There's CHI'S (a service sorority) and KXA (Christian local) as far as local sororities go. They don't participate in Panhellenic stuff, though. There's Sigma Phi Lambda, too--an upcoming Christian sorority with chapters elsewhere.

Then there's Phi Kappa Chi (Christian local) and KOT for local fraternities. I'm pretty sure both do all the same things that the rest of IFC does.

Yeah, I think my one friend is a KXA. And now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure my other friend's husband is a KOT.

I think bringing national sororities would be a step in the right direction. I don't understand why men are allowed to have fraternities if women can't have sororities. Fraternities come with benefits that follow way beyond graduation, as do sororities. Those benefits include continued leadership cultivation, tradition and networking to name a few. Eating houses do not offer the same benefits. So why are women forced to make those concessions when they are accepted to and attend Davidson?

From what I know of a lot of alumnae friends, they are also vehemently opposed to bringing sororities. They chose to attend Davidson based on the fact that it did not have sororities. I don't know if it's because they don't fully understand what a sorority is (I know Davidson people are smart, but I get the sense that they buy into the sterotypes).

At any rate, I understand the earlier alumnae position, since it was a very volatile time for feminism. My dad had graduated the spring before women were allowed to receive degrees (women could come to classes), so he really wasn't too privy to the atmosphere on campus to be of any historical use to me for this topic. But I don't understand why men have fraternities, the campus will be adding Alpha Kappa Alpha in the fall, and eating houses can't go national. To me, that just doesn't sound very equal.

scbelle - Almost none of the elite liberal arts colleges like Davidson have GLO's. They believe because of their small size it is unwise to divide their students into the haves (greeks) and the have nots (GDI's) and further divide the greek students by the status of the chapter to which they belong. These colleges have no problem attracting the very top students. As far as Davidson fraternities go, no system that has self-selection can be called a strong one.

Personally, if my alma mater, Otterbein, was to go from all-local to all-national, I think we'd lose a huge part of what makes Otterbein, well, Otterbein. The history of the Greek system is irreparably linked to the history of the school, and vice versa, and I think that imposing nationals would remove a lot of what makes our system work. Our fees and dues are much more affordable, and while OC has become increasingly affluent, there are still a fair number of students from families and backgrounds that couldn't otherwise access the benefits of Greek life.

Now, we do have several NPC city-wide chapters represented on campus, and a chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi (one of two unhoused fraternities). There used to be a chapter of Alpha Tau Omega, but that closed in the 90's due to alcohol/party violations (OC is a dry campus). The Alpha Sig chapter was formed "by popular request" of a group of guys, and its taken them a bit to establish themselves, but they've really been flourishing in recent years. These chapters have some hurdles to face, mainly with reconciling national policy to campus policy/culture.

Knowing the situation at Davidson, I am totally in agreement with you. I was just curious as to what you would say. It seems like the early women alums (eg, the women alums who wield the most power, as Davidson is relatively new to the coeducational thing) are so against sororities without having thought through the benefits and risk management national GLOs can provide. I would say my aunt is just such a one--she's horrified I joined a sorority at W&L but can never provide a legitimate reason (in my mind at least) why my sorority is worse than Davidson's eating clubs. I always felt that my aunt never "got it" and that on many of her own standards my sorority would far exceed the eating clubs (no detriment implied to the eating clubs of course...)

Again, I would (with you) question the fact that the true feminist choice is eating clubs...

It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next several years at Davidson as alumnae women from the 90s and 00s take power... I love my aunt dearly, but I know her political stances (which are intimately tied to Davidson's coeducation, the Davidson region in the 1970s, and the larger political situation of the 1970s) are tied to her thoughts about the situation. Yet I also know that she and women and like her have a LOT of pull in internal affairs there....

anyway thanks for your perspective. It was so interesting to compare views.

I was at Baylor then. Kappa Alpha Theta was the first soroity to come on campus and the only one for several months. Then another big sorority came on campus and it was a feeding frenzy one Tuesday night, chapters were in a panic. Then they all changed in the Spring of 1977. Kappa, Pi Phi, Tri Delt, Chi Omega, DG. Then it spilled over to the guys. KOT and Chamber did not go national. Chamber is really a service organization especially since they allow girls in. Alumni returned and there were mass initations. Then the following year Zeta colonized. In the end it was a positve move for Baylor. There aren't and will never be sorority houses.

Kitemom: Was DG a switch from a local chapter? If so, what was it before DG?

all of the groups at UNT went NPC/IFC within a period of two years from 1952-1954. what's interesting is a lot of the groups were originally founded in the early 1930s with names like Foureffs(ADPi), Kaghliers(APhi), and then all of the groups took on greek letters in the mid 1940s before affiliating with national orgs a decade later.

I believe all the locals at Emory University also went NPC at the same time. I don't know the whole story, but the Kappa chapter was originally the "Fleur de Lis Club." They became KKG in 1959, along with several other NPC sororities.