UCF Expanding... Again
 

Well, it's been looking like this was going to happen for some time, but it looks like it's finally pretty definite. UCF's looking at expanding this Fall. (At least that is the understanding I got from one of my sisters who actually bothered to attend Panhellenic this week, unlike me. :D )

My understanding is that Panhellenic decided this week to expand with Alpha Epsilon Phi this Fall, and to quite possibly expand this Spring or next Fall with another sorority. Again, this is coming from talking with a sister who told me what went on at Pan, so my info could be slightly off.)

For those of you unfamiliar with the campus, we have ten sororities, and last year quota was 69. (It hovers right around that area every year.) My chapter, Kappa, is the newest on campus. We colonized in Fall 2002. We have a bit of an unusual housing situation, as we have a total lack of designated room for more Greek housing, so currently four out of the ten NPC sororities are unhoused and essentially have very little they can do to change that fact.

Sororities already on campus include:
Alpha Delta Pi
AlphaXi Delta
Delta Delta Delta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Alpha Theta *
Delta Gamma *
Kppa Kappa Gamma *
Chi Omega *
Pi Beta Phi
Zeta Tau Alpha


For those curious, I starred the unhoused sororities. I'm really excited- as a charter member of my chapter I've been waiting to see a new sorority come on campus. We'll see if we actually manage to make a dent in quota.

How many chapters are at total? And how many met quota last year?

The UCF sororities are enormous. Most are at, if not well over campus total. I am excited at the possibility of my alma mater bringing on another sorority. It would be a welcome relief to have a new member class of 40-50, instead of 60-70+!!!

Is it AEPhi for sure, or are they presenting?

UCF collegians and alum, and anyone else-- any ideas for who you might like to see at UCF next?


ETA: My choices for the new sororities (I know the mods will have a field day with this one!) are Alpha Chi Omega (this would be a recolonization at UCF), and Delta Zeta. DZ would be perfect as an irony (DZ's forgive me) because the reason we have been told we can't build more Greek housing is due to a rare turtle nesting in the wooded area next to Greek Park. So how appropriate that the DZ mascot is a turtle! I know, I know! I think any of the NPC's would do well at UCF. It's got a great Panhellenic and wonderful students!

As someone who used to live VERY close to UCF I would obviously like to see AOII colonize their, but for reasons I cannot and will not get into I am doubtful it will happen.

I am excited to hear that AEPhi is coming to UCF! Our campus badly needs another sorority!

I heard a rumor that GPhiB is being strongly considered to be the next sorority to colonize at UCF after AEPhi. We still need at least one more sorority on our campus. If not GPhiB, any sorority would make a wonderful addition!

I'm not sure how many sororities are at total. I would imagine that the majority are at total. I think there may only be 2 that are not at total. Four sororities did not meet quota last year but 3 of those sororities were just a couple of PNMs short of meeting quota.

Hooray to AEPhi!! Question - if Gamma Phi is already being considered, is UCF using the regular process (i.e. notice posted in NPC bulletin, proposals submitted, groups selected to present, etc), or is it already decided?

Either way, it's great news! Good luck to AEPhi!!

UCF has been expanding like crazy.

We opened a colony there last year. No idea how they're doing, but with our new colony development program, I'd expect great things.

Hooray for any Greek Expansion!:cool:

May We All Live Long and Prosper!:D

Can AEPhi succeed there? I thought they were small nationally? Had little to no alumnae in the area? And don't they also have an unsavory reputation for demon worship and black magic?

Just curious you know . . ;)

Oh James, stop being such an instigator. ;)

congrats to AEPhi!! yay 4 expansion!

Originally posted by adpiucf
The UCF sororities are enormous. Most are at, if not well over campus total. I am excited at the possibility of my alma mater bringing on another sorority. It would be a welcome relief to have a new member class of 40-50, instead of 60-70+!!!

No kidding. New member classes that huge are crazy. Especially when you're a new chapter trying to handle one that large on top of everything else. ;)

Is it AEPhi for sure, or are they presenting?

My understanding is that it's them for sure. However, this is secondhand from a sister that was there at the meeting, so I'm currently taking it with a grain of salt. However, if her version of it is accurate, it is.

UCF collegians and alum, and anyone else-- any ideas for who you might like to see at UCF next?

ETA: My choices for the new sororities (I know the mods will have a field day with this one!) are Alpha Chi Omega (this would be a recolonization at UCF), and Delta Zeta. DZ would be perfect as an irony (DZ's forgive me) because the reason we have been told we can't build more Greek housing is due to a rare turtle nesting in the wooded area next to Greek Park. So how appropriate that the DZ mascot is a turtle! I know, I know! I think