I'm derailing, but I couldn't help but giggle at the bolded. This is in no way offense to your father, but all I could think of was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DtbPOXFk00 :D

Lol! Too funny.

It's not because of the misspelling. It's more to do with the diction + one post and no follow up.

Ah yes, I agree with that.

Why is it that every time you bring up these two chapters, you mention the large pledge classes?

I am not trying to speak for her, but the pledge classes at IU tend to be on the small side due to the bed rush when compared to the number of women who register. The chapters who allow live outs are able to take larger pledge classes. Last year the smallest new member group was 25 and the largest was in the high 80s low 90s, I believe. I recall that Theta Phi's pledge class was 65+, the second largest group. But they may not choose to take that many women this year, who knows? Since the campus has no chapter total requirements, the chapters can take as many women as they can house or as many as they want.

I just think "soroity" is really fun to say and I kindof wish it was a real word.

I mention it because the presumption by many, it seems, is that unhoused chapters would crash and burn. Of course a brand new and 1 year old colony are not proof that they won't crash and burn, but it does tell me there are plenty of girls willing to give them a shot. Most of these girls may have wanted a housed sorority situation but chose practically and are presumably making the best of the situation they have.

Plus, the process I assumed would happen is they would appeal to a specific group of women who prefer a less rigid lifestyle and thus would have a good but much smaller sisterhood than the housed chapters. But I still thought that would be a perfectly acceptable situation - alternatives are not necessarily a bad thing. So I was wrong. They colonized with significantly more members than I assumed, and then in their first formal rush, they took a number on the high end of the range of quotas. And ASA seems to be on target for similar success.

As an outsider I can't speak to the success of the chapters in any way beyond the numbers. But using numbers alone, both new colonies seem to have done really well. And this seems to be worthy of further analysis.

Theta Phi Alpha at IU is a fully installed chapter. :)

Not sure how I missed this thread, but I feel like I should chime in since I'm from IU
-Even if TPA's IU chapter is actively seeking true 'Greek' housing as IU sees it, it's not likely they'll find it anytime soon. IU's administration is vehemently against using any more land for Greek houses. It's been that way for a long time, and it will continue to be that way for a long time. Unfortunately, it's just how things are
-I don't have the exact numbers, but I do know that TPA's retention wasn't necessarily the best. While they took a PC of 65+, I believe they initiated less than 50. That's not particularly surprising given that they're relatively new and unhoused, but I'd be interested to see if this continues this year.

I wouldn't necessarily proclaim that the campus culture is different just yet. IU is still very entrenched in the 'live in all possible years' mentality, and it will take a lot (more than just 2 unhoused chapters and an unhappy NPC) to break that at many of the chapters.

I'm actually not exactly sure what type of housing they are seeking, it could be something off campus. As far as the bolded, not true at all. I know they took a pledge class of 55-56 during formal recruitment and I'm not sure of the exact number of initiates, but according to official reports from HQ the chapter enjoys well over 90% retention rate, and the chapter has done nothing but exceed our expectations at every turn. We are super proud of our IU sisters, and they tell us that the IU greek community has been nothing but supportive of them :)

You are just digging the hole deeper. Cease.

(In other words, your posts have been the equivalent of "OMG, you look great, you lost a TON of weight!")

I know they are a fully installed chapter, but for the purposes of this discussion, their history as a colony and a new chapter is pertinent. They are still in establishment mode, as any logical person would expect. There was certainly no slight intended. I'm rooting for the success of all of the chapters, new and old, at IU. Go Big 10!

They initiated 60 women, which means they most likely took more than that as a pledge class. You always get a few drops when you have larger PCs. In addition, they initiated 5 women this fall following COB. I won't pin a retention rate on an exact %, but I would lean more towards ~85% than >90%. When you're looking at retention rates >95% at most chapters, that's something to keep an eye on over time. I'm happy that they're finding success, and I'd love for them to get that number up and keep their amazing women!

Thank you for your support, I'm glad we found such a great greek community to be a part of.:) Though it has been reported that our retention is much higher than you claim and that we are well on track for success at IU. Additionally, we had originally set our own chapter "total" at 100 ,but due to overwhelming interest we increased it. An IU collegian recently told me that the chapter has 130 members right now.