Hugging
her tightly, you cannot believe you are already saying goodbye. You
try not to cry and remind yourself she is not a little girl anymore.
She is a young woman about to start her journey to independence and
maturity. Her dorm room is furnished; her first collegiate classes are
only days away. She has never been on her own before, and that worries
you. But, she plans to “Go Greek,” and you find a sense of knowing
comfort for the time being. After all, you are an Alpha Chi, and you
just know she will be one, too.
It is easy to remember what Alpha Chi Omega gave you as a
collegian—your “home away from home,” a solid support system of caring
sisters, all of those “we stayed up too late and our parents should
never know” memories. Alpha Chi Omega and the women you met were
integral in your transition from childhood to adulthood. It is only
natural that you would want the same memories and opportunities for your
daughter.
But what happens when she is not invited to return to Alpha Chi Omega
during recruitment? What happens when, after meeting the different
sororities on campus, she admits that Alpha Chi Omega is not the best
fit?
Every one of Alpha Chi Omega’s collegiate chapters has its own
personality and style. And although it may be hard to imagine your
chapter is any different today than it was when you were a collegian,
with every year, every chapter’s persona shifts. Our chapters are as
unique and ever-changing as our sisters are themselves. Legacies,
participating in recruitment decades after their Alpha Chi Omega
relatives, often struggle between what they are supposed to do and what
feels right for them.
Alpha Chi Omega understands this struggle, but also knows being a
legacy is an honor. Through the Fraternity policies and continuing
education, it is Alpha Chi Omega’s hope that not only will legacies want
to join Alpha Chi Omega, but also that they and their relatives
understand what is to be expected.
The Policy
As outlined in the Polices of Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity, a legacy to
Alpha Chi Omega is a sister, daughter, granddaughter or
great-granddaughter of a member. In the case of step relations and
blended families, the Alpha Chi Omega member and her undergraduate
family member (the potential new member) define their legacy
relationship.
While legacies are not guaranteed membership in an Alpha Chi Omega
collegiate chapter, all chapters welcome the opportunity to meet Alpha
Chi Omega legacies. With the legacy designation, the potential new
member, if she meets membership standards and eligibility requirements,
will be considered a preferred candidate. This means she will be
invited to the first invitational round of events during the formal
recruitment process. If this is during an informal recruitment or
continuous recruitment process, she will be invited to at least one
recruitment event.
If both the legacy and the chapter have expressed interest in one
another, she may be invited to attend the preference event. If in
attendance at this event, the legacy will be placed on the first bid
list by the chapter.
Why a Legacy May Not Receive a Bid
The recruitment process is only for a short period of time and it is
difficult to really know what each sorority is all about. So, how does
each woman choose her sorority affiliation? She picks because of her
strong pull to the women of the chapter, just as most sorority women did
before her.
In most cases, a legacy does not receive a bid because the sisterly
connection between today’s chapter members and the legacy is just not
there. The legacy feels she fits best within another sorority on campus
and chooses not to pursue Alpha Chi Omega.
In some cases, there is not enough space available in the chapter to
accept all legacies. Based on fellow Greek organizations on campus,
facility capacity, and other local technicalities, the university’s
Panhellenic council decides the number of new members each sorority is
able to accept. Particularly on large campuses, there are often as many
legacies going through recruitment as the Alpha Chi Omega chapter is
able to accept in new members.
It is always difficult when a legacy is released during recruitment,
but as long as the chapter follows university and Fraternity policies,
the Fraternity respects the decision of the collegiate chapter.
Alumnae Responsibilities
Long before it is time to submit any recommendations to a collegiate
chapter, alumnae have the privilege and responsibility of helping to
grow Alpha Chi Omega’s membership in the following ways:
- Promoting Alpha Chi Omega as an active part of her life. This will
increase the name recognition and familiarity of Alpha Chi Omega to
legacies and other potential new members prior to recruitment.
- Increasing the strong reputation of Alpha Chi Omega by identifying
and connecting with women who would make great additions to our
membership.
- Educating legacies and other potential new members regarding Alpha
Chi Omega’s standards and values, as well as privileges of membership.
When the time comes, it is the responsibility of alumnae to make the
chapter aware that a legacy or other potential new member will be
participating in recruitment. To do this, all alumnae are encouraged to
complete a recruitment information form, also known as a
recommendation, for any relative or friend who will be participating in
recruitment. All information contained on the recruitment information
form is highly confidential and for membership selection purposes only.
It is never discussed with non-chapter members or with the prospective
member. This confidentiality is the responsibility of both alumnae and
collegians. To submit a form, visit alphachiomega.org and click the
“Recommend a Member” link featured on the homepage.
