New Sorority for Clemson - your ideas?
 

...

Clemson
 

Are all the groups at total? Did everyone make quota last year?

My suggestions:

Either Alpha Omicron Pi or Phi Mu. South Carolina is built on Southern tradition so I think traditionally Southern sororities would do the best because of the large alumnae base.

why not Tri-Sigmas??? they also have a deaf chapter in RIT so I favor them LOL...............

I tried searching for previous threads on this but couldn't find anything, so please forgive me if I'm asking a question that's already been answered.

How come they're voting to expand when a sorority just closed so recently? Was it due to numbers? And as aopinthesky asked, how many chapters are at total and did they all make quota?

As for possible groups, I agree with ZTAngel - Phi Mu would be a good one. I think Sigma Kappa or Delta Zeta would also be good choices.

And of course I think SC needs another AZD chapter. ;)

Regarding the alumnae base...Clemson's not too far from Charlotte (what, within 2 hours?)...there are a LOT of strong alumnae chapters here (for any group) that could help out as well.

Also - Clemson is not far from Western Carolina (within and hour and 1/2), and AZD and Phi Mu are both strong there...so if either of those groups were a possibility they would be able to contribute.

AZD doesn't have many chapters in SC- but is rapidly growing in NC, with two newer chapters at methodist and wingate. but in addition, AZD has chapters at UNC-Asheville, UNC-Wilmington, ECU and Elon (my chapter!). I think AZD would be a good fit for Clemson as well and it may also draw legacies from other state's, not just southern ones which would benefit the school.

Interesting. I did not know Clemson was going to expand. AZD presented at USC this past spring, but Gamma Phi Beta was selected to colonize. Keep us up to date with expansion at Clemson!

Without knowing anything other than was posted on this thread, I'd go with Pi Phi (if that's a reasonable recolonization), or Phi Mu. Gotta stick with my Macon sisters!! :)

Frankly, I don't know why Pi Phi left in the early 90s, but I'd love love love love to see us back on... I am a (North) Carolina girl born and bred, and I would love to see South Carolina Beta return. I think that the support would definately be there if we were selected to present and then colonize. I would love to see us have this opportunity.... Of course I am biased! ;)

Other good options might be Phi Mu or AZD as others have mentioned... Other strong options would be AOII or Tri-Sigma... Also DZ but I know they've been doing a LOT of expansion lately! :)

I am sorry to hear about DG leaving, I hadn't heard that til now. :(

Thanks for posting the link to the old thread--I believe we exchanged PMs about Clemson back then!

Any idea when the presenters will be selected?

I would really love to see a Delta Zeta chapter at Clemson! I think it would be really advantageous for us to colonize at a big, Southern school. I know that our chapter at the University of Florida is very successful thus far, so hopefully National will want to continue expansion in the South. :)

I personally like to see recolonization of chapters that have previously been on a campus, so I say Delta Gamma(though it may be too soon), Alpha Gamma Delta, or Pi Beta Phi.

So DZ chapters at Auburn U and the U of Alabama don't count? What about UGA? LSU? U of Tennessee? All those big, Southern schools have DZ chapters, don't they? I know that Alabama and Auburn both have strong DZ chapters. One of my best friends is a DZ from Auburn.

That often doesn't work out well at Southern schools because of the reputation issues that go along with chapters closing. It might be better to have a group come on that has a good alumna base in the area, but has never been on campus at Clemson before.

Alpha Theta Chapter
 

Don't forget the Alpha Theta chapter at UK.

http://www.geocities.com/alphathetaofdeltazeta/

NO-they definitely do count! I don't think KR was discounting their existence--but those chapters are relatively long-established chapters...I think she used UF strictly as an example of a recent, high profile, successful colony for us.

I'd love to see DZ colonize at Clemson, or any other well known southern school, but I'm even more partial to Big 12 schools...wish one of those would open up for expansion so we can try to get on to more (I think we're only at A&M as far as Big 12 goes).

Thank you, Andi! :)

The chapters Bama_Alumna and TSteven mentioned are all definitely awesome, but as far as I'm concerned there's no such thing as being too visible :)

BrownEyedGirl,

Thanks for posting the link to that previous thread. I did a search but I guess I just didn't weed through the results far enough.

