<p>I have the impression that with NPHC you have to earn your way in, so to speak?</p>
<p>A nice thing worth noting is, I believe, the sororities then went and increased their limits to the maximum allowable, meaning they took a stand against their racist alumnae with the school’s backing.</p>
<p>One of the problems with deferring recruitment is housing. From what I’ve read, Alabama is just now moving some of the freshmen into permanent housing from temporary housing because they don’t have enough space. If you had all those sophomore women who usually live in a sorority house needing other housing options, I would think they’d be in trouble.</p>
<p>Huh? If students pledge in frosh spring, then (if they become members) they can move into the house in soph fall.</p>
<p>There are also disadvantages of deferred recruitment. There is more “tent talk” and reputation bashing, PNMs are scrutinized and rejected over trivial things like drinking too much at a party one night or flirting with the wrong guy in front of an active. Of the schools that I am most familiar with that have deferred recruitment, each campus tends to have houses that are easier to stereotype (jock house, nerd house, party-girl house) than the schools with fall recruitment. A semester of tent talk creates a self-fulfilling prophecy as it were. That also means that struggling houses have an even harder time pulling themselves out of low recruitment numbers.</p>
<p>Hmmm…what is this HOUSING thing you speak of? :(</p>
<p>I googled some pics, and as my d would say, “that ish is amazing!” Followed by “smh”.</p>
<p>shrinkrap, the housing is a big reason why the houses need 4 years of dues paid.</p>
<p>How many sorority members at UA actually live in their houses? Sure not all 200 actives? And obviously not all if they expand to 320!</p>
<p>Today I got a personal email from my national sorority in rasponse to my demand for accountability.
They have issued new rules for the influence volunteers/alums can have, and stern new stuff on race.
Turns out my chapter is new in the South, and at this campus, and doesn’t have the decades of alumni pressure that some houses have, so have no history of alum influence.
I’m happy that they are working on it. Looking forward to progress, but with skepticism.</p>
<p>10 characHters</p>
<p>ucbalumnus- At many schools in many areas of the country, students sign up for housing for the next term early in the spring term, before new members would be initiated. It is pretty risky to commit to living in a sorority house before you initiate. If you decide not to initiate, you’re stuck without housing the next year.</p>
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<p>If the school and the Greeks work together they can figure a decision calendar that works for everyone. Frankly, IMO, the bigger hurdle in delaying rush would be the change in the sorority income stream … they are already really expensive … delaying rush would probably make them even more expensive. This feels like a tougher nut to crack to me.</p>
<p>PS - I think the delayed rush would be a pretty big improvement at Bama and any other school with rush before students start their frosh year … IMO figuring out solutions to the legitimate issues a calendar change would bring is a worthy quest.</p>
<p>dragonmom --Great idea to write to your national office. I just sent an email to mine. I looked at the Alabama bid days pics for my sorority. It is not one of the sororities being mentioned in the press but it’s obvious from the pictures that they have the same issues. Disheartening to say the least.</p>
<p>My niece is an active sorority member at UA. My brother tells me that her sorority will be re-opening rush and offering membership to three African American women.</p>
<p>If you were one of the African American women – what would you do?? Would you pledge? If you did, would you simply be a token?</p>
<p>I’ve wondered the same thing. I’m not sure what I’d do.</p>
<p>Interesting question, so I asked my D, who IS African American. Well, she is biracial, but identifies as black and pretty everyone else considers her to be.</p>
<p>She is planning on attending an HBCU so this won’t be an issue for her, but she says if she WAS at a PWI, she would NOT pledge one of these sororities, and would opt for one of the black ones. As she puts it, she has BEEN a token, spent her time defending herself for being the only black person and that she did NOT get the spot because of lowered scores for blacks or whatever. “I have been there, and it’s not fun,” she says.</p>
<p>My answer is the same. H and I tried, HARD, to change a system from within, and it didn’t work. HE became a target for calling out the racism, I became invisible. I have always admired the young people who first desegregated colleges like UA, the HS’s and little Ruby Bridges, who desegregated an elementary school. I couldn’t do it. I’m not that strong.</p>
<p>I thought about this question too…been following the news here but not posted on it…and I agree it’s difficult. I think one significant factor would be if the sisters genuinely reached out and let her know they wanted her…an “we’re all in this together despite those old biddies”…just my opinion.</p>
<p>Thank you for the idea to write to your national sorority head. I just did so, and as it happens, my sorority is AGD (on the west coast). I would hope the executive director has been receiving lots of mail.</p>
<p>I’m so opposed to sororities that I can’t imagine pledging one, but assuming that I was African-American and had wanted to join enough to go through rush, I think my decision would depend upon whether I could get at least one other African-American student to join with me. I think it would be easier if you weren’t the ONLY one.</p>