alumni and actives...

We wish we had more say so! In my sorority our alumni chose, BUT they do listen to us. If we go to them and tell them how much we want this girl or that girl, they will check her out and give her a fair chance! Of course our girls have to meet the alumni criteria, but if our girls have everything we are looking for, they will usually support us!

Luckily, my sorority just has alumni watching over us during rush. She doesn't necessarily pick girls but she will speak up for or against girls. For instance, if she's in the Honors College and Croft our alumni will speak for her (doesn't mean we have to take her, but it's just advised that we rush her harder) and if a girl has a bad rep/grades and headquarters knows about it she will really make an effort to keep her on the bottom of the list.
I can't answer for other sororities because everyone does it differently, but it's better to have alumni guiding you instead of making the decisions. The decisions work out for the best, but we are the one's in the chapter and have to live with these girls so the sorority actives should have more of a voice. However, we do need to have someone keep us in line. They care about our chapter and house (no matter how old they are) as much as we do and they want our house to thrive and have a good rep.
Honestly, whatever happens happens. If the alumni want to cut off our rush crush, it will hurt, but girls end up where they are supposed to be.