Edit: NEVERMIND...I went back and reread and answered my own question.

why did DG close....lack of members...where they not a very strong chapter? Im just curious, b/c i thought DG was big in the south!

kayla0deegee, check out this thread...it should answer your question. If not, try this one.

Ok thanks!!!

My bet would be Phi Mu... They are really awesome in most GA schools and have great reputations.
My one concern with the other chapters is that they are relatively only at a couple of schools in NC. I guess I am at a slight disadvantage because there are only a couple chapters of each here and there and I don't really know anyone in them personally. (At NCSU, a lot of frats have events with UNC Sororities)

I can't believe they are colonizing at Clemson though, that is so fun. Especially since NCSU is opened up, maybe if they both went with Pi Phi the two groups could have a football party or something.

I can't wait to tell Anne Ross and Anne Ried. They are both out of the country right now and appreciate the scoop from outside there chapter

I just thought I would add a few more tidbits from what I learned at chapter this week . . .
Many chapters have expressed interest (I remember hearing AOPi, Phi Mu, and Delta Zeta) and the expansion committee is meeting very soon to discuss and decide who would be the best fit for Clemson.

A little background on this past fall recruitment -- Nine of the ten soroities participated and of those 5 made quota. Of the 5, 4 made quota plus and one of the four who did not make quota was only one short. Three chapters did have to COB a good number of girls but were really successful! Being a Pi Chi this year gave me a little inside info into the numbers game.

Right now the two largest sororites are Kappa and Tri Delta with ADPi right behind. Zeta, Chi O, and Alpha Chi are all very close if not at 170. Theta, Gamma Phi, and Kappa Delta are right behind these three in numbers and are all VERY strong organizations. I think that the Greek system could support another chapter because of the strength of the remaining chapters.

Everyone is just really exited about another chapter and can't wait to find our out who or new addition will be! :)

I was just saying the other day how much I'd love to see Phi Mu at Clemson! Keeping my fingers crossed!

I think they need DZ... DZ's at Winthrop and USC, which are the other two biggest schools in South Carolina. I think in theory it would be great to add more chapters of Phi Mu and AZD in South Carolina, but in order for any program to be competitive at Clemson, it needs to be one that's already pretty established, and although Phi Mu has a couple of chapters in SC, they aren't at big schools. I think both Clemson and USC have demonstrated quite well throughout the past 10 years how hard it is to keep chapters on those campusses.

Ok i am not trying to sound ignorant here ...really.... but why does it have to be a southern based sorority? nothing is wrong with any one sorority i myself would love to see A Phi on campus but that is just me and maybe all of my A Phi Sisters on here.

In theory, I also would love to see a non-southern based sorority here, but the cruel fact is that at the bigger schools, a non-southern sorority wouldn't last very long due to a couple of facters. Mainly alumnae support and legacies, but also it doesn't matter what school you go to, you know that ADPi and ZTA are two strong sororities in South Carolina. This is the same no matter what chapter in South Carolina you go to. Thing is, most people grow up in South Carolina, go to school in South Carolina, and find a job in South Carolina.

When is a decision going to be made?

I don't want to be biased, but I think AOII would be an outstanding addition to the Clemson campus. We don't currently have any chapters in SC, but VERY strong established chapters in every other Southern state.

Wow! I'm so glad to see AOII has put in a request or whatever it is called to see if Clemson would be interested in AOII. I would be willing to go up there if they are approved and win a colony spot!

Also, on the same not, Panhellenic at Ole Miss voted for the "idea" of having another sorority join our campus by 2005 Recruitment. So far we have 9 NPCs.
AOII, DG, Chi O, Pi Phi, Theta, Tri Delta, KD, Phi Mu, Kappa....We use to have AZD, DZ, ZTA, & ADPi.


Anyway, this is a great thread. I was very impressed to see others on GC saying AOII would be a great candidate for a colony at Clemson.

That's an awesome response! Don't see how Clemson can go wrong w/that field of candidates.... Keeping my fingers crossed for DZ, but essentially hoping that Clemson finds the best possible fit to strengthen sorority life on their campus!!

This may be a dumb question but about how many colleges/universities are in SC that have NPC groups?

