According to the KD recruitment thread, they took 136.

My entire CHAPTER is smaller than their newest pledge classes. By lots and lots.

I've been stalking an old friend of my parents (yes, she's known me as I've grown up!) on Facebook- she's a Chi O alumna and her daughter was going through recruitment. She just proudly announced her daughter received a bid from Chi O. I'm so happy for both of them!

130???? That is absurd.

Hopefully, this large numbers help U of A Panhellenic and Administration that anything (ANYTHING) they can do to aid a new sorority is only going to be a positive move for Greek life on the campus. We just watched DG at Bama do something incredible, and U of A saw the success of AOPi. With these numbers, they're primed to have another successful group quickly- IF Panhellenic is open-minded and the colony's cheerleaders, and the Administration becomes willing to help any new group as much as possible.

Of course, a group has to have the money involved in such a large project- but it sure looks like the numbers are there to succeed.

My question is, how much of the onus is on Panhellenic, as in, the Panhellenic council and the current sorority members? And even if the administration decides to be more supportive - from what I've read on here, those are far from the only two factors.

33 is so right! So many parties have to be on board with expansion. Panhellenic has to support expansion, the current sorority women have to support it and the university itself has to support it. A chapter house is a must at some campuses, like Arkansas, and without university support it just won't happen. I have been watching my own campus work on extension, and it seems like Arkansas is similar in its traditions. Until all the parties are on the same page, the Arkansas pledge classes are going to be huge.

I think someone is going to have to take a very expensive leap of faith. Since it sounds like the school is very crowded, housing-wise, I wonder (again, no basis here) if they could build an Auburn-style dorm environment for 3 or 4 chapters all at once. That would be in addition to the existing. Probably not as nice, but also probably more affordable (not that 18 year old girls are very in tune with that). THAT would be a way that the school could support the system. And if they did a multi-chapter expansion all at once, maybe they'd have a better shot at selling the new housing option.

I think we are all going to have to just sit and wait, but I bet we hear something in the next month or two. If not that quickly, the school's recent meetings with NPC were apparently a failure.

And I would take that one step further. There will have to be widespread support, as in the alumnae chapters throughout the state of Arkansas will need to *genuinely* preach to their local girls that it is socially acceptable to look at new groups. And then those alumnae will need to back that statement up by being just as ecstatic about local girls joining new groups as if they joined the same ones that the alumnae and other family members have joined.

I don't know that it will happen, but that is the kind of cultural shift that is necessary for new groups to make it.

^^^THIS.

Thank you. Blondie93's advice can be applied to the University of Arizona, which desperately needs to expand, and faces real estate challenges. How can a chapter or chapters compete without housing? It's doable but requires a paradigm shift...and true Panhellenic coming-together.

Blondie93,

I totally agree but it looks like AOPi has done extremely well and with so many girls coming to Arkansas from out of state, now they are not as insular as they use to be, say even 10 years ago. There were more girls going to Arkansas from Dallas than to Texas Tech ( at least girls wanting to go through recruitment)

It's good hear that things are becoming a little more open, but I still think it will need to be a multi-pronged approach to successfully bring in the number of chapters that will be necessary to relieve some of the burden. I would hate to see the mentality of "sure, bring in 3 more" when really what is intended "sure, bring in 3 more groups as long as they take our leftovers."

Bama was a great example with the return of Delta Gamma not only being positively promoted in the campus Greek community but outside of the Capstone as well.

I don't think that style of housing would work at all. It would be nice if it would, but it just wouldn't happen. I would say a more plausible scenario would be if a stretch of land could be made available where multiple Greek houses could be located together. This way no sorority would be the only one not located in the Maple area. Previously, sororities that were housed away from Maple have all closed, and their alumnae have cited the house location as one factor.

In my opinion, expansion needs to include more than one sorority - 2 or 3 would be wonderful.

I also think that the tremendous influx of PNMs from Texas and Oklahoma could mean that groups previously at UA could do well there now, when they wouldn't have made it before. (Because of great reputations in the border states.)

Blondie93 hit it though - the alumnae need to take a hospitality pill or two. They are a HUGE mitigating factor in the close-mindedness at this campus.

Unfortunately, I think at the SEC schools, any situation where most of the sororities are housed and a few are lodged or have a suite doomed to failure. You might as well label them a different group. Girls will drop them during recruitment saying they wanted the "real sorority experience" i.e., living in house.

I completely agree with you.

Thank you.

It's either build a house or don't colonize. And right now, theres just not a lot of room on campus for a house, unless they want to build right on fraternity row on Sig Ep's lot.

Btw, considering the numbers of these pledge classes...Congrats to AOPi at 137, I have a sinking feeling that one sorority again didn't make quota. Goodness.