Being a First Generation Greek

Throughout your college life you'll meet lots of people whose family tradition is being Greek. Their parents met at a social, their grandparents met at Greek Week, their brothers and sisters all joined Greek life. You may meet tons of these people, but this is not necessarily the norm. There are lots of people who have no connection to Greek life aside from their affiliation.

Much like being a first generation college student, you can be a first generation Greek. No one in your family has had any experience with Greek life and if they have, it was as a GDI.

I was a first generation Greek myself. At first, my family was a little taken aback when I announced that I was going to go through sorority recruitment. A lot of people told me that I didn't seem like the sorority type while others said it might be good for me to experience this.

One main thing to keep in mind when you first consider going through recruitment is that everyone will have an opinion. Whether they think Greek life is great or needs to be wiped from the face of the Earth, everyone will have an opinion and they will voice it. If your family is starkly against Greek life I suggest taking them to informational meetings, meeting with the Greek life coordinator at your campus or exploring the events and activities that have been hosted by the Greek organizations at your school and then showing them your findings.

Another thing to think about and talk to your guardians or parents about is the financial aspect of Greek life. Chapters are normally very good about getting PNM's as much information about the financial requirement of their organization as possible. They do not want to convince you that you can afford it only to have you join and later figure out that you can't. Most girls who figure out that they can't afford their sorority tend to drop rather than try to work out their financial situation with the chapter's treasurer. If you join and think that you can no longer afford your sorority please do talk to your treasurer.

Some parents tend to worry about the time that Greek life can call for, they believe their children should be studying or devoting their time to other things. Lots of PNM's worry that if they are already busy with school, work, relationships, and family that they cannot manage to integrate a new organization into their already busy schedule. Adding anything to a busy schedule is doable with time management. One of the best things that a college student can have is a planner. Between work, school, and anything else you choose to be involved in a planner is a necessity. I thought I could get through Greek life, family time, two jobs, school and a relationship without having a calendar to keep everything straight. I was wrong. Now I have two forms of tracking my events, a planner I can use during chapter meetings and a calendar on my iPad.

The best thing you can do when your family is concerned about your interest in Greek life is to explain and share. If you can sway your family into letting you try then you can better show how you feel about it and the benefits it brings you.

Surviving Your First Sorority Formal

One part of sorority life that is a major plus for a lot of girls is the fact that they get to go to what are called Formals. They are reminiscent of your high school dances but without the teacher chaperones.

When it comes to formals there are often themes. These themes determine what you wear and can range from a beach party to masquerade. The food, venue, drinks and attire will all reflect what the announced theme is.
Some popular themes include:

• Under the Sea
• Rock n Roll
• Night in Venice
• Old South
• Your Wildest Dreams

When it comes to formals there are some important things to remember.

1. Think seriously about your date. You'll spend all or most of your night with this person and if they start acting irresponsibly then you will most likely be held responsible for their actions. Most chapters say if your date is getting removed then so are you and often, after being removed, you will not be let back in.
2. Don't be afraid to bring a friend. Sometimes having a friend there is better than having a significant other or potential hook up. Also, don't be afraid to bring non-Greek friends or friends from other chapters. If you think that person will make your night better then feel free to bring them along.
3. Don't feel like you are required to wear floor length formal gowns. The only reason to wear especially dressy clothing is if it directly correlates to your theme and if you can afford it. It's always more fun to dress to the theme than spend $100+ on a dress you may not wear again.
4. Wear or bring comfortable shoes. It's great to wear those adorable new heels but getting on and off the bus may end badly if you can't walk in them. It is also a possibility that there will not be any chairs to rest your feet in so it is ideal to wear or at least bring shoes you can dance and walk in comfortably.
5. Don't risk getting kicked out by drinking when underage. This goes for pre-gaming too. Some girls may get together, drink and get ready before the formal but if your chapter's Risk Management chair has said no pre-gaming that puts these girls at risk of not getting to go at all. At many formals there are normally strict rules for alcohol and anyone underage can be kicked out which may result in a judicial hearing and major consequences.
6. Eat. The food that your Social Events chair chose to be catered is probably delicious and expensive. Plus, this is the only food you'll have access to for probably 3 to 5 hours and you may not feel like going to dinner at 11 pm after formal is over.
7. Make plans for after formal. Sometimes the most fun you have the night of formal is what you do after. After my last spring formal one of my friends had the idea of watching movies with our dates in the chapter room. It was one of the best times from the formals I've been to.

Pre-recruitment preparation

Before recruitment you will probably get to go to various events to meet a few women from each chapter, ask questions and get ready for recruitment. There are a few things to know coming into this exciting new experience!

The first thing we will talk about is your recruitment counselors. Each school has some form of a recruitment counselor even though they may be called Rho Chis or Gamma Chis. These are women that are members of chapters on campus but disaffiliated from their chapter to help each potential new member find theirs! You can talk to your recruitment counselor about anything, from classes, values, and day-to-day troubles to what to wear each day. They are your best resource during recruitment.

Next we will talk about how recruitment is run. Each day the potential new member will receive a list of "parties" they will attend from their recruitment counselor. After all of the parties for that day the potential new member will rank the chapters by her preference. The chapters will also rank the girls they met that day. This is called "mutual selection". This determines what parties the potential new member is invited back to. At the end of the last round when the potential new member ranks the chapters she visited that day she also agrees to what is called the MRABA, or the Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement. This may sound like a scary contract that is going to mean huge changes but, it's not. The MRABA says: 

       the chapters or chapter the potential new member lists that she will accept invitations to join from can not be changed after submitted.

       If the potential new member does not receive an invitation she is still open to continuous open bidding

      If the potential new member does receive an invitation but declines it she can not pledge a National Panhellenic Conference organization for one calendar year

       The potential new member is not required to finish her selections if she decides that sorority life is not for her.

See? That isn't nearly as bad as the title leads it to be. If you have any questions feel free to ask facilitators for more information.

Sorority recruitment is an excellent experience for women of all backgrounds, I encourage anyone interested to look into it!

Feel free to click the link below for a exact break down of the MRABA as done by the National Panhellenic Conference Office.
Decoding the MRABA

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to Bids and Bigs, your guide to all things sorority at a D2 school! My name is Taryn Wilkins, I am now a sophomore at Washburn University. I am majoring in Public Relations with a minor in psychology. Before I went through recruitment I researched as much as I could to figure out what to expect but all I could find was what to expect from D1 schools, especially in the SEC. I decided that I was going to do something about it. So, I'm going to tell you all you need to know about going through recruitment at a small D2 school, like Washburn and what to expect from a small Greek community. Feel free to comment or post questions, I will do my best to answer all.