Legacy (and All Potential New Member) Responsibilities
Sorority recruitment is like one interview after another. When going
on an interview you want to have well-thought-out answers and provide
specific details that pertain to the questions. At each chapter, a
potential new member will have several minutes of conversation to meet
members of the chapter and to make a good impression. Standing out in a
positive way is critical when the sorority members are meeting so many
women and must make membership decisions based on these interactions.
It is the responsibility of all potential new members to do what they
can in preparation for the recruitment process.
While recruitment can be an exciting time, many potential new members
will put in a good amount of work before they ever step foot on
campus. The following are a few suggestions for all potential new
members:
- Involvement in high school. Whether it is through community
service, leadership experience in clubs, playing on sports teams,
involvement in youth group, or scholastic clubs, it is important for
potential new members to be involved and to help demonstrate their
character, leadership ability and personal development.
- Meeting GPA requirements. The national requirement for membership
in Alpha Chi Omega is a 3.0 GPA for incoming freshman from high school
and a 2.5 GPA for all prospective members with previous university
grades. Many collegiate chapters have voted to have a higher GPA
requirement than required in the national policies.
- Reading all information provided by the campus Panhellenic. Most
campus Panhellenics provide specific information regarding recruitment
on that campus. It is important to read through the information
provided to get a better understanding of how the recruitment process
works and what to expect throughout the process. Often, this
information includes wardrobe guidelines as well as financial specifics.
- Recruitment conversation preparation. Recruitment is the time to
shine and for potential new members to show their personalities. Just
as the collegiate chapters prepare to host exciting and memorable
conversations, potential new members should be prepared to answer
questions about themselves and what they are looking for in the sorority
experience. Remember, the recruitment conversations are a time for all
potential new members to listen, smile, speak sincerely of themselves
and express interest to the chapter.
Be Her Badge What It May
Whether your legacy joins Alpha Chi Omega or another sorority on
campus, she will, no doubt, have a memorable experience just as you
did. The letters may be different from sorority to sorority, but we all
share a common value: We all wish for our sisters a most beneficial,
unforgettable and healthy collegiate experience.
Kristen L. Soltis (Gamma Iota) stated in her article “Be Her Badge
What It May” (The Lyre, fall/winter 2009), “I realized that what I
wanted for her wasn’t a certain set of letters on a shirt. I wanted her
to have an experience as rewarding as the one I had.” Alpha Chi Omega
welcomes the opportunity to get to know every legacy during the
recruitment process, but in the end, it is not about our letters. It is
about each woman and knowing she has found her fit in the Greek
community.
FAQs
Do legacies automatically get a bid from a chapter?
No, a legacy does not automatically get a bid from a chapter during
recruitment. The chapter is required to follow the Fraternity’s legacy
policy, but that does not mean a legacy will automatically receive a
bid.
How does the legacy policy work during informal recruitment?
According to the Fraternity’s policy, a legacy who meets membership
standards and eligibility requirements is considered a preferred
candidate during the informal recruitment process and should be invited
to at least one continuous recruitment event. Most often during
informal recruitment, all events are “open events” and do not require an
invitation to attend. Therefore, during informal recruitment, a formal
invitation may not be extended by the chapter because the event is open
to all unaffiliated students.
Are chapters required to call alumnae when a legacy is released?
Alpha Chi Omega does not have a policy requiring chapters to notify
alumnae when a legacy is released during recruitment. However, through
continued education, we are now recommending chapters send an email to
the alumna who completed the recruitment recommendation form to inform
her if a legacy has been released during formal recruitment. This
practice will be done for alumna members who indicate on the
recommendation form that they would like to be notified.
While some alumnae may prefer a phone call, due to the time of night
(sometimes as late as 3:00 a.m.) when the membership selection decisions
are finalized and due to the amount of time between when the membership
selection decision is made and when the potential new members find out
their bids, the best way for chapters to notify alumnae is through
email. Fall 2012 will be the first formal recruitment season in which
chapters will be notifying alumnae through email in regard to legacies
released during formal recruitment. It is our hope that this will close
the gap of phone call notification and not notifying alumnae at all.
Where do I send recruitment recommendations?
All recruitment information forms should be sent directly to the
collegiate recruitment information chair (CRIC) from the collegiate
chapter of which the alumna is recommending the potential new member.
The contact information for all CRICs may be found in the recruitment
directory at alphachiomega.org, Resource Center, Recommend a Member.
you can download a recommendation from on the
chapters website under recruitment.
The chapter will accept rec's up until the 1st round of recruitment.
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