pnms thoughts on chio

Chi O is a large long standing national sorority which owns a house in Berkeley. The Chi O national is not going to want to close the house. With the large numbers going through recruitment they should have a pretty full house as ong as everybody doesn't panic. Sure nationsl might pay closer attention to the house for a while to make certain there are no repeats of last year, but as long as you're not planning to repeat last years problems it should be fine. Why don't you PNMS encourage each other to join and make it an awesome house? I bet they have a full pledge class. :)

Nationals would rather cut off an arm than lose their berkeley XO chapter, it's one of their oldest chapters and obviously at a very prestigious school. they probably are viewing it as a positive honestly - that they got rid of all the "problem" people and can now build up the chapter again. XO has been a strong chapter at Berkeley for a while now and they definitely want a full pledge class to get up their chapter total. It's an interesting situation for sure but I agree that it will probably work out well for them - I can see why people wouldn't want to talk about it since probation sounds scary and the girls themselves probably don't want to delve into negatives but chapters have been on probation before and survived. I wouldn't compare it to the AOPi situation bc in that case nationals was completely at a head with the chapter and demanding really ridiculous things of them whereas it seems like XO is working with nationals to bring the best situation

just ask the girls then gauge their response?

I agree. Chi O will survive and hold their place as a quality house. You don't need to worry. Even if they don't have a full house they will still not shut down the chapter and in fact the smaller size makes for better sisterhood. Don't worry. If you liked them put them as your top choice!

I am in full support of XO and hope they are able to continue on at Cal. But please don't whitewash things for PNMs and be honest about the situation. 100+ yr old chapters of various panhel groups have been closed so to simply say longevity is the safeguard to keeping this chapter at Cal is a bit naive and certainly oversimplistic. All I can say is I hope PNMs are being treated fairly and honestly by XO and all houses and are going into any pledge situation with eyes wide open in terms of disclosure. For what its worth, the treatment of the house by the national XO was far from professional as I had good friends in the house and they were treated poorly and they weren't even the ones involved with social media issue. No national is immune from poor treatment of its chapters but the XO treatment had tinges of witchhunt which left many hurt feelings. My aunt was a Cal XO and she discontinued her association as an alumni with the national after she heard stories of how people were treated. I just hope PNMs are able to make their own minds up with honest information from the chapter so there are no more hard feelings.

The way national handled the entire Chi O situation was wrong and unfair on several levels. No doubt about it. They are clearly out of touch and the members that Chi O lost were wonderful sisters.
yes, other chapters may have closed down despite their longevity but it's due to fundamental issues with the chapter. Here the issues over which the chapter was put on probation very almost silly. The national chapter of Chi O has already negotiated with the members in the chapter and have taken back some of their demands. They are not on a war path with the Csl chapter and the entire atmosphere st Chi O has been one of sensitivity toward it's remaining members. No one is trying to mislead pnm's but they have been given the impression that they will power through this and have a full house. Don't forget that pulling a chapter is costly and unless there are some big problems that cannot be resolved a long established chapter will not be closed. There are no big issues here. Atkeast not so far.

I think this thread and another one on here have put the issues out there to think about. Its great that you are thinking hard about XO as it certainly has had great history here at Cal. But the things you said that concern me is first that RC wouldn't talk about situation extensively and second that the house wasn't forthcoming either. When recruitment first started I really hoped XO would have a chance to explain to folks where things are with the national and what their path forward will be. I hear everyone that the initial way the national handled things was not in line with the nature of the dispute with the local chapter. What I struggle with is why a house would ask PNMs to take a chance on them on the one hand and on the other hand wouldn't have an honest dialog with PNMs to clear the air and reassure them as to the future path. I am disappointed that you honestly are even in the position of having to figure this entire situation out as I don't think PNMs should have to puzzle out what the current situation is with ANY house. The reality is that this house is asking you to trust that things are going to be ok but they aren't sharing with you why you should trust them at all. For me, I have an issue with this. The national is also going to be asking you for your money and if you join once you pay you don't get that money back. If you initiate the house then you also cannot join any other house ever. I'm not sure why this scenario with no info is ok for any PNM

PNMs. Think long and hard about how you were treated by ChiO house BEFORE you joined. No information, no honesty and no respect. Entire situation is deplorable. You as a PNM deserve much better than this house and this national.

totally SUS.