Sorority Strongholds?
 

I thought this was an interesting quote from the 1979 Life Article about Chi Omega that NutBrnHair posted the other day:

"I just hope to God that my daughter is a Chi Omega," said one sister recently. 'In Arkansas, when you say you are a Chi Omega, you get respect."

Do you find that your sorority has a stronghold in any particular state? I know that each group has parts of the country where they tend to be stronger or more highly represented. But is it your impression your sorority has a state like this Chi Omega perceived things to be in Arkansas at that time?

And I'm not thinking towns. I know from reading all the recruitment threads that certain towns go heavily for certain groups. I'm thinking entire states where if you are an ABC or an XYZ you will gain increased respect pretty much anywhere.

I couldn't say for sure. I know Alpha Phi has 23 collegiate chapters in California, all that are active, none are inactive, so state wise, we have the most collegiate presence there. Though just because a member is from one state or another is not something I have heard really discussed. I know it's always interesting to meet collegiate/alumnae from our founding chapter at Syracuse University because there is so much history there. I'm sure there are women in every sorority that perceive certain schools to have more prestigious or highly sought after chapters than others. However, at the end of the day, no matter what chapter of Alpha Phi a woman has joined, she is a sister regardless and that is what is most important.

Chi Omega was founded at Arkansas. In the Fayetteville area, you will see women with owl earrings, owl rings, owl necklaces.... Chi Omega is a pretty big deal there.

From what I hear, Florida seems to be zeta's stronghold.

/swerve TriDeltaSallie, where have you BEEN? Nice to hear from you!
end swerve/

(I probably did the swerve slash thing wrong, sorry, not enough sleep & my glasses are dirty)

In terms of number of chapters I think Sigma has the most in Pennsylvania, if I'm not mistaken. I think some close seconds are Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia. But I don't know if I would say that we have a 'stronghold' anywhere. But maybe that's just my perception.

I was about to say something similar. SDT is a lot better known in NY than CA. In fact, we're the only chapter west of Texas.

I think the situation with Chi Omega and the state of Arkansas is very unique. Chi Omega is the only sorority founded at the largest university in the state. So many of our organizations share founding schools. (Monmouth Duo, Syracuse Triad, Farmville Four - I know I'm leaving some out - sorry!) On top of being the only sorority founded at Arkansas, the university doesn't have to compete with another large university for support (think Alabama & Auburn; Georgia & Georgia Tech; UNC & NC State; Texas & Texas A & M - among others). I do business in Arkansas, and I can say without hesitation that a majority of the people in the state are Arkansas fans. It's only natural that Chi Omega is going to get the lion's share of desirability in this situation. I think it's really a special thing, and it would be difficult to duplicate.

I would put Texas or California up as Theta's strongholds.

We have 7 active chapters in Texas but all of them are at major universities and 29 alumnae chapters. In California despite some chapters being inactive, we still have 18 active college chapters and 24 alumnae chapters.

Georgia
 

I would have to say that for Phi Mu, it would probably be Georgia (along with Alpha Delta Pi, I figure) for obvious reasons---where we were founded. We are at 14 universities with a few of them being major schools like (UGA and Georgia Tech.), 13 Alumnae Chapters, 3 Chapter Associations, and our National Headquarters. I would think that Alpha Delta Pi would be big in Georgia, as well.

I know that Sigma Sigma Sigma does really well at Bloomsburg University.

Theta Phi Alpha has strong name recognition in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, although we are building up a strong presence in the Midwest as well . :)

Whether it is true or not, I was always told that KD was a "southern sorority". If you look at our numbers, most of our chapters are in the south. 11 chapters in North Carolina, Ten in Tennessee. Eight in Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. The odd one out is Ohio which has 9 chapters. I'm not sure about the "strength" of the chapters. I'm trying to find the latest chapter awards.

