Kate, I think a few chapters are missing off that list, I know we have more than 103 active chapters. It looks like our midwest and southern chapters are fairly even...now I want to see Alpha Gam focusing west and northeast! :)

(I just realized where those other chapters are---I forgot about Canada! I guess we would characterize them as "North"? Canadian GCers, please help me out here!)

I don't know but I've always felt that AOII is a southern fraternity, if only because out international HQ is in Tennessee, and whenever I call there I always here the southern accent...not something you hear to much out here in CA. *lol*

SC got left off the "South" list.

Here is Alpha Phi's breakdown (off by one chapter but I am not sure where):

WEST - 37
WA - 4, OR - 3, CA - 22, ID - 1, AZ - 2, MT - 1, UT - 1, CO - 3

MIDWEST - 41
ND-1, SD-1, NE-3, MN-1, IA-3, WI-4, IL-7, MI-5, IN-7, OH-9

NORTHEAST - 27
ME-1, NH-1, MA-4, RI-1, NJ-1, NY-10, PA-9

SOUTH-32
DE-1, MD-3, DC-1, KS-2, OK-2, MO-4, WV-1, VA-6, NC-4, TX-6, FL-2

Canadian Chapters-7
BC-1, MB-1, ON-4, QC-1

Although I don't know how the numbers compare to those elsewhere, there seem to be alot of wonderful Alpha Phi chapters here in California. My best friend is an Alpha Phi at San Diego State. They have a really strong chapter there, as well as at UOP.

XOXO,
Annie.

I totally agree! I grew up in Maryland, and never ever have considered myself southern. Mid-atlantic? Oh yeah! I'd put MD, DC, PA, DE, and maybe VA/WV in there.


Alpha Delta Pi currently has these collegiate chapters:

WEST = 16
CA 10, AZ 3, WA 2, NV 1
none in AK, HI, MT, WY, UT, CO, NM, OR, ID

MIDWEST = 32
OH 7, MO 6, IA 4, IL 4, IN 3, KS 2, MI 2, SD 1, NE 1, OK 1, WI 1
none in ND, MN

NORTHEAST = 12
PA 7, VT 1, MA 1, RI 1, CT 1, NY 1
none in ME, NH, NJ

SOUTH = 70
TX 10, TN 9, NC 9, GA 8, FL 7, SC 7, KY 5, AL 6, VA 3, MD 1, DC 1, WV 1, AR 1, LA 1, MS 1
none in DE

CANADA = 3
BC 1, MB 1, QB 1


I got a total of 133 active chapters. Is that right?

Kappa Kappa Gamma- 130

SOUTH- 39 (30%)

Texas- 7
Virginia & Florida- 5
Georgia, North Carolina & South Carolina- 3
Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana & Tennessee- 2
Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia, Maryland & District of Columbia- 1

MIDWEST- 36 (27.7%)

Ohio- 8
Indiana- 5
Illinois & Iowa- 4
Michigan, Oklahoma & Missouri- 3
Wisconsin & Kansas- 2
Nebraska & Minnesota- 1
North Dakota & South Dakota- 0

WEST- 30 (23%)

California- 13
Washington- 4
Colorado- 3
Oregon, Arizona & Idaho- 2
New Mexico, Utah, Montana & Wyoming- 1
Alaska, Hawaii & Nevada- 0

NORTHEAST- 21 (16.2%)

Pennsylvania- 9
New York- 5
Connecticut- 3
Massachusets- 2
New Hampshire & New Jersey- 1
Deleware, Maine & Vermont- 0

CANADA- 4 (3.1%)

Ontario- 2
British Columbia & Quebeq- 1
Alberta, Manitoba, Saskachewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Northwestern & Newfoundland- 0

So the South wins for Kappa, but not by much. And I, of course, want more chapters in Wisconsin.

Alpha Xi Delta is like this:

West- 12 Chapters
MidWest- 40 Chapters
NorthEast-18 Chapters
South- 38 Chapters

If you want to see how they are broken down by state go to www.alphaxidelta.org

Tri Delta has:

(I can't believe I'm counting this! I have homework to do and stuff! :) Some of these might be a little off as Tri Delta's website lists both active and inactive chapters and I'm trying to only count the active ones . . . but sometimes I miss.)

