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  #1  
Old 02-04-2014, 10:34 AM
pas pas is offline
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Question negative alum involvement...

Has anyone ever had experience where the alumni were over involved in the chapter and actually becoming a negative factor in the sororty chapter's well being? Without being too specific, there's a chapter whose alumnae have been involved in recruitment and other non alum events. They verbally bring the chapter down but every time the chapter tries to do something about it the alums send harsh emails to the chapter and advisers.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Any ideas? I had the idea that you would only inform the alums of alum events and be careful of what you post on social media outlets...but this might be difficult dyring rush. The alums have no regard for the policies and procedures so this is also an issue.
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  #2  
Old 02-04-2014, 10:44 AM
pinksequins pinksequins is offline
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It may be time to engage the NPC group's regional/provincial leadership for both alumnae (obvious) and collegians (to provide them and their advisory board appropriate support). They may be able to "sit down" with all affected parties and help progress a resolution.
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  #3  
Old 02-04-2014, 11:48 AM
agzg agzg is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pas View Post
Has anyone ever had experience where the alumni were over involved in the chapter and actually becoming a negative factor in the sororty chapter's well being? Without being too specific, there's a chapter whose alumnae have been involved in recruitment and other non alum events. They verbally bring the chapter down but every time the chapter tries to do something about it the alums send harsh emails to the chapter and advisers.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Any ideas? I had the idea that you would only inform the alums of alum events and be careful of what you post on social media outlets...but this might be difficult dyring rush. The alums have no regard for the policies and procedures so this is also an issue.
It's actually really common. Usually there's a volunteer structure established by the national organization that should be the chain of command for such issues. The collegians should contact the regional volunteers for their area (if there are any) or discuss it with a Leadership Consultant, who can then put things in place to address such issues. They should also make it clear that the only acceptable alumnae involvement in recruitment is that of a Chapter or Recruitment advisor, and they need to stay away from the chapter during that time. They'll get lots of threats from the alumnae of "pulling support" from the chapter, however, I've only ever seen these threats coming from recent alumnae, who, let's be honest, aren't financially supporting the chapter anyway.
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Old 02-04-2014, 12:36 PM
Kevin Kevin is offline
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^That. A bit of a lane swerve for me, but not too bad. Your alumni are going to have an emotional attachment to the chapter. You are part of their legacy and they want you to be an awesome chapter which can play host to their families on homecoming, etc. To channel some of that emotional attachment, you're going to need alumni constituent groups, an alumnae chapter which meets and has its own social calendar and philanthropy might not hurt, an alumnae advisory board would is something your HQ probably provides guidance about.

Alumnae should know that it's not okay to directly contact collegians without going through the proper channels.
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  #5  
Old 02-04-2014, 03:42 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pas View Post
Has anyone ever had experience where the alumni were over involved in the chapter and actually becoming a negative factor in the sororty chapter's well being? Without being too specific, there's a chapter whose alumnae have been involved in recruitment and other non alum events. They verbally bring the chapter down but every time the chapter tries to do something about it the alums send harsh emails to the chapter and advisers.
I'm confused. Aren't you an alumna as well? Why don't you talk to your fellow chapter alums and tell them they need to chill? I've found that's usually the best way to remedy situations like this.
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  #6  
Old 02-06-2014, 01:17 AM
pas pas is offline
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I am an alum but not of this specific chapter. And this is an issue in two chapters of two different sororities in which I am a member and advisor for. I completely understand because I have that attachment to my chapters as well and I would be so hurt if I was in their shoes and the situation was dealt with wrong or in an unprofessional manner.
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  #7  
Old 02-06-2014, 12:04 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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I am an alum but not of this specific chapter. And this is an issue in two chapters of two different sororities in which I am a member and advisor for.
This exact same problem is happening in two completely different groups, and the only thing in common is you? Perhaps it's your perception of the situation that is the real problem.
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  #8  
Old 02-07-2014, 08:56 AM
DrPhil DrPhil is offline
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Most our collegiate chapters welcome involvement from alumnae Sorors who pledged in that collegiate chapter. It is helpful to know the experiences and opinions of Sorors who pledged before you and who made the chapter how it was when you were first introduced to Delta. It is especially exciting to be influenced by chapter alumnae who pledged when you were a child or before you were even born. This can sometimes involve alumnae Sorors keeping the collegiate Sorors "in check" and telling them what they should/should not do.

However, everything has a limit. Alumnae Sorors can annoy collegiate Sorors and vice versa. On the collegiate Sorors part, grown adults don't want to be treated as kids (or eternal pledges). On the alumnae Sorors part, grown adults don't want to be relied upon too much because we want people to figure some things out on their own. Alumnae assistance that is too strong and too present can create a dependency. That is why it is up to the collegiate Sorors from day 1 to have a strong vision for the chapter and strong opinions so they know when to respectfully put the alumnae Sorors on pause.

When the alumnae Sorors become a pain in the ass, some collegiate Sorors are able to respectfully put them in check. Sometimes it becomes more stern on the part of the collegiate Sorors. If collegiate Sorors can't solve the problem then the alumnae chapters (if some of the chapter alumnae are members of alumnae chapters) or Regional Director can be brought in. This is problematic because some chapter business should remain chapter business. This also breeds hostility and the chapter alumnae can feel as though they are being punished for helping and taking time out of their busy lives to help a bunch of ungrateful college students.

Last edited by DrPhil; 02-07-2014 at 09:00 AM.
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  #9  
Old 02-07-2014, 12:08 PM
AnchorAlumna AnchorAlumna is offline
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Dear Kevin:
Fraternities have alumni.
Sororities have alumnae.
Love,
AnchorAlumna
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  #10  
Old 02-13-2014, 12:10 AM
pas pas is offline
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@33girl I just stepped up as an advior this month and these are issues that the current Leaderahip Team told me. This situation has been vocalized by the chapter members. It's not me just sitting there and trying to analyze the situation.
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