Hey AzTheta! I stop by quite regularly, but don't always comment. :)

I kind of gathered Alpha Phi was strong in CA based on all the Bid Day photos and such. I wonder if Alpha Phi is also one of the most racially diverse sororities. They CA chapters in general seem to be quite diverse and with Alpha Phi having a strong presence there I could see that being the case.

Anyone can feel free to correct me if my musings are inaccurate. :)

Are you at USC? I seem to remember from recruitment threads that SDT is at USC so I'm guessing that is the case. Amazing there is only one chapter west of Texas!

And Mississippi for Delta Gamma since we were founded there - have 3 chapters in the state....

AST also has A LOT of chapters in PA. I think nearly a third of our chapters are located in the state.

AST has one chapter in California, one in Arizona, and one in Colorado. Otherwise, I don't think we have any west of Texas, either!

Based on a look at where our chapters are located and how many are in each state, California, Florida, Illinois, and Texas are pretty strong states for Tri Delta. Our chapters are fairly spread out, actually.

I've always seen Ohio as an Alpha Xi stronghold with 13 chapters here. I ditto the Theta strength in Texas and California.

I am! And I know, right? Crazy. Especially when you map out chapter locations and realize that EVERY SUNY (ok, I don't know what every SUNY is called, but it seems like at least 75%) has an SDT chapter. Totally east-heavy!

ASA has huge presence and the strongest recruiting chapters in Virginia and surrounding.

correct, along with south carolina, texas & georgia.

I've always thought of Alpha Xi as very strong in Ohio, but then a lot of the NPC sororities are well represented in Ohio just because of the Greek tradition at SOOOO many schools. We also seem to have a lot in West Virginia for no reason I can think of. And we have quite a few in New York, although most of those are smaller chapters. We seem to have focused on small techy schools lately regardless of region. I'd like to see us grow in the Southeast for a long term potential of growth in the SEC. But mostly I'd like to see us back at all 12 of the Big 10 schools. (It's 12 now, right?) We have been at all of them at one time or another.

KD is very strong in the South and the Midwest, with a decent number of chapters in California.

KD has 5 active chapters in CA with a new one to be colonized in fall. There are 4 inactive chapters.

DaffyKD

I'm not sure that any organizations really have a "stronghold" in CA based on TriDeltSallie's example of Chi Omega in Arkansas. There are a lot of organizations with many strong chapters in California, and you can't just compare 10 chapters in CA to 10 chapters in Georgia - the populations and number of universities are very different for those states. You really need to consider density vs. raw numbers.

ETA: For Example, Alpha Phi has 23 chapters in California (DG has 19, Theta and Gamma Phi each have 18, etc.). Now compare that to Phi Mu's 10 chapters in the state of Louisiana, when the next most prolific organizations have 4 chapters each.

Then you also have to take into consideration the prestige and size of the University, the strength/size/prestige of the overall Greek life at the University, and the strength of the chapter at that University. I think it's very misleading for us to look at a map and declare strongholds without really knowing the situation in that area.

Anyway, Greek life isn't the same in California as it is in the South. It's not as big a deal post-graduation, and which organization you were a member of will have very little influence on your career or social standing in your community (aside from the obvious alumnae connections and leadership skills developed, but that's different from influence/reputation based soley on WHICH organization you joined).

^^^ agree.

This is what I was trying to say with my earlier post, but couldn't express so well.

You know what? I've lived all over this country and what I've found is that the GREEK system is strong in a lot of places. From New York to California, from Wisconsin to Texas and back home to Florida.

Some of the groups I've seen mentioned in this thread are indeed stronger in some states than others. Some of the groups mentioned are part of campus life. That seems to be the best way to phrase it.

At the end of the day we're all fond of our group and have great memories of our collegiate days. This "strong" and "best" business belongs on that silly site that shall not be named.

Also, this southern lifelong thing is over-rated. It was over with Grandma. All it does is bring a smile to someone's face when you find out that you were part of the same GLO. Since I lived all over the country, I can say that with certainty.

