Starting a Sorority
 

Hi! I am wishing to start a sorority at my school. As of right now, there is only one other at my university, so I am hoping to bring another to start promoting Greek life. I have read up on the protocol for starting a new sorority, but I would really like some advice on the best way to approach this and a step by step.
Thanks for all your help :)

And why aren't you going through recruitment with the existing chapters? Your school may not be open for expansion

...because she wants Pi Beta Phi and Pi Beta Phi only!

Do you wish to start a sorority or colonize a chapter of one?

If you search the forum, you will find many threads on both...

You might like to start with this one;
Before you found a new sorority - http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=93174

My piece of advice is make sure the university is open to expansion. There may be a reason why there's only one chapter, like all the rest died out due to lack of interest, the president of the university 50 years ago demanded it, the one that's there is only a couple years old and the intention was to add more when the time was right... all of these would have different answers as to whether and how to bring another sorority onto your campus. And for as great as Pi Phi is, I would consider other sororities as well, once the above have been clarified. Pi Phi may not be interested in colonizing at your school but another sorority may be very interested. Just like going through rush, if you (and hopefully a group of other students and an advisor) have your scope set too narrow, you might be setting yourself up for some serious disappointment.

The problem with that is, I've been told by former members that that particular sorority is being disbanded because of inappropriate conduct, so I'm not relying on that group.

OK. There's ONE sorority at your college and it's being disbanded completely? This is not a campus that is Greek friendly and probably not something Pi Phi would touch with a 10 foot arrow.

Heh.

lolol

There is only one sorority b/c the school just became a university in 2008.

And they're disbanding it already.

Again, not a good environment.

I can't imagine any NPC group wanting to colonize in such an environment.

I completely understand where you are both coming from with the environment issue. But I would really appreciate constructive criticism. Just because the environment isn't proving to be one that is a good construction zone for Greek life, I know that there are girls attending my university that, like me, want to join a sorority for reasons other than just wearing the letters, which is what the one on campus is all about. I have faith that I can turn the viewpoint around at my school and change yours as well. I would really appreciate your support, and no matter what the odds are against me, I am willing to make the effort to bring about a sorority that will last at my university.
Thank you.

Your first steps:
Talk to your school and convince them to open for expansion.

IF they should happen to consider entertaining such a thing, it's not like the girls who are interested get to pick which NPC sorority comes to campus.

Your school would have to send something to multiple sororities, and the ones who might be interested in colonizing at your school would respond. No guarantees on which groups might be interested.

Then a group colonizes. Just because you might be a part of the interest group does not mean you automatically get a bid from the colonizing group.

It's not an easy nor short process.

People are being realistic rather than giving you false optimism.

To be honest, some might also be reacting to your username. Not only does your username indicate a lack of understanding of how NPC orgs come to a campus, but it's generally considered very bad form to include the name of an organization of which you are not a member in your username

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Tell him what he's won, Johnny! ...

Thank you so much for your advice

I understand my mistake, and I apologize for that. It is just a group that I have been impressed with, along with many others. I just did not put in the time to think of a proper username. That is why I am looking toward those that are more experienced than me in the sorority life, much more so I might add. I want to have the same opportunities and learn as much as I can, and that's why, again, I am asking for assistance.

And it's always possible that a second sorority could improve the Greek Life situation on campus. Doubtful, but possible. Follow IrishLake's instructions and be as involved in the process as you can be and hopefully something will happen within the next 2 or 3 years.

You might like to collect the contact details of these other girls who are interested so you can demonstrate a genuine interest to the student affairs office (or whatever they are called at your school).

You could meet up with these girls and see if they are also committed to putting in the hard yards that are required to get a new sorority/colony off the ground. Your school may be more open to expansion consideration if they know the numbers of interested parties

There are a lot of people out there who like to TALK about doing stuff, but don't ever want to put in the work. You may find these girls who were totally into it after their 3rd beer may not want any part of it when it's time to collect signatures or meet with the Dean. And by the way, if they won't help you with that, they are not good sorority material and therefore the new pledge class you are imagining is nonexistent. And fair warning, some will say they are on board and just not do the work. When asked they will say they've been busy, but they're going to do it next week. These are girls who have not learned the fine art of the best word in the English language - no - and again are not good sorority material. But here's where you find out if a sorority if viable, or at least it's a good start.