I *believe* there are 13 schools with NPC groups in South Carolina:

Clemson University
Coastal Carolina University
College of Charleston
Francis Marion University
Furman University
Lander University
Newberry College
Presbyterian College
University of South Carolina – Aiken
University of South Carolina – Columbia
University of South Carolina – Spartanburg
Winthrop University
Wofford College

Re: Chapter Rundown
 

Based on that and my own feeling about the situation... I think the four asked to present will be Delta Zeta, Phi Mu, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and (this last one is tough... either AXiD or AOPi) i'm going with Alpha Omicron Pi!

Re: Chapter Rundown
 

By this list, I'd say that Phi Mu, Sigma Sigma Sigma, or Delta Zeta are the obvious choices, but I think a list of the Alumnae Associations would also be in order.

Sigma Kappa will soon have two chapters in Georgia - our colony at North Georgia College and State University will become the Kappa Lambda chapter of Sigma Kappa in April.

That's an impressive list of potential groups!

Good luck to the Clemson ladies in making the choice!

Of the eight sororities mentioned as possibilities for Clemson, three of them were at USC at one time or another.

AOPi had a chapter from 1933 - 1937 and again from 1978 - 1983. Sigma Sigma Sigma had a chapter from 1977 - 1983. Sigma Kappa had a chapter at USC from 1932 - 1939.

A few other groups at USC that are no longer there are Alpha Epsilon Phi (1945 - 1949 and 1967 - 1969), Sigma Delta Tau (1932 - 1933 and 1956 - 1960), Pi Beta Phi (1931 - 1984), Delta Gamma (1985 - 2003) and Kappa Alpha Theat (1989 - 2001).

It will be interesting to see who comes to Clemson. I'm surprised that Pi Beta Phi was not interested in re-establishing their chapter at USC when presentations were done here last year. I thought they might be on the list for Clemson but I guess not.

Hi ladies, I'm new, but I wanted to add my two cents since the Southeast is my home.

I don’t think it’s just the number of chapters or number of alumnae in the state that matters in this case. I think you should really look at the dedication that a group will give to a potential new chapter. If an organization has a dedicated and solid base that will support the new chapter they can probably be very successful without other chapters in the state.

You need to look at each organization's success at colonizing on similar campuses. Someone posted the schools in SC with NPC groups above. Ladies, we all know that just because schools are in South Carolina doesn’t mean they are like Clemson. For example Wofford and Winthrop are not exactly similar to Clemson.

I would also look at what each group has done on campuses with larger Greek systems in recent history, whether they have a lot of current extension commitments, what kind of support they pledge for a potential chapter, and whether their strong leaders dedicated to making this chapter successful. I heard that a couple of nationals closed colonies recently before installing them and that several others have done poorly on large colonizations lately. I don’t remember who it was, but if they applied I’d take that into consideration too.

For those of you who really care about numbers, I think it is also important to look at how many chapters these groups have nationally. My perception is that Clemson is a growing system in a growing state. I called one of my friends who is knowledgeable about these things and here is how many chapters each of these organizations have nationally:

Alpha Phi: 143
Alpha Omicron Pi: 101
Alpha Xi Delta: 111
Delta Zeta: 161
Phi Mu: 118
Sigma Kappa: 108
Sigma Sigma Sigma: 106
Theta Phi Alpha: 39

Not to nit-pick, but I know these numbers are not correct. Alpha Xi Delta has at least 113 active chapters...I'm not sure about the others though. :D

I'm so excited AZD has submitted info to let Clemson know they're interested! Of course I'm biased, but I really do think they'd be a great fit. There is at least one strong alumnae association within driving distance to Clemson (the one I'm a member of here in Charlotte)...I don't know how far Atlanta is but there's another strong association there as well.

But as everyone mentioned (and I mentioned before) Phi Mu, DZ and Sigma Kappa would all be great fits as well!

Thanks for the updates! Keep them coming!

You might be new to GC, but you've been around enough to know what you're talking about! Very intelligent post, SuthrnBell -- welcome!

I agree with most everything you've said. I also would add that if I was a member of the selection committee -- I'd look at how many LOCAL alumnae the group has -- and how many are there for the presentation & would be willing to serve as advisors, etc.

These extension "dog & pony shows" can be quite impressive with slick videos & PR brochures and a room full of balloons, but the fact of the matter is that you need good local people ALONG with a strong inter/national support to pull it off.