See below for some frequently asked questions in regards to the New Member Process. If these questions do not cover any questions you may have, please contact your respective Program Advisor.
National Board’s recommendation is to move all process activities to a remote platform, regardless of your current university direction. Please work with your respective PA to condense the process and have all New Member Process activities up to Initiation be concluded by the end of March 2020, or at the earliest day possible that works in the best interest of both actives and Potential New Members.
Updated March 17th, 2020 @ 12:14 PM
Abide by university policies first and foremost.
Please contact your Program Advisor as soon as possible with documentation regarding both your university and FSL policy. We will help accommodate to a remote process as best as possible if your university allows.
If your university requires the halt of New Member Process activities, then all activities must be suspended temporarily until further notice.
If your university ceases all New Member Process activities for the rest of the semester, we ask you to go ahead and report the current Potential New Members as initiated Newly Crossed Sisters of Spring 2020 to FSL and National Board, regardless of whether they have undergone an in-person ritual. If and when campus activity resumes, an in-person ceremony can be held in the fall. Please notify both FSL and National Board that this will be your intention and work with your respective Program Advisor for additional guidance.
Per the White House, gatherings should be limited to a maximum of 10 people, and per CDC Guidelines, all events and/or gatherings of 50+ more should be canceled or postponed to a later date. As public health news shifts by the hour, National Board’s recommendation is to move all process activities to a remote platform, regardless of your current university direction.
Updated March 17th, 2020 @ 12:14 PM
It is recommended that your chapter or associate chapter cross all Potential New Members at the earliest convenience of actives and Potential New Members, and at the latest, by March 31, 2020.
Please work with your respective Program Advisors to adjust schedules accordingly.
Spring Break is considered school closure by the university. All New Member Process activities should be halted during Spring Break, regardless of extension.
If Spring Break lasts throughout March, PEs should work with PAs to cross the class before or immediately after Spring Break.
A remote process will focus only on the key essential pieces: deliverables, Big/Little, meetings, and Initiation. All of these should be held on a virtual platform. Our recommendation is to keep the number of sisters online to a minimum on an as needed basis and allow all sisters and PNMs to call in separately. Please reach out to your Program Advisor to accommodate accordingly and help provide guidance.
Any other pieces of the process including library hours, sister pairings, PNM pairings, class meals, activities are completely optional but should be held on a virtual platform.
This may be up to the discretion of the PE, approved by the PA. Consider utilizing Google Hangouts (or other remote platforms) linked in the KPL resources tab for PNMs to present their deliverables. Have PNMs call in separately, and keep the number of sisters online to a limited number so that the connectivity of multiple PNMs speaking at one time doesn’t allow for lag.
Another option is to give PNMs a deadline--have them put together a presentation and deliver it by 10PM the day before the actual deliverable. Sisters can review and formulate feedback to provide the following day, during the call.
Added March 17th, 2020 @ 12:30 PM
This may be up to the discretion of the PE, approved by the PA, but some recommendations include having Bigs surprise Littles on a pre-determined video call or having Bigs make a video to send to their Littles at a specific date and time and immediately host a virtual hang-out between the two afterward. Gifts for Angeling can be directly mailed to PNMs. Plan an in-person get together once campus activities resume.
Initiation can be worked around to be pared back. Focus only on the following key items via an online platform: final deliverable, individual interview, class review, discussion, and crossing ceremony. Remove all mini activities including Salt & Pepper, Knock Me Down, Fall Back, Don’t Turn Your Back, Greek Alphabet Backwards, + Class Song / Stroll / Cheer.
Final deliverable: PNMs and as needed sisters can call in separately like any other deliverable.
Individual interview + class review: have PNMs sign up for time slots with PEs and Bigs in attendance. If PNMs are not going through their individual interview and class review, they should not be online.
PNMs are not required to all be online if not during their time slot. They can be given instructions on what they have to do by a deadline--for example, if you have 6 PNMs, and each is slotted for a 30 minutes Individual Interview / Class Review, then consider the deadline 3 hours after you begin Individual Interviews / Class Reviews. This can include letters to big/sister/PE.
Discussion: only sisters should be online to discuss and review PNMs.
Initiation ceremony: Historian, PNMs, PEs should be online to go through the Initiation ceremony. Ensure PNMs have white clothes on hand in their respective locations. Go through the motions and let PNMs know they will undergo an official in-person ceremony when campus activities resume.
Double confirm with your university that holding an Initiation is within their policies.
Updated March 17th, 2020 @ 12:30 PM
University policies must be abided by—if your university has asked to cancel Initiation, please report your Potential New Members as initiated Newly Crossed Sisters for Spring 2020 to both FSL and National Board and let both parties know that you are considering them crossed regardless of an in-person ritual. An in-person Initiation ceremony can be held at a later date.
Neos and PEs should set up an in person meeting once returned to school and go over each activity and the meaning behind it. Ensure the Neos are aware of the activities so it doesn’t cause any issue with future initiations they attend.
Post-Initiation can be either held remotely or postponed for when campus activities resume. Focus on workshop-based discussion as opposed to deliverables.
Per the White House, gatherings should be limited to a maximum of 10 people, and per CDC Guidelines, all events and/or gatherings of 50+ more should be canceled or postponed to a later date for at least eight weeks. To help curb the spread of COVID-19, we are asking all Reveals be canceled or postponed to the fall semester, regardless of your university direction or whether or not you plan to have less than 50 people at your event. Please reach out to your PA with any concerns.
Updated March 17th, 2020 @ 12:14 PM EST