WEST = 25
CA 12, AZ 2, WA 3, NV 1, WY 1, UT 1, CO 3, OR 1, ID 1
AK none, HI none, MT none, NM none

MIDWEST = 36
OH 6, MO 4, IA 4, IL 5, IN 5, KS 4, MI 1, NE 1, OK 3, WI 1, ND 1, MN 1
SD none

NORTHEAST = 18
PA 7, VT 1, MA 1, NY 6, NH 1, NJ 2
RI none, CT none, ME none

SOUTH = 53
TX 10, TN 3, NC 3, GA 4, FL 7, SC 5, KY 3, AL 3, VA 5, MD 1, AR 2, LA 2, MS 5
DC none, WV none, DE none

CANADA = 2
ON = 2

According to these breakdowns...it would appear that almost every sorority is "southern".

I think the small fallacy/confounding variable (?) to this argument is that there are a lot of states that could be considered "southern" as oppossed to the states that we would place into other reasons. So...of course the south will have more chapters, becuase it has more states.

I think these #'s CAN show which sororities are concentrated in the south.

Alpha Delta Pi is an excellent example! (70 southern chapters).

There are so many different factors that would have to be taken into account to decide if a sorority is "southern" or not and even then...its still all so subjective!

I find these numbers really interesting though and I hope others post...fraternities too!

This is a very interesting discussion...

As a sorority alum (UTexas), my viewpoint of "Southern" sororities is skewed towards the more prominent/prestigious/old school (however you'd like to phrase it) Greek systems of the South - namely: LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, and (of course) Texas. (although I'm not as familiar with their Greek systems, I'd also include Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and possibly Tennessee in that group) At those schools, I'd say these sororites were among the more prestigious groups - and therefore have a higher profile in the South:

Chi-O
KD
Kappa
Tri Delt

I guess maybe what I'm saying is that it's not just the sheer numbers of chapters that play into the perception of a sorority as "Southern" - but also the relative prestige/desirability of the chapters vis-a-vis the other houses, as well as their prominence at the major Southern University Greek systems. (e.g. if a sorority is prominent at LSU, Bama, & Ole Miss, I'd consider that more "Southern" than one that just had good chapters at Univ. North Texas, SFA and UT-Arlington) Does that make sense?

confused?
 

Help me out here and explain how you added your numbers together? I.e. in the south 7+5+3+2+1=18 not 39? I am just confused and could just not be seeing the addition correctly.

Re: confused?
 

She's saying that, for example, with Virginia and Florida, it's not that together they have 5 chapters -- each state has five separate chapters.

I definitely agree with you to an extent, but, as mentioned above, there are certain sororities that, while they are very strong in the South, are also often just as strong all over the country -- the four you mentioned, with especially Kappa and Chi O, being some of them. So while I would definitely see those as strong Southern sororities, they're definitely not "primarily" Southern sororities the way I would classify Phi Mu or ZTA.

Re: Re: confused?
 

I can only give an opinion, from someone inside the South, of what WE consider to be "Southern" groups. It may be that someone from the NE or the Midwest would not look at them the same, but that's how we see it. For example, I would never have placed Zeta in the group of "Southern" sororities.

A sorority may be strong everywhere it has a presence, but still viewed by those within a region as having "the biggest" presence there. In reality, almost NO sorority could ever be viewed as regional if it is discounted from the analysis because it is also strong elsewhere. I never said these sororities were "primarily" Southern - only that they are the most "Southern" of the bunch.

All I can provide is a viewpoint shaped solely by experience with the major Greek systems of the South as to what we (I) would consider to be "Southern" groups. There can't be right or wrong answers on this question - just perceptions.

See, that's the thing -- we're discussing two completely different subjects here. :D

What groups are strong in a given area and which groups are geographically concentrated in a given area might be two different things. Like you said, Kappa, KD, Chi O and Tri Delt are consider strong Southern sororities, but they're all geographically prevalent elsewhere. Sororities that are extremely common in the South, as compared to the Midwest, East or West, might be Phi Mu, ZTA, ADPi or AOPi, possibly KD . . . and the others listed in this thread.

