Little Sisters
 

I am a little sister at the Kappa Alpha chapter at my school, and I was wondering if any of y'all have experienced problems when you have little sisters from other sororities. At KA, there are 6 little sisters. 2 Chi O's, 2 Tri-Sigmas, and 2 Independents. I feel as though there is a wicked rivalry that exists between us, especially for KA things, like selecting little brothers and helping out with rush.

I'm a little sister at Pike, but we little sisters have not had any problems yet. Maybe b/c two of us are Thetas, two are Kappas, one is a Tri-Delta, and one is an ADPi. All of us get along great, but maybe that's b/c all of the sororities that I just listed are really close w/one another!

I'm really sorry that you're having problems, and hope they get resolved soon!

??
 

What are little sisters? I know that I am a little sister, but it sounds as though it is different than what you guys are talking about.. can someone explain? Thanks!

That was a great explanation Hootie!

I was a "little sister" to Lambda Chi, but we werent allowed to be called that. so we were called "groupies"....which i think is much more derogatory, but oh well.

All the older "groupies" got along really well. We had members from AZD, AOTT, TriSigma, PhiMu and Sigma Kappa. The ones that were coming in when i was a senior really stayed with their own sorority sisters.

I thought fraternities weren't allowed to have little sisters. Maybe it was just at my school.

I think you're right cream. I think many national sororities don't allow their members to be little sisters as well.

I think technically they are not allowed, thats why we weren't "little sisters" we were "groupies"....the only privlidges we got was to get into house parties early, or go to things like brother bar-b-ques, or if they were having like a beer pong tournament we were invited to come. but thats usually it. we couldn't wear letters or anything like that.

In fact, most (inter)national fraternities and sororities do prohibit the creation and participation in "auxillary groups" such as Little Sisters and Big Brothers.

I know the Pike Headquarters made Little Sister groups illegal in the mid-80's, so if CA Theta is a Pike Little Sister, then it's an ILLEGAL group according to our rules from Headquarters.

In addition, many schools themselves have regulations against auxillary groups - UWG created one in the early 90's. It makes it against the student conduct code to sustain or participate in such a group. It only allows fraternities and sororities to choose one annual "Dream Girl," "Rose", or "Beau" or "Daggarman" or whatever you call your chapter sweetheart.

So CA Theta and RedHotChiO, be careful what you post about the chapters that sponsor you as a Little Sister, it might just get them in trouble with their Nationals!!

Thanks for the responses. I remember a bunch of little sister groups disbanding in 1989, and I thought that it was national policy. I just wonder why would a sorority sister want to be a little sister to another group. Wouldn't that time and effort be better spent improving your own sorority and ultimately yourself? Just something to think about...

We used to have offical little sisters, but that jeoprodised our status as an all male organisation. :) We can have chapter sweethearts though, which we call the "Dream Girl" after one of our songs.

KA Rose
 

Cream,
I don't feel that my affiliation with KA is a bad thing. I always feel so honored that they selected me to be one of their little sisters. I didn't get asked to be one because I dated only KAs and I most certainly didn't try to be a little sister the way that some girls do. I see it more as a sign that I am a girl that they really respect and that they want to see their letters on. I don't find it all derogatory. My job is not to clean up their house, wash their dishes or anything like that. When I do things with KA it is more out of my love for that organization as well. In terms of me neglecting my chapter, I put in a lot of time into my sorority and Chi Omega things will always come before KA. I pledged myself as a sister of Chi Omega way before I was ever asked to become a KA Rose. I hope that this sheds some new perspective on the matter for you.

RedHotChiO

Here, they call the KA little sis's "Southern Belles"- they have little sister dues as well. They cook dinner for all the brothers after they get out of their chapter meeting.
Our campus has disbanned all little sister groups.

Same thing on my campus... The guys still have little sister groups. but it is done privately without much fanfare.

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand the reasons why women are asked to be Little Sisters, how some of them try to "sleep" their way into the "honor" of being asked to be one, and how most of those that are asked to be Little Sisters do truly care about the fraternity and the men in it.

And of course, the reciprocal could be said for those fraternity men that are asked to be "Big Brothers" of a sorority....

