my very disorganized chapter

[SKflat]

Thank you everyone!

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by SKflat

I transferred to a new school last year and wasn't sure I would join the different chapter at my new school because it was so new and didn't really have a rep on campus. Anyways, I took a leap of faith and have actually made friends in it. However due to the extreme disorganization inside the chapter especially regarding my membership I no longer wish to continue. I was never set up on a billing plan to this very day. I've emailed them before at least twice about the situation and still nothing has been set up. I joined beginning of last semester and it is now approaching the end of spring semester. I also have no had access to the website where chapter announcements are made so I was deprived of numerous chapter events especially the mandatory ones. My chapter also posts things on facebook but there's so much going on that I would have to search through stacks of posts just to get to the important information. Most of the time I would find out too late. I have tried to get on this website but they keep telling me they have to hear back from nationals before I can have an account and they will contact me. (It's been 8 months....) My chapter also works on a point system and I was unable to go to formal because I supposedly didn't have "nearly enough points" the girl said but when I tried adding them up myself I felt as though I was at least close to the requirement. But I have no idea how to verify this because I have no access to the website or the google doc where points are held. Clearly nothing is being done to make sure every member is up to speed on everything, I am a prime example.

Thank you those who have made it this far listening to my rant.
A few questions I want answered are:

Since I plan on withdrawal, Am I legally required to pay dues and fines incurred if i have no account with the online billing system? Where would they be keeping this information anyways?

If I do have to pay is there a way to dispute that since I never signed a contract or given them any financial information of mine?

I really do not want to pay anything for this chapter because I honestly have not gone to much of anything except chapter and a couple sisterhood events. I know that might sound unsisterly but I feel like I was deprived of so much that If I do pay fees I would be paying for something I never experience.

I can understand your frustration. Are you absolutely SURE you want to give up your membership? It sounds like you have not been an official member if this chapter. Can't you simply change your mind and not affiliate?

[pinksequins]

Have you not been able to engage with sisters by phone or in person in lieu of being dependent on Facebook or other website? Have you not spoken with the chapter advisor?

[stufield]

I don't even pretend to understand many of the characteristics/aspects of sorority life in the USA. But I simply can't comprehend one of the statements in your post: a member of your chapter has to have a certain number of "points" before being eligible to attend the chapter's formal??? Is this for real? If one is an active member of a chapter, how can she (or he, if it were a fraternity) be precluded from attending the chapter's formal, or any other chapter event?

Is this "points" requirement unique to this particular chapter or sorority, or is it actually commonplace or at least not unheard of at other chapters/schools? It seems like sheer nonsense to me.

I would think that if a chapter did have a "point" system, which strikes me as totally ridiculous, attending formal would be one way to accumulate those points. Why, then, would the chapter tell a member that she could not attend because she was deficient in points? It seems contradictory and self-defeating.

Why anyone would even want to attend her chapter's formal if she were being told she did not have enough "points" to attend is an entirely different question, and equally perplexing to me.

[SoCalGirl]

@stufield - Stay in your lane.

@SKflat - You may want to email nationals to ask about your status as far as they're concerned. This part "they keep telling me they have to hear back from nationals before I can have an account and they will contact me." makes me wonder if your new chapter has properly filed the paperwork to make you an active again. Also, if you haven't been paying and they haven't pulled you into Standards to discuss lack of payment, another flag that they may not have activated your membership.

Reach out to your VP Finance and her advisor. They should be able to tell you what you have signed regarding membership fees.

[33girl]

Points for formal is very commonplace. It's to weed out the people who just joined a sorority for the fun stuff (formals and mixers) and want to blow off the business and work stuff (meetings, ritual, philanthropy). It's usually set low enough that unless you're a complete slacker you can make the amount.

Which leads me to...OP, did you not have ANY interaction with sisters outside of chapter meetings? Didn't anyone ever mention events to you or ask if you were going? How large is this chapter? Did you try contacting nationals yourself?

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Points for formal is very commonplace. It's to weed out the people who just joined a sorority for the fun stuff (formals and mixers) and want to blow off the business and work stuff (meetings, ritual, philanthropy). It's usually set low enough that unless you're a complete slacker you can make the amount.

