Sorority Interest Group

HannahBanana612 · #1 11-13-2010, 12:55 AM

Hi,
My name is Hannah, and I am the President of a sorority interest group that is working with our schools Greek Life Coordinator to bring a new sorority to campus. This website has been amazing for advice and peoples past experiences. I have literally spent hours on the search function

. Now I need some advice that I can't find. I am meeting with our schools CPC on Sunday to gain their approval. I have no idea what to say to them. The Greek Life Coordinator has told me that this will be a difficult meeting. To be honest i'm terrified. This group has become my baby and the thought of disappointing my girls is scaring me to death. I don't know how to make them see that a new sorority is needed (many girls went without bids and this has been happening for a few years) and let them know that me and my women are the best way to do this. We are the only interest group on campus and before I came forward they were planning on doing a cold start which I was told can take a very long time as opposed to the interest group option. Any advice you guys can give would be so appreciated!

Titchou · #2 11-13-2010, 09:01 AM

There are NPC regulations about how expansion is done. The first is that the CPH does due diligence to determine if a new group is warranted. Once that is decided, then they seek permission from the administration to expand and then they go to NPC to notify all groups that the campus is open. They would advise NPC at that time that there is an interest group on campus. It seems that your campus has not gotten to the point of discussing your group's viability yet. So, I would get a copy of their constitution and point out the section that applies to the expansion procedure and let them know your group is there, ready to affiliate with whichever NPC group they choose, should that NPC group be willing to accept you (which is another issue altogether).

33girl · #3 11-13-2010, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HannahBanana612

I don't know how to make them see that a new sorority is needed (many girls went without bids and this has been happening for a few years) and let them know that me and my women are the best way to do this.

Are women going without bids because the chapters are reluctant to grow larger and therefore are making heavy cuts in rush? OR are they going without bids because they drop out of rush when they don't get their favorite or the most popular chapters back?

Did you and a fair number of the women in your group go through formal rush and check out the current sororities? OR did you begin an interest group without seeing what is already there?

Is the total number of men vs women (not fraternities vs sororities) disproportional - i.e. there are many more men involved in Greek life than women and it's becoming awkward?

Have the majority of chapters been at total for a number of years?

These are all factors in whether your group will be approved.

HannahBanana612 · #4 11-13-2010, 02:10 PM

I should have gone into more detail. My apologies for any confusion. Firstly, they are already submitting the paperwork to open for expansion. My group just needs to go in front of the CPC and let them know who we are. The Greek Life Coordinator says that he is almost positive that they will approve us because of the need of a new sorority, and the difficulties of doing a cold start. So in short the campus is already aware of the need for a new sorority it's whether or not they will approve us to become a student org during the process that is in question. My campus does not allow locals and any group hoping to be affiliated in any way with greek life must meet the approval of the CPC. I hope that clears that up. Secondly, I and several of my women have rushed. The chapters have been forced to accept so many women because of how few sororities there are, that they are having trouble even finding places to meet where they will all fit (we don't have housing on our campus for greeks). Even with the chapters accepting a larger load than they can accommodate many women still go without bids. My campus is following NPC procedures and I am following campus procedures. I have done a lot of research on the different expansion rules depending on the group and the campus status. Our campus has completely acknowledged the need for a new NPC sorority, I am just really worried about public speaking and the process of final approval. This process just started in late September so this is the first major red tape that I have had to cross and I am very nervous.

Titchou · #5 11-13-2010, 02:27 PM

Thanks for clearing that up. What you need to sell them on is the fact that you are already somewhat organized, the organization is already in place, you've already been able to watch CPH and see how it works, etc. In other words, you have a leg up, so to speak. But, your biggest hurdle is going to be convincing an NPC group to take you. Not all like to do that. However, if CPH makes that a requirement of the expansion, then only groups who are willing to do so will put in their packet.

33girl · #6 11-14-2010, 01:16 PM

^^^And sometimes, even if an NPC DOES say they will do that, the original group ends up being "weeded out" in one way or another, and surprise surprise, by the time the chapter actually charters, none of the girls from the interest group are anywhere to be found.

All I can say is be very careful because there's a lot of potential for your group to get screwed. Make sure that Panhel knows you need to have a say in the group that's chosen - you need to feel comfy with them too.

HannahBanana612 · #7 11-14-2010, 01:53 PM

Thanks so much for the advice. In my discussions with the Greek Life Coordinator we have discussed my group and I being involved in deciding what NPC groups come to campus and deciding from the final selection what would not only be the best fit for the campus but the best fit for us. I plan on completely asserting our rights as a group but from what I've gotten from the Greek Life Coordinator he at least has every intention of insuring our complete involvement. I know that he has never worked with a NPC extension, but several years ago an interest group was affiliated right before he came. I am very nervous at this point but i'm reassuring myself with the knowledge that this is really what the campus needs and that I have a great group of women for this purpose. Ah well wish me luck!

