OK, I feeling kinda candid & frank tonight -- I'm glad Chi Omega is strong nationally, but darn it, I'm also glad we're really strong in the South, because frankly -- that's where the strong Greek systems are, right?

Particularly strong "northern" sororities, to me, would be Alpha Phi and Gamma Phi. I also see them as being strong on the west coast.

AXO and Theta, while they do have strong chapters at some Southern schools, don't really make me think "Southern" the way a lot of the other sororities on those lists do. Ditto DG to a slightly lesser extent.

I think of "Southern" sororities as those that have a strong presense at the SEC and ACC schools plus Texas. When I see the number of chapters each sorority has at those schools, I think of AXO, ADPi, AOII, ChiO, TriDelta, DG, DZ, Theta, KD, KKG, Phi Mu, Pi Phi, and ZTA as having the strongest presense. But, everyone has a different opinion of which sororities are more "Southern".

ASA's biggest strength is in the Midwest, definitely. You can say someone like PSS or D Phi E is "Northern" but then PSS has lots of chapters in Cali and DPE has huge chapters in Florida...honestly, I don't think there is such a thing as a "Northern" sorority.

While I agree that there are a lot of strong greek systems steeped in tradition and with high quotas in the south I don't think you can so easily dismiss the rest of the country.

The question is how do you define strong? Look at Indiana, Penn State & Miami, all with many groups represented on campus. If you define strong by historical GLO presence you can also look at DePauw, Northwestern, Syracuse and many others which are not southern.

I can think of a lot of other ways to define strong too (this assumes we are stepping outside the recruitment arena)... number of alumnae who hold public office or are prominent members of their communities; number of alumnae who pay alumnae dues, volunteer or donate to the organization or its foundation; percentage of the student body that is greek; or number of community service hours or amount of money raised for philanthropic causes.

Honestly, I had no idea we weren't considered strong in the South until I found GC. We have such a presence here in NC, and all of our NC chapters are great chapters, so I got used to that mentality. One of my best friends is a member at the Theta Sigma chapter (UCF), and I've met several of them, so I know that's a strong chapter as well.

I guess it just depends on your perspective!

I do agree w/ S&S that I don't think of AXO & Theta as being Southern sororities.

I'll admit it's a purely subjective comment and had it not been 1:15 a.m., I probably wouldn't have posted it. It's my opinion. I don't dismiss the rest of the country. As I said, I'm extremely proud that Chi Omega is strong nationally. I'm just of the opinion that the strongest Greek systems are in the South.

Well Greek Life is strong in the south...so really there are lots that could be considered "Southern"

I would say Phi Sig is a "North eastern" sorority we have chapters ALL over PA, NY, and NJ and were founded in NY, lots of chapters here in Cali too... Humm...come to think about it I guess you could say we're a "blue state" sorority....

Well, if I wasn't in a sorority already, that would seriously make me consider Phi Sig ;)

Sing it, sister! I totally agree with this sentiment.

It's good to know that people know that DPhiE just isn't a northern sorority. We're doing fantastically right now in Florida, (crossing our fingers on UCF!) with five thriving and STRONG chapters!

A lot of us Southern Gamma Phis are pulling our hair out because we do have a few good, strong chapters in the South (Fla State, UGA, Bama, Clemson, Auburn, plus the new Texas A&M chapter and the USC colony) but we want more. We have closed chapters at many schools, such as UT, LSU, Vandy& B-Ham Southern, that so many of us would like to see opened back up. But I know re-colonization is a risky process.

But I agree that Gamma Phi is strong in the North (Syracuse, duh!) as well as the Midwestern States, California and the Pacific Northwest.

Some Southern Debutantes' Sorority Affiliations (2004, Biloxi, Mississippi)

Helpfully enough, a listing of the debutantes who will be presented at the annual Gulf Coast Debutante Ball in Biloxi, Mississippi on December 20 mentions the sorority membership of many of the women -- roughly 70 percent seem to be members of NPC sororities. I thought this would be interesting to the GCers who enjoy discussions of "southern" sororities, colleges in Mississippi (especially Ole Miss, but others too), other southern schools like LSU, and a particular segment of social life in the South. See:

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunhera...g/10286682.htm

Among the NPC sororities mentioned are Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Phi, Alpha Chi Omega, and Zeta Tau Alpha. Some are mentioned repeatedly. I may have missed some.

how funny! i just got finished reading that article from some place else! there were tons of kds on that list! off topic...but, i was surprised with the number of women who were involved in sororities and in campus crusade for christ. the chapter on my undergrad campus was so anti-greek that it wasn't even funny!