The same goes for any other region. For example, I would say that (from what I've seen) in the Midwest, there are a lot of very strong chapters of Kappa, Theta, Alpha Phi, Pi Phi, Gamma Phi Beta and DG, among others. However, I can't think of any sororities that stand out as particularly geographically concentrated in the Midwest except maybe Theta Phi Alpha or ASA (somebody correct me if I'm wrong here).

If you look at ZTA in a Baird's manual it becomes immediately visible how "Southern-oriented" they are -- a huge percentage of their chapters were founded in the South. They may not necessarily be as strong as Kappa Kappa Gamma is at the big universities in the South, but by numbers alone they are more concentrated in the South than elsewhere. I think this was the original topic, not which sororities have strong chapters at the big Southern universities . . . although sometimes the two topics do overlap and intertwine quite a bit.

I could be wrong though . . . that's just what I'm getting from what the original poster wrote. We all sort of took it and ran with it. :D

No - not at all! Like I said, there's no right or wrong on this - as there is no real "answer."

I was just rephrasing/restating the argument in my original post - which may or may not have directly addressed the exact question raised by the initial poster. Everyone seemed to be focusing on the numbers - how many chapters are in the South - and I felt that was a lopsided way of determining which sororities were "Southern." My whole argument IS that numbers alone don't paint the whole picture - whereas the line of posts seemed to assume that the numbers alone do represent the best indication of regionality. At bottom, I just can't see classifying sororities as "Southern" which might have sheer volume in the South, but not high levels of prestige across the most visible and established Greek systems. Just because the market is saturated with a particular group, doesn't mean that group is therefore the most representative of the region.

So maybe instead of asking which sororities are "Southern" the question should be narrowed to...

WHAT makes a sorority "Southern"? (or "Midwestern", etc.)

I agree that numbers have to be a part of it, I also think the founding and traditions/ritual play a role - but a lot of it comes from how that region views the sororities themselves. If Southerners themselves don't consider XYZ to be Southern, it would be hard to argue otherwise.

Whew! But, as always (and as has become obvious), everyone has different perceptions.

In any event - can you tell I'm a lawyer? I always enjoy discussing topics in-depth with this - just don't ever think I'm mad or anything... I'll insert one of those angry faces if I am!

I don't know -- I think it's true that there's more than one thing to consider when you're trying to figure out which sororities are the most "southern."

I also think it's clear there's a few sororities that keep coming to the forefront, regardless of percentage or regional views or whatever -- i.e. Zeta, ADPi, Phi Mu, KD, Kappa, Theta, Pi Phi, Tri Delt, Chi O, etc.

I think we've gotten to a point where I can agree with you. :D

Re: Re: Re: Re: confused?
 

I didn't disagree with a single word in your original post, so no worries there!

Obviously, back in the day (and I mean 150 years ago), ol' South Carolina WAS the South... led the charge and all. But nowadays, I almost think of the Carolinas, Virginia & Tennessee as a little group all their own - still South, though. Heck, I'm sure South Carolinians would be more than happy to stick with that group - and not get roped in to a group with a bunch of upstart citizens of the Republic of Texas... right? Or, for that matter, a bunch of crazy Cajuns! ;)

DZ's State Breakdown
 

I agree that there should be a Mid-Atlantic region, but I'll follow the way everyone else had done it!

Total - 163 Chapters

WEST - 13 Chapters - 7%
WA 1, CA 8, NV 1, NM 1, CO 2

MID-WEST - 54 Chapters - 33%
NE 2, KS 1, OK 2, MN 2, IA 2, MO 8, WI 4, IL 9, MI 8, IN 5, OH 11

NORTHEAST - 31 Chapters - 19%
ME 1, NH 1, MA 2, RI 2, CT 2, NJ 3, NY 3, PA 17

SOUTH - 64 Chapters - 39%
MD 1, DC 1, KY 5, WV 5, VA 6, AR 4, TN 2, NC 10, SC 3, TX 10, LA 3, AL 6, GA 5, FL 3

CANADA - 1 Chapter - >1%

I could have swore we had more than 1 chapter in Canada. I guess it closed! So I suppose we are predominately Southern, but I consider us more Mid-Western.

yep!
and if you figure the percentages:

WEST = 16 - 12%

MIDWEST = 32 - 24%

NORTHEAST = 12 - 9%

SOUTH = 70 - 53%

CANADA = 3 - 2%


... southern? yeah i think so ;) :D

If we're talking numbers, we should probably consider the fact that SORORITIES are more popular in the South than they are elsewhere.