[QUOTE=ASTalumna06;2129835]

AST also has A LOT of chapters in PA. I think nearly a third of our chapters are located in the state.

I agree, AST is at a lot of PA schools. I think this makes sense though because both of our sororities were once Association of Education sororities and therefore both would be at schools that were once teacher colleges (i.e. many Pennsylvania schools).


It's 12 now. And Alpha Xi is already at Indiana, Purdue, Penn State, University of Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa, and University of Nebraska- Lincoln. There's just U of Minnesota- Twin Cities, U of Wisconsin- Madison, Michigan State, Michigan, and Northwestern to go!


Agree to all of this. That's why I struggle with saying that PA is a 'stronghold' for Sigma, because being Greek here just isn't the same as being Greek in the South, especially after college, IMO.

Speaking of strongholds as well as 'Southern' Greek Life, I wonder if the conference realignment could do anything to alter the Greek environment at Mizzou. With PNMs who would have chosen a pre-alignment SEC school, deciding to go to Mizzou. I know they already have a huge Greek community there, and Sorority recruitment is thriving and pretty competitive (in the 'Southern' sense of the word). And as for active chapters, the campus does have all the GLO's associated with the South.

A part from the Greek community at USC being traditionally very strong and 'Southern' in a lot of ways, I've always wondered if the fact that Texas has the largest out-of-state population here, and perhaps that has influenced the way the Greek community at SC has developed in recent years.

[QUOTE=psusue;2129922]Though I have a bias regarding how much I love Syracuse University, it is not a Big 10 school. I'm assuming you were thinking of another school. In fact, Syracuse is leaving the Big East and moving to the ACC.

[QUOTE=als463;2129974]I fixed it. I guess I just thought they were Big 10 because we play them almost every year. Also, I cannot count.

[QUOTE=psusue;2130000]With the crazy way conference re-alignment has been this year, its perfectly understandable to mix up a school's conference!

^^^This.

Yes. While I can say where we have a lot of chapters, I can't say they are the chapters girls are beating down the doors to get in. I think Chi O has an unusual situation as was described above. Small state, big school, not a lot of in-state options, founding sorority chapter at a very competitive campus and not a lot of chapters at that school. That makes their density a lot stronger than just about any other scenario anyone could come up with. Even if, using Alpha Phi in California as an example, they ARE the chapter the girls are beating down the doors to get in at every one of their chapters, there are still a gazillion other schools there where they aren't represented, Greek life isn't the be all and end all of college life there, and I don't think founding chapters have the gravitas in California (a younger state) that they do in the Midwest and East. it's just a different scenario.

[QUOTE=psusue;2130000]Wait, what do you mean we play them every year? Does SU play PSU in basketball? I know they don't play each other every year in football which is why they made a list of some special games where PSU will go against SU (like in 2013 in NJ). I'm excited for that game--and I will be there! I'll be cheering on both teams but, when it comes to football it's PSU and basketball is SU so, we will see.

Just a thought as a non Chi-O Arkansas Resident (and I love all my panhellenic Chi-O sisters!), yes Chi Omega at the University of Arkansas is very strong and since it was founded at Arkansas and there are 3 Chi Omega chapters in Arkansas (all still active) there are LOTS of Chi Omega sisters living in all parts of the state. All the Chi Omegas I know are all classy and wonderful women. And yes, when someone says they are a member of Chi Omega in Arkansas (and specifically Psi chapter - UA) there is a level of respect as the 1979 article says.

However, I would say that it is 33 years later, and while Chi Omega is still lovely at UA - there are other houses on that campus that are FANTASTIC too! Ones that have been awarded the "top chapter" award by their perspective sororities, or have been there for over 100 years, or are newer chapters who do amazing things. I would also say that respect is earned, and not just given. In post-college life, I think it means a whole lot more what you are doing now (in regards to getting a job, being involved in community philanthropy/service organizations (jr. league/etc), etc) than what sorority you joined in college. The "aw" factor goes away pretty quickly if you don't have anything to back it up with.