Together as Sorority

This content first appeared in the Summer 2022 edition of "The Lyre," the official magazine of Alpha Chi Omega, and is reprinted with permission.

When you join a sorority, you enter a community. You have chapter sisters to laugh and cry with, an alumnae network to help you pursue your dreams and even a national sorority that connects you to sisters coast to coast and beyond! But have you ever thought about the even larger sisterhood you're a part of?

When you accepted your bid to your chapter, you also joined the Panhellenic community. As the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) vision states, we are all "advancing the sorority experience together." We come together as nearly 5 million sorority women across the world.

Jen Daurora (Delta chapter of Alpha Chi Omega at Allegheny College) serves on the NPC Board of Directors and points out that no matter which of the 26 NPC member organizations we are members of, we all have shared experiences including leadership opportunities, education and the ability to support our communities through philanthropy and service. And most importantly, she adds, "I think the underpinning of women supporting women rings true throughout the NPC experience."

We strive to uplift our sisters in all their endeavors, and our empowerment can extend to the Panhellenic community. It's why our collegiate chapters have Panhellenic delegates to connect the Alpha Chi Omega chapter to the larger campus, and why many cities have Alumnae Panhellenics to bring together women from all organizations for networking and making a difference.

In a time when some are questioning the value of the sorority experience, we can work together as sorority women to share the benefits we've received and that others can obtain if they are open to the experience.

"From my perspective, togetherness for NPC really means the way we leverage our collective strength to advocate for and promote the sorority experience as a whole," Jen explains. "Because while it is important that each member organization strives to be its best and each chapter strives to reach its full potential, it's important that as a community we're helping one another reach our goals as well."

How can we do that? Jen suggests that collegians let potential new members (and others!) know what makes them proud to be in a sorority, whether it's learning to manage an officer budget or having a sister notice your potential that you didn't even see in yourself. For our alumnae members, Jen recommends they share openly with their networks that they're sorority women. She also explains it's important to articulate broad benefits; the collegiate experience you had might look very different for today's student, but the opportunities and lessons are far-reaching.

Of course, while we all share a sorority experience, we also each have a story. And your story—with all of its nuances and lessons and moments that make it distinctly yours—is a powerful piece of advocating for the experience.

"Be proud of what you've gained from this experience," Jen says, "and tell your own story."

From the NPC Chairman: Reflecting on the end of the academic year

Dear friends,

As the school year winds down and many of our students prepare for graduation, it is a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to what is next. As a matter of fact, I plan to attend my niece's graduation at Colorado State University—she just happens to be a sorority woman too! 

As we look back on this past year, we began with a great deal of promise that the pandemic was waning and things were getting back to normal, yet the pandemic did continue, perhaps to a different degree depending on where you lived. For many, it was finally time to be gathering together in person and cultivating more friendships within their chapters and sorority communities. The year has been one that has many of us seeing challenging times in our community growth, housing concerns and issues, and the mental health of our students. Yet, I see a resilient base of sorority women who have stepped up in their philanthropic and service efforts to help others and demonstrated excellent care in taking care of each other. 

Personally, as I reflect, I am proud and humbled to be a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) Board of Directors and serve as its chair. I see the thousands of sorority women graduating this month from around the country looking forward to their post-college life, and I know that through their sorority experience, they are ready to head out into the world and make a difference.

The NPC board is also looking forward to making a difference. Our College Panhellenic communities need focused marketing efforts to help them experience growth in recruitment and thrive. A major action the board has taken is to approve a concentrated marketing plan throughout this summer aimed at helping many of our campuses that recently have seen noticeable declines in sorority membership to grow.

Our sorority experience is incredibly valuable for so many women that all of us must promote and advance our Panhellenic communities so more women want to join our organizations. We want potential new members to know that the sorority experience can help them establish leadership skills, build their confidence, create lifelong friendships, and establish the importance of service to others.

As each of you reflects on the end of the school year, remember how much the Panhellenic experience has meant to you and determine ways that you can promote and advocate to others the power of sorority.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chairman

From the NPC Chairman: Raising our Collective Voices to Promote the Sorority Experience

Dear friends,

As we begin to get ready for another new year, it is a time for reflection as we have just endured almost two years of the pandemic, anti-sorority activism and various other challenges in our community. While these challenges have consumed much of our thoughts and time these past years, we should also note that the vast majority of our members have voiced their appreciation and value for their fraternal memberships. We recognize that their sorority or fraternity membership has made a positive difference in their life.

In the 2021 Gallup survey conducted earlier this year, you will note that fraternity and sorority membership strongly correlates with positive undergraduate experiences, career skills development and post-graduate well-being for our members compared to nonmembers. Additionally, 84% of affiliated members report that they would still join their fraternity or sorority if they had to do it all over again.

