all your help. I'm probably coming off sounding like a I know a lot less then I do. But I have a good idea what we stand for I just would rather not put it until we come up with a commen way to say it that sounds a lot better then a summing up I would give off the top of my head. In the mean time I wanted to put it off until after we got working on the history more, but you are right it looks terrible to say we formed because we left ZSA. I deleted that from our pages and changed it to something else to hold us over until we have something more solid. We are going to have a real webpage soon. One of our sisters is putting a lot of time and effort into it right now, we want it to be perfect before we make it public.

[astarinthesky]

Hey, I remember reading about your sorority on GC last year. How has the past year been? Have you ladies had any progress or gotten any new girls?