is it worth going old row?

I very much agree with the first half of this comment.

However, speaking as someone in an old row house with a family member in an new row house, I disagree with "The more diversity of location on the exec. board, the more OOS girls are valued in a house." When we vote on exec we do not care about where someone is from. In fact in my sorority the way our elections are run (I can't go into detail b/c it's ritual) ensure that it isn't just a popularity contest. If it was then yes, the same clique of in-state girls would get everything, but they don't.

I DO think that old row houses have a problem getting far out-of-state girls to stick with the chapter until their junior/senior year and to be involved enough to run for exec. My house takes a bigger chunk of OOS girls than you might imagine, but a lot of them do not feel a big enough connection to our chapter to make it their entire life. I think this is partially because in-state girls in old row sororities recognize a certain value in holding a sorority exec position, but if you are from a part of the country where sororities aren't a big deal, you have less incentive to spend SOOOO much time on something that won't necessarily end up on a resume.

So yes, old row has a problem with making far out-of-state girls feel passionate enough about their sorority in Alabama to serve on exec even though they know they are moving out of state and no one is going to care that they were president of Alabama XYZ wherever they end up. Part of that is on us and part of it is cultural. But I think it is unfair to say that girls in old row sororities care about WHERE exec candidates are from when they vote. That part of elections is the same across all sororities. We vote for the person we think is best. Ambitious girls shouldn't let this scare them from going old row and being on exec. If you are a good leader you should bring that to ANY sorority and we will welcome it.

I think you and I notice the same things about OOS girls not going for exec positions. I know that where you are from does not directly impact votes and that is not something spoken in our house but there is an unspoken understanding that there are girls headed for exec very early on. They are in the right family and have the right upperclassman friends in the house. From my experience the OOS girls in some of the OR houses don't feel as connected and yes, valued by the larger chapter. They don't feel that they have the large extended friend groups that transcend their pledge class or family lines. They don't have the strong bonds with the older girls and don't typically have the power family trees. It is something we are working on in our house but some relationships are just easier, especially when you have deep roots or many connections. There is also some truth to the numbers and far OOS girls do transfer out in larger numbers and head closer to home.

Girls leaving before graduation is a problem in all of our chapters. When our houses are so large there will be cliques and there will be some groups more involved then others - some houses seem to do a better job than others at keeping their girls involved through graduation. The NR has the same problem with keeping all of the sisters involved and active, but it is not an IS or OOS issue and because they have a larger percent of OOS girls their exec boards are much more diverse. The OP said she is interested in holding positions and I do think she will have a better chance in a NR.

Ugh i wish you could tell about your elections because ours is one huge popularity contest. V annoying

And, OP, as a deep southerner in a very far OOS house, i would personally go a house with more OOS if you have the opportunity. My sorority is not a great place for southern girls and I can only imagine the reverse is true for far OOS students in Alabama houses