The Gallup survey found that affiliated alumni…

• Had great college experiences.
• Felt more prepared for life after college.
• Are more likely to be thriving in their well-being.
• Remain more connected to their institutions and continued affiliation.

Gallup's survey shows that our alumnae vs. non-affiliated alumnae are more likely to have great undergraduate experiences, have great jobs and live happy lives after graduation. The report was shared with you all earlier this year, and you can find it on the NPC website here. The important matter is that we should all be sharing and promoting this information in our communications to our alumnae, potential new members and their parents, college/university professionals, government officials and the wider public. We need to "toot our horn" and let others know the positive aspects of sorority life. I don't know about you, but I tire of hearing negative comments from those who have often formed their opinions from inaccurate, or incomplete, depictions of sorority life in the media. It is time for our community to come together and raise our voices to promote the fraternal experience. 

To me, the most significant benefit of the fraternal experience that this survey shows is our alumnae thriving in many areas of their lives, whether it be their employment, adaptation to changes, pandemic challenges or social and physical well-being. Our community has faced challenges over the past few years, and our resilience has shown that our community strongly believes in and benefits from what we do and how we do it. Our members believe in our values and live them in their everyday lives. Just look at the leaders who have stepped up to lead their chapters, our members that have comforted others with mental health issues and the money raised for those in need. 

I feel proud to be a part of this amazing community. I'm proud and willing to share the story of our remarkable sorority women and what they are accomplishing. I encourage you to reflect on how much you have benefited from your sorority experience and share the pride you feel with others, too.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chairman

From the NPC Chairman: Facing Challenges, Adapting to Changing Times - Together

Dear friends,

With the arrival of the 2020 fall term just around the corner, it’s without question that the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) and its 26 member organizations are facing unparalleled challenges. As we make the necessary adjustments required by COVID-19 and to also address the conversation taking place within the sorority community about the legacy of racism within the Panhellenic system and the nation at-large, it’s a time that calls for unprecedented self-reflection.

Yet, as NPC continues to advocate for the sorority experience and works to preserve the single-gender experience, we need to remind ourselves that we are stronger and more powerful together as we face the new academic year head on. This is not the first time NPC and its member organizations have faced challenges and rapid change.

NPC and our member organizations have stood in solidarity and overcome the challenges presented by two world wars, The Great Depression and The Great Recession, waves of traditionalism and anti-fraternity sentiment and many other threats our existence. (To learn more, check out Adventure in Friendship on the NPC website.)

Today, the Panhellenic community is confronting new challenges including importantly taking stock of how we can and must more substantively and candidly engage about race, while actively confronting racism within our community. NPC’s new Equity and Access Advisory Committee will recommend and guide the Board of Directors on how to increase access to the sorority experience and equity across our policies and procedures. This shall include consideration of norms and practices that create barriers facing potential members based on racial identity, LGBTQ identity, religious beliefs, ability and socioeconomic status, among others. The committee’s recommendations shall be designed to complement efforts led at the member organizational level regarding membership policies, programming and practices.

Additionally, the COVID crisis has forced us to experience a very different way of living and learning, and has once again challenged us all to be flexible and innovative. As students return to campus in the fall, the safety of our members, volunteers and campus professionals with whom they interact is a primary concern and focus for NPC. We are developing a return to campus health promotion campaign which will including social media videos and accompanying educational resources for use by College Panhellenics and individual chapters in an effort to ensure our members will be illustrating care for all students of our campus communities.

Given that fraternities and sororities can often set the tone for campus social life, a return to “business as usual” is not acceptable and we are committed to empowering Panhellenic women to be leaders in helping to maintain healthy campus communities. By adopting safer behaviors, NPC members and chapters can help reduce the likelihood of outbreaks and help shape the behaviors of the broader campus community.

Further, as our College Panhellenic Associations and officers prepare contingency plans for hosting a safe recruitment on their campus, NPC is providing counsel on virtual recruitment platforms and expanding outreach and engagement activities to potential new members (PNMs). The Promotion of the Sorority Experience (2020) – POLICY, approved by the Council of Delegates in May, was adopted so all sorority members, alumnae and collegiate, were able to attract potential new members to the sorority experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Since its approval, the implementation of this policy has resulted in many questions, concerns and examples of how members and chapters of our organizations are communicating with potential new members beyond the spirit of the new policy.

Communication should continue to be in line with positive Panhellenic contact and not promoting one organization as “the best.” The policy is intended to promote communication between members and potential new members about the overall sorority experience, not for members and organizations to promote solely their own organization and experience.

Chapters should engage women who have not yet registered for recruitment, not those who have already registered. College Panhellenics will continue to engage and keep PNMs informed about recruitment logistics and schedules as well as keep them engaged with recruitment counselors and other Panhellenic personnel.