Barbie's_Rush · #8 11-14-2010, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titchou

Thanks for clearing that up. What you need to sell them on is the fact that you are already somewhat organized, the organization is already in place, you've already been able to watch CPH and see how it works, etc. In other words, you have a leg up, so to speak. But, your biggest hurdle is going to be convincing an NPC group to take you. Not all like to do that. However, if CPH makes that a requirement of the expansion, then only groups who are willing to do so will put in their packet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33girl

^^^And sometimes, even if an NPC DOES say they will do that, the original group ends up being "weeded out" in one way or another, and surprise surprise, by the time the chapter actually charters, none of the girls from the interest group are anywhere to be found.

All I can say is be very careful because there's a lot of potential for your group to get screwed. Make sure that Panhel knows you need to have a say in the group that's chosen - you need to feel comfy with them too.

Something I have always wondered about the expansion process is how the final group is chosen after the presentations. Occasionally on GC I see things alluded to about how a group aligned with values, goals, etc. and the other groups didn't. Strong presentations and impressive presenters aside, it's hard for me to grasp how one group can prevail because it's not like there are groups that don't value scholarship, are self-proclaimed kitten sacrificers, promote hazing and scoff at community service.

I do understand special circumstances such as an interest group that wishes to affiliate with a sorority that will help them promote a traditional Jewish culture experience. Certainly different sororities have different strengths in certain environments (eg: a very small sorority probably doesn't have the staff, alumnae or finances to grow and support a 300-plus member chapter and its house at a competitive SEC school.) But I would assume these would be the kinds of things narrowed down in the process of determining who will present (and sororities would be self-aware enough not to even send a packet to schools where they are likely not going to have a successful colonization.)

Maybe it's because I haven't been involved with or know anyone who has been involved with the expansion process and everything I know about it I read on GC. It just puzzles me how you go about picking just one.

Titchou · #9 11-14-2010, 05:45 PM

I have been to many presentations over the years by my GLO and others. I can tell you that the presentations can vary far more than you ever thought! And the ability of the people making the presentations can be vastly different. Each one I've been to had its own "feel" or "vibe" and it was pretty easy to pick out which ones would get the nod and which ones would not. I've had 2 instances where I saw all the presentations on 2 different campuses. Truly interesting that some groups just assume that because of "who they are" they don't have to put forth as much effort and will still get the nod. It is truly an interesting process. If you ever get the chance to attend one - and they aren't usually closed to the public - you should go.

HannahBanana612 · #10 11-14-2010, 05:55 PM

Hello,
We received our approval from the CPC and are now clear to finish application procedures to become a student organization.

Now I don't really know how a sorority is supposed to be chosen but from what I have been told I have a few ideas. It is supposed to be mutual selection between the interest group, the school, and the national org. I would assume that it would be say if a certain national org has a history of operating in a certain way and their certain procedure for doing things happen to align with the existing groups procedures or the schools procedures then it would be a match there, or if the interest group happens to really associate with a certain group and maybe their philanthropy really speaks to them. These are obviously just some ideas of what I have been told about the mutual selection process.

Hannah

IrishLake · #11 11-14-2010, 06:18 PM

Best of luck to you and the others in your group, Hannah.

Titchou · #12 11-14-2010, 08:35 PM

Generally speaking, the groups who are interested in expanding to your campus and taking an interest group will send in a packet of information by the date determined by your CPH. The CPH will look over those packets and invite the groups they think will fit your campus - local alumnae, group is known in the area, other chapters in the area, etc - to present to CPH and interview/investigate your group. Then CPH will vote on which one to offer the slot to. They should, of course, rely a lot on your group's wants and desires.

CutiePie2000 · #13 11-14-2010, 10:31 PM

A colony at University of Victoria just started up in Victoria, BC, Canada. That campus is very anti-Greek and so bringing an NPC group was not easily done. So, they now have a colony of Kappa Beta Gamma, which has several chapters and this is the first one in Canada. Just a little "shout out"....

ASAlamb · #14 11-15-2010, 01:26 AM

Our campus is currently undergoing a two-year expansion process, and though we had a strong interest group last year, they didn't exactly get to pick their national sorority and all initiate together. The decision on which nationals to bring to campus will be made by Panhel, the Greek Life Office, reps from other Greek orgs, and we had some input from the interest group.

In the end, a number of the members of the interest group did not end up with a bid to the first new national to come to campus. This happened for a number of reasons. But the important thing to take away from this is that your interest group may not stay together, and you usually have to interview and go through a sort-of recruitment for new national sororities on campus just like you would more established campus chapters. Expansion is crazy, be ready for it.

AOII Angel · #15 11-15-2010, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

A colony at University of Victoria just started up in Victoria, BC, Canada. That campus is very anti-Greek and so bringing an NPC group was not easily done. So, they now have a colony of Kappa Beta Gamma, which has several chapters and this is the first one in Canada. Just a little "shout out"....

Congratulations to Kappa Beta Gamma on becoming an International organization! That is a big leap.