RE: previous post “chapter going down the tubes” ~
All of our advisors were let go, and lost their status as Alumnae in January. HQ has yet to find us new advisors, none of our alumnae want to be our advisors, the chapter is just that bad. The regional leaders only contact the members of EC and will not listen to anyone that is not on EC. HQ is just ‘whatever’ about us.
Their form of damage control was ridding our chapter of its advisors, even the ones who literally just became advisors, including my big and grand. With them losing their membership and position, they are forbidden to attend any of our meetings, or events. We even have LCs come to each even to make sure they don’t show up. It’s really messed up :(
Thank you for the advice, I plan to take it to heart. I love my fraternity, and its purpose has changed my life. That may be the only thing to make me sane.
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my, oh my! i’ve never heard of a chapter in such bad shape. i am so sorry to hear about the lack of solutions from the top. your national organization must believe it’s helping by getting rid of the advisors, but new ones need to quickly get into place. i hope for the best… as i said before, i pray you can hang on just one more year. then i hope you find a worthy alumnae chapter where you can flourish! fingers crossed. xoxo ;)
Q: I have been a part of my chapter for three years now, and my love for it has gone away. I am still a part of everything, but the sisterhood and many of the members that have joined have made me feel ashamed to be a part of this awesome fraternity. We have gone from being one of the top chapters at my university, to the worst. I am stuck, have had my early alumnae status denied, but most of our EC was approved (by themselves) to go early alumn, before anything happens (we may be getting shut down for many reasons). I don’t want to drop, I have invested so much time and money into my chapter, but I don’t want to continue being an active member. Inactive status is out of the question, because we have less than 30 active members (we are supposed to be at 65), because many people dropped, are under university suspension for grades, or went early alumnae. I feel stuck.
I have requested and have been nominated for numerous positions, and have been denied with no explanation at all (I wanted to be more involved, and everyone knew that). Even EC as a group have offered me major positions, but would later announce to the chapter that a new member was placed into the position (huge slap in the face, that’s for sure) instead of me. I don’t know what to do. :(
A: i am heartbroken to hear about this distressing situation. your national organization should be on top of this ASAP. no sorority wants to see one of their chapters self destruct!! my first question is ~ where are the advisors? where are the regional leaders? where is your HQ??? the cry for help should have gone out long ago!
as for your personal situation ~ when there are no good solutions, you should take the approach of salvaging what you can! you have only 1 year left and then you will graduate with your membership in tact (if the chapter stays afloat that long). strive to become a lifelong alum. it is VERY important! right now you are in the college “bubble”, and everything seems terrible, but believe me, years from now when you miss your sisterly bonds, that membership will mean so much more. you will never regret hanging on.
forget about your repeated attempts to go early alum, forget about running for office, forget about the slights and disappointments of today. just step back a little, bide your time, help when needed, do your duty and get to graduation. if something happens out of your control, and the chapter closes, it’s not your fault. but do not actively seek to drop out. shift your mental attitude to your post-grad years when you can reclaim your special sorority love. your aim should be on the future, not on the current problems.
“this too shall pass”. don’t let this hot mess deprive you of your rightful lifetime membership. one day you will thank me for encouraging you to not give up. xoxo ;)
Q: How do I stay tight with my sisters over the summer? Some girls from my chapter are living in my city. What would be some fun unofficial events to get us all together? Then other sisters are across the planet! How can they stay involved and not feel left out? Basically, summer is cramping my sorority style. Help!
A: luckily we live in a time of super technology for staying in touch! can you image the days when all you could do was mail a letter to your sorority sister? here are some ideas for staying involved long distance or in person……
☀ 10 summer sisterhood connection ideas: ☀
- use your social media: i recommend frequent communication via your chapter facebook page, instagram, twitter, texting, etc. (don’t let them go dormant over the summer). basically use all the methods you normally do to keep your sisterhood in the loop. you could even establish some special ‘summer-long submission features’ on your chapter facebook/instagram/twitter for summer travel photos and sister get-togethers around the country.
- more sister sharing: go beyond the travel photos and encourage more submissions and personal involvement via your social media. brainstorm some topics your sisters might like ~ for example ~ requesting summer party reports, sharing summer job horror stories, favorite vacation reviews and the like. launch a new ‘topic’ for sharing every few weeks to keep it fresh.
- notecard pen pals: before the semester ends, ask your sisters to sign up for summer pen pals, or randomly assign them like a ‘secret santa’ system. i like the ‘mystery sister’ idea! ask the girls to keep it simple by mailing just short notecards to each other over the summer. encourage each note be an inspirational quote, positive words, or an expression of sisterly love. once every 2 weeks would be an ideal setup.
- skype it: include some skyping parties in your summer plans. individually or in groups, this is another way to stay connected.
- start a blog: if your chapter doesn’t already have one, start a blog on tumblr ~ even if it’s just for the summer. something new always sparks increased interest and a fresh blog might get more action than your already established social media.
- fun days at a distance: schedule some “fun days” and then ask everyone (no matter where they are) to participate and submit their photos. for example ~ frozen yogurt day, bikini day, throw what you know day, mascot day, sports day… host a contest of cutest mascot photo, funniest yogurt eating pic, or cutest new bikini photo. this is a nice way for everyone to do the same thing on the same day and then connect their activites!
- you tube it: encourage members who live near one another to get together, shoot some summer fun videos and then share them on you tube! publish themes for the members to follow every few weeks to help spark creativity.
- hometown scavenger hunt: friendly competition always makes things more fun. organize a hometown scavenger hunt day for your sisters and have each member (or groups of girls) shoot photos, then submit their finds. this is a great way to learn more about each sister’s hometown too. create a list of interesting searchable things and set a time limit. whoever finds & submits the most items during the time limit wins. (if you don’t want a time limit, the winner could be the sister who finds all the objects first). items should be found in most cities such as ~ a historical plaque, city hall, best hamburger, sorority flower, funny street name, sorority symbol or mascot, local claim to fame, resident throwing the sorority hand sign, etc…
- get-togethers: for seeing each other in person, coordinate some socials by region, with all the girls in each area attending some casual events like a pool party, day at the beach, trip to the zoo, museum visit, outdoor adventure (hiking, zipline), weekend at the lake/mountains, shopping & mani/pedi, picnic in the park, or pub crawl. another event idea is to host a crafting party! revive or paint new chapter lawn letters, or craft together for next year’s littles.
- start a summer club: for sisters who live near each other, start a summer supper club, book club, or work-out group! for the supper club, rotate dinner hosting a couple times a month or make it pot luck. a sorority book club can meet one a month and discuss the latest chic lit “beach reads”. (variation on the book club idea, is to have the entire chapter read the same novel over the summer and then discuss it online, or when everyone returns to campus). organize an exercise club that meets for yoga, bike rides, gym visits, or a brisk walk several times a week. a once-a-month dessert club, wine & cheese club, or a ‘sorority savings’ shopping group would also be fun!
☀ between the internet and in-person visits ~ every chapter can keep their sorority bonds strong during the summer months!!