Hell, my wife was a part of the last "Little Sisters" classes that my chapter illegally supported before the school outlawed such groups, so I can totally feel for people like RedHot and others that don't see the harm in being a Little Sister.

But the reason so many organizations made auxilliary groups illegal is because like Optimist Prime said...it can jepordize the groups status as an all-male or all-female organization and be a violation of their exception to Title IX.

Also, I heard a story about a Little Sister at a Chapter somewhere that did many of the things RedHotChiO stated...she attended functions with the brothers, supported the fraternity, and was involved just about as much or more as some of the brothers. This Little Sister then decided that she should be allowed to become a full member of the fraternity, and sued the organization for the right to initiate!

Now who knows if this was a real case or not, but it does show some of the logic behind making Little Sister groups illegal. Many chapters get around the rules by holding "pagents" or similar contests for the selection of their "Rose" or "Dream Girl" or Sweetheart.

But basically, if any group of non-affiliated women or men are asked to join an auxillary group for another organization without receiving the full benefits and advantages of the host organization, then it is an illegally sponsored group.

Maybe the fraternity should expand their program? If there are maybe 75 guys- they should have 20 little sisters. It seems like alot of work for 6 girls and maybe the feelings would subside if there were other girls from other sororities too. But- I know you can't make the rules for the program- only the fraternity can. Lastly, maybe you and the other 5 girls should have a "little sister" night out- just you 6 - bond over some beer and pizza and maybe it will come out that everyone is feeling the same way you are and it can all be worked out!

Good luck my red hot sister!!

Sue :)

I don't know any national fraternity or sorority that currently has a little sister or little brother program. I think some groups had them in the past but since have gotten rid of it because it has caused problems.

Re: KA Rose
 

I never suggested that your affiliation with KA was a bad thing or that you neglected your chapter. I wondered why a sorority sister would want to be a little sister. I thought that these groups were outlawed or at best unofficial which was my original question.

Your original post stated that you "feel as though there is a wicked rivalry that exists between us, especially for KA things, like selecting little brothers and helping out with rush." You obviously enjoy being a KA Rose so I hope that find a resolution to this wicked rivalry. One suggestion, when I was in college and there were jobs to do, we would write them down and pick them out of a hat. After that, we would rotate. It's random, luck of the draw and everyone gets a chance. I hope it helps!

When/ if we get a Dream Girl, it won't be as a pagent. It will be a girl that examplifies our values. Basically, if she was a guy, we'd want her as a brother. We have girls that support us, but not little sisters, because that title implies that they are ritually bound to the fraternity, which of course they are not.

Optimist Prime --

I agree with that. And that is basically how my chapter chooses its Dream Girl. She is someone who truly embodies the qualities that Pi Kappa Alpha teaches, and believes in the mission of our Fraternity.
However, I'm not sure if it is a case of "if you were a male, we would want you as a brother" for us...I think it's more of a case that she exemplifies all the wonderfully female qualities that a Pi Kappa Alpha looks for in a mate, and we admire and appreciate her for those things, as well as her willingness to assist and promote the fraternity.

There is no ritual tie of our Dream Girl to the fraternity, nor is she given any insight to the inner workings of the chapter. She simply represents what our Brothers would consider their "Dream Girl".

Little Sisters, back in the day, were usually girlfriends, sisters or close friends of Brothers, who were always present at our events and assisted the chapter in rush, supported and cheered our teams in intramurals, and were otherwise connected to the fraternity by association with our members.

Although there are still those girlfriends, sisters and other female friends that hang around with the chapter, the title of Little Sister or any similar special recognition has been done away with.

Pike,

Good point about the mate. But I threw that in, about if she was a guy, because we are trying to get shirts that say "if i were a guy, i'd rush theta chi" and of course the DReam Girl would get one. But I think about it like this, you chose your Dream Girl because she embodies what you believe in as a fraternity. If a guy embodied that, wouldn't you want them to join? Just some food for thought.

Oh, BTW, I worked with a Pike this summer. Ithink two of them, but at different times. Both were good guys, and from different chapters, so you guys must have your stuff together.

STAY UP!!

Little sisters rock.