The policy also provides the ability for collegiate and alumnae members to actively show their sorority affiliation and not be forced to delete social media accounts, cover up their membership or be penalized for talking about their sorority experience. It is not giving members the opportunity to host events or Zoom calls to engage PNMs with the purpose of getting to know them during recruitment-like events.

For more than 115 years, NPC and its member organizations have remained relevant because of the deep friendship offered by individual fraternity and Panhellenic life. As we have demonstrated many times over, together we will face our challenges head on, rise to the moment and adapt to changing times – and we will be better and stronger for it.

Panhellenically,

Carole J. Jones

NPC Chairman

Sharing Your Sorority Experience with Potential Members

By now, many of us can imagine that this fall, NPC sorority recruitment is likely to look very different as campuses move to virtual instruction or a hybrid of in-person and virtual instruction. As members of NPC sororities, both alumnae and collegiate members, we are all vital in attracting potential new members to the sorority experience. But, it can be nerve-racking not knowing how to approach a potential new member or what to do if she approaches you.

You want to handle these conversations in a way that promotes the overall sorority experience, not just one organization or chapter. The potential member should be learning about your experience and how she can have similar experiences in any NPC sorority. 

During your conversation with her, you can offer to answer any questions she has about sorority membership. Making a personal connection with her allows her to gain an insight into sorority membership which can lead to her participation in recruitment. By having that conversation, you might also encourage her to join a sorority if she hadn’t been thinking about it before. After all, we can’t recruit women who don’t know about our organizations or the benefits of membership. 

 Structuring the Conversation

To help you feel more confident having these kinds of conversations about sororities and your sorority experience, we’ve broken it down into an easy three-step process, inspired by our friends at Phired Up.

By now, many of us can imagine that this fall, NPC sorority recruitment is likely to look very different as campuses move to a hybrid of in-person and virtual instruction or full virtual instruction. As members of NPC sororities, both alumnae and collegiate members, we are all vital in attracting potential new members to the sorority experience. But, it can be nerve-racking not knowing how to approach a potential new member or what to do if she approaches you.

You want to handle these conversations in a way that promotes the overall sorority experience, not just one organization or chapter. The potential member should be learning about your experience and how she can have similar experiences in any NPC sorority.

• Quick greeting
• Finding a way to introduce yourself and state who you are, if the potential member doesn’t already know you. You can also mention what organization you are a member of here.
•   Share benefit(s) of membership
• There are many you could list but reflect on your experience and the benefits you have a connection with. Think about skills you’ve grown, relationships you’ve built, connections you’ve made and opportunities presented to you thanks to your sorority membership.  
• Share how she can have access to the experience
• End with an actionable closing that allows the potential member to learn more, sign up for recruitment, attend an information event, etc. This might take some research, but you want to give this woman a way she can find out more information. Many young women may not know how to sign up for recruitment or that they even need to sign up. Help make it easier for her to join a sorority.

Modeling the Conversations

So, what does that look like when you have a conversation in-person with a potential member? Let’s pretend you’re at a Starbucks on campus and a woman in line behind you asks about the sorority button on your backpack and asks what sorority you are a member of. Your response might look something like this:

            “My name is Sally, and I’m in Alpha Alpha Alpha sorority. I met my best friends in my sorority and they’ve really helped me find a home on campus since I’m an out of state student. If you’re thinking about joining a sorority, we’re having an information night tomorrow, you should come and learn more about the other sororities on campus.”

Alumnae might not always have the same experience running into a potential member in a campus Starbucks, but they may have other unexplored connections with potential members. If you are an alumna, do you know any of your co-workers that have a daughter or niece going to college? You could share your experience with your colleague who can talk to the college-bound woman they know. Parents and caregivers play a significant role in helping students decide if sorority is for them. Also consider connections you have at places you volunteer, organizations you are a member of, other family members, etc.

Taking the Conversation Online

Social media is a powerful tool you can use to share your story and connect with potential new members and their parents/caregivers. Sharing your sorority journey can have a positive impact in a few ways. It allows women interested in joining to learn more about the sorority experience through you. You have lived the sorority experience and know if sorority is worth the investment (which we hope you think it is). That is exactly the information that potential members are seeking. Is sorority worth it?

You can maximize your posts by using hashtags like #JoinASorority so your post can be found by a broader range of women. For collegiate members, think about using hashtags that promote the graduating class like #ClassOf2020 and the name of your university to help your posts be discovered by incoming students.

In addition, when you share your story you invite potential members and their caregivers to connect with you. If a potential member likes your post or follows you, it is perfectly ok and encouraged to reach out to her and make a connection. This is where you can implement the three-step process to having a conversation with her. You can see an example of this with image to the right. 

We hope you will begin to think of the ways you can help attract potential members to the sorority experience. Our organizations depend on bringing in new members this fall and it will take collegians and alumnae to see a successful recruitment in the 2020-21 academic year.