K-12 educators might know this method as PBIS, positive behavior intervention system. Earning your way to a reward as a method of community standards and such. I tried very hard not to say social control. lol

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

@stufield - Stay in your lane.

Rude and uncalled for. stufield, a member of an NIC, was not telling a member of an NPC how her chapter should work. He was confronted with a situation that he had not seen before (point system to get benefits) and was questioning how it worked.

This was not a "stay in your lane" situation. This was a "how does that work? I'll explain it to you" situation.

[Sciencewoman]

^^^ Well, he expressed quite critical opinions, before getting an answer, so it went beyond just a question. I can see why he got a negative response.

I think points systems are extremely commonplace, just as 33girl says. We had them back in the day and we used them for room selection ranking. The chapter I advise has them, my daughter's chapter uses them -- I would guess that the vast majority of sorority chapters use some type of points system. I think they've gotten more detailed and intricate over the years. We just used them for room selection order, but they seem to have gotten more involved. Probably too involved in some cases.

[sigmagirl2000]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

@stufield - Stay in your lane.

@SKflat - You may want to email nationals to ask about your status as far as they're concerned. This part "they keep telling me they have to hear back from nationals before I can have an account and they will contact me." makes me wonder if your new chapter has properly filed the paperwork to make you an active again. Also, if you haven't been paying and they haven't pulled you into Standards to discuss lack of payment, another flag that they may not have activated your membership.

Reach out to your VP Finance and her advisor. They should be able to tell you what you have signed regarding membership fees.

FYI - SKFlat's username is in reference to her initials, not her affiliation Good advise regardless though. I agree

[DubaiSis]

FWIW,I thought the incredulity of the post was rude enough for the stay in your lane comment. A question as an aside might have said something like "I am not a member of an American NPC sorority. Is this kind of points system common?" would have been answered minus any snark. Because it is absolutely common. NPC sorority membership isn't for amateurs. If you want to play you have to put in the work.

To the OP, I hope you can work it out. This is an example that headquarters can't just come in, blast out a colony and then hit the road. The chapter will need a lot of hand holding for at least a couple years. My guess is protocol wasn't followed to get you officially on the books and they're just expecting headquarters to know and respond accordingly. Before you give up definitely use your resources to work it out.

[LaneSig]

"Stay in your lane" comments usually are for NPC vs. NPHC vs. NIC vs. NMGC specific issues, and in those situations I have no problem with it.

The point system, although stufield might not been aware of it, is often used in chapters across the spectrum. It is not a situation specific to any one group.

[stufield]

Let me get this straight: because I was incredulous, never having heard of a point system before, and because I dared express the opinion that it strikes me as nonsense, I was rude and deserve a "stay in your lane" comment. Unreal! Thanks Lane Sig. You, at least, seem to comprehend where I was coming from.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to explain the rationale behind the system, and to advise that such a system is relatively commonplace and has been around for years.

[SoCalGirl]

Originally Posted by stufield

Let me get this straight: because I was incredulous, never having heard of a point system before, and because I dared express the opinion that it strikes me as nonsense, I was rude and deserve a "stay in your lane" comment. Unreal! Thanks Lane Sig. You, at least, seem to comprehend where I was coming from.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to explain the rationale behind the system, and to advise that such a system is relatively commonplace and has been around for years.

Yes, that is why you deserved a stay in your lane comment. If you had, like LaneSig suggested, came across as "I've never heard of this, tell me more" you would not have come off as a rude asshat and would have been explained what points systems are all about.

Have a great day!

[33girl]

If you would have said "points system? Wow, sororities and fraternities sure do work differently" that would have been fine.

But rattling off words/phrases like "is this for real?" "sheer nonsense" and "totally ridiculous" is rude. It's like telling NPHC chapters they are being silly not to take bigger pledge classes because then they could all get houses. Or better yet, like a sorority woman saying that men who haven't visited all their school's fraternities during rush must be narrow minded and obviously won't make good members.