I'm not about to do that math here, but I think we'd find that the number of collegians does not follow the population distribution of the country. The Northeast has a gigantic population but practically no sorority collegians per capita compared to a small but heavily Greek state like Mississippi. So since sororities in general are skewed to the south...you'd expect that most truly nationwide sororities would reflect that imbalance numerically. In other words, they would look heavily southern, when in fact it's the sorority system that's heavily southern, and they're just reflecting that.

I guess my point is that I think Texas_Gal has an excellent point that Southern is a state of mind, and can't be measured with numbers.

Ivy

SAI is obnoxiously Northern. Yay for all those music schools up north, I suppose. Being founded in Michigan doesn't hurt, neither.

Just to add my two cents, I was born and raised in Maryland and do consider myself a Southerner--accent included, free of charge. The only reason Maryland did not leave the Union was because Lincoln turned the guns of Ft. McHenry on Baltimore and said, "Go ahead, make my day."

ZTA is a very Southern sorority to me from what I know of their practices and such. I do love those girls to pieces.

~Emma

I think the reason we were all taking numbers was so that we could compare the numbers of each individual group in specific regions . . . obviously there are more sororities in the South than in other regions, and as pointed out beforehand, more states that are considered "Southern" than in any other region. But at the same time, if you compare the percentage of, say, DZ chapters which are in the South to the percentage of ADPi chapters and to the percentage of DPhiE chapters, you get very different numbers for each group -- that's all I think people were doing the regional breakdowns for, is to have a basis for comparison.

very interesting thread
 

I first off, I LOOOOOOVE my GLO. Alpha Phi ROCKS THE HOUSE!( as my little niece says)...she an Alpha Phi in waiting!:D :D :D

But it is true what is considered southern. I am born and raised southern californian. which means nothing, but I am from a very traditional southern family. My great grand dad was a Tenn Supreme Court Judge... who knew the Gore family. We have many UT alum's in my family. So i have heard many of those southern sorority sterotypes. But i also heard those names i listed below as the big GLO's.

I went to college down south in Arkansas ( Univ. of Arkansas) and let me tell you i got a quick education on southern sorority life... CHI O, Phi Mu, ADPI, Tri Delt, PI PHI, KD, ZTA and KKG are the powerhouse houses down south.

If i had to pick the one house that would be considered very southern belle-ish it would be Phi Mu. then Pi Phi. I almost COB'd Phi Mu but i didn't because they left campus and for other reasons. What i liked a lot about Phi Mu is that they are very girly and very southern. What I like about southern sororities is the fact that they value and embrace there southern roots, traditions and like every GLO ..... SISTERHOOD!

I love the south. Something very special about it. I would love to see More Alpha Phi expansion down south.

my 2 cents!:D

Laura:) ( a VERRRRY PROUD Alpha Phi!) :)

DG has chapters all over the place. Most in in CA and PA for a total of 143 I think. Maybe 144 when you include Auburn

This discussion about which states are considered "southern" brings to mind something a good friend of mine (a Clemson KKG, born and bred in Lancaster, South Carolina) said to me when I expressed surprise that her family considered her Maryland-born husband to be a "Yankee"......

"Honey, my family thinks people from North Carolina are Yankees!"

I guess it's all a matter of perspective!

Yes, and Delta Gamma was founded in Mississippi! For origins, you can't get much more "Southern" than that! :D ;)

True that! :)

ZTA has 121 chapters in North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. All together we have 231 chapters which includes one in Canada.

is that active chapters?

28 chapters are either inactive or inactive because sororities do not exist on that campus anymore.

Do you mean that there are more sororities in the South than anywhere else?

I'm interested in seeing the numbers and statistics. New York State has over 50 colleges many of which have sororities. The chapters don't have the 150 + sisters per chapter that many big greek schools have, but they still do pretty well. :)