be honest....

[TKESweetheart]

I think it is so great the way everyone on here is so supportive of one another. A girl in my apartment complex and I were talking aout school/ sororites etc. and she said something about someone to the tune of "oh, they're just local. It's not like a real sorority..." I was wondering if that is the general attitude out there. Do women/girls really think that the special interest/local/MCGLO etc aren't real sororites. I've called a few of my friends about this and honestly the general attitude where we are is that. If you're not in an NPC, then your not in a "real" sorority or you couldn't get into a real one. I feel bad. Is that elitist attitude really still out there?Is it just my school or is it like that everywhere?????
On the flip side, I work with a girl that was in a sorority at a small Christian school and when she told me about her sorority-I wasn't cutting her down I was just saying-Oh I haven't heard of that she was like-"oh we're not national, we're private" like being NPC was common or lowly. I thought that was weird too. Anyhoo!

[SKRae]

I have never thought that way until recently. My ex boyfriend is in a local and I thought that they were awsome. Then when we broke up, things went down hill. I started to look at the actual fraternity, well lets just say that I don't see what is making them a fraternity, other than partying, they are not as supportive of each other as their brotherhood projects. Other than that isolated one, I think that if a local has something special, well of course they are a real greek organization, how do you think all of NPC started????

[FuzzieAlum]

I don't think you'll get many people to admit they think less of locals. It depends on their campus, though - on my campus the local group was very much considered equal to any of the nationals. I think the people who think "less" of some groups saw on their campus that those groups did not participate in the same rush, the same events. Locals vary greatly in how competitive/similar they are to the NPC groups.

MCGLOs are still new and I think some people regard them as not having proven their staying power yet.

And finally, I think some people don't understand the differences in the systems between HAAGLOs and HWGLOs. Some NPC members say, "Only 6 members? No house? They're a failure!" But those things are not necessarily demerits to an NPHC group. (Likewise, an NPHC member may say, "200 members? That's ludicrous!") Add to that a lack of exposure to other kinds of GLOs- I have to admit I had never even heard of the NPHC groups until the end of my junior year (they were only represented on my campus through city-wide chapters).

Finally, I think we all like to feel superior to the other groups out there. "Oh, they didn't have to work hard to join, they're just paper." "Oh, they don't have a house, they're not a real sorority (even though they're national)." "They're just local." "They're only a service sorority." "What's wrong with NPC groups? Why can't they just join them?" "They joined [special interest group] because they couldn't get into a real sorority." Yeah, I've heard all these. But I don't think any of those comments are representative of all of us. The one negative comment you hear is the one you'll remember. The majority of members, I think, respect the differences between different GLOs and save their ire for groups that are truly screwing up.

[Tom Earp]

Being a Local does not make them jerks! Only if they act Stupid!

Having Founded a local, We were the straightiest bunch of guys so we could get recognize and on campus!

Maybe they dont care?

[sororitygirl2]

On my campus, the NPC groups really made an effort to socialize with and get to know non-NPC groups. Unfortunately, I have to say that most of them did not reciprocate the efforts (referring specifically to my campus... not everywhere).

From my observation, the ones I came into contact with were "real" sororities, but they were very different than what most people may consider when they think of a sorority.

1) They are not held accountable in the same manner as NPC groups (I am not saying they are not at all, they just are differently).

2) They usually do not offer the opportunity for a live-in environment (however, in some cases NPCs do not as well).

3) If they are local, they may provide a different "after college," alum. experience. This experience may or may not have a strong network of alums. to support them throughout their lives.

While these points may sound negative, they also offer things that NPC may not.

1) Because accountability is enforced differently, they may be able to take advantage of amazing, fun opportunities that NPC groups can't.

2) A new, developing group offers members a chance to make history by determining the values that will guide it.

3) Members share common bonds (ethnicity, professional interest, etc...) that brought them together... this may be lacking in larger, diversified NPC groups.

Both NPC and non-NPC groups offer different, amazing opportunities. Personally, I preferred the opportunities presented by NPC.

But, hey, variety is the spice of life, right?!

[gphiangel624]

My personal opinion (not the NPC/IFC or anyone elses) is that locals are just as important as national GLOs. On my campus, they are still a part of Greek life and are advised by the "Greek Advisors," although they aren't really "Greek Advisors." They may not have a governing organization on campus like IFC or NPC, and they may not have a national (most on my campus do: KDPhi, Pi Alpha Phi, Gamma Beta Phi, etc), but they are still GREEK, even if a lot of them don't like the NPC/IFC Greeks.

As for NPC/IFC chapters having respect for local orgs, I think most of them do. A few chapters host annual philanthropy events (Delts have Delta Queen, DG Anchor Splash, AXO Man of the Year, etc) and the locals are almost always represented. They take part in our philanthropies and oftentimes we take part in theirs. It's a nice happy family... and sometimes "siblings" don't always get along.

[Kevin]

Here's a thread where this was discussed at great length...

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...+fellow+greeks

[ZChi4Life]

My question is: who's to say what's "real" and what's not?
That is the million dollar question. I know on my campus, when my sorority got started, we had plenty of people thinking we weren't real. I knew that this was the feeling based on the types of questions we got asked....many of the same ones that FuzzieAlum stated in her post. It was like, just b/c we were new and no one had heard of us before, we were fake. It was crazy! But w/in time, people began to realize that we were indeed a "real" sorority. I'm not sure what it took for them to realize it though....it may have been our programs or how we recruited just as many members as they did...I have no clue. Nevertheless, I'm glad we've established ourselves as "real"

[AchtungBaby80]

OK, I will admit that sometimes I get a kick out of knowing I'm a member of one of the biggest national sororities and wherever I go, people recognize the letters on my shirt.

BUT...I can't dis locals, either, especially not since my dad was a member of one! Locals are no less "valid" than any NPC organization...just because there's only one of them doesn't mean their letters don't mean as much or more to their members as mine do to me.

[sigmagrrl]

Coming from the position of having pledged a local, and become a national chapter, I can say that:

1) Being a member of a local was hard. No one knew who we were away from our school. I pledged hard, fought hard. We deserved respect for that. I would have as been dedicated to my local as I am to Tri Sigma if we hadn't colonized. And we put a lot of hard work into getting our charter. We pulled together for that goal and we kicked ass! SIGMA ROCKS!

2) Locals are lucky, in some ways. They are free to make mistakes, change things, run their org the way they choose. BUT, they are also the only ones to fall back on when they make those inevitable mistakes. Things can go really really wrong without national support.

I have respect for locals who have been around for years and years. Locals that are just starting (2 years or less) should be humble and accept some advice. Not that they aren't "real", but they are still forming a value system. Put as much work into forming your mission and principles as you do when planning a social or buying letters...That's my only thing. I feel that my local could have worked on that more as a chapter. Even today, they need to work more on internal strength. When I see a chapter that has that, local or not, I envy that, not what org they are!

[LexiKD]

I too have been on both sides of the fence here and although I can see both sides, locals at my school function 100% differently than National groups and it is VERY different. I would never say that locals are not real, but for example, when I am approached about that MTV show, I seem to pointing out how that is not typical of NPC groups and infact much of what they show painted as real life in a chapter was prohibited in NPC. So in that aspect I think we need to think of us as different not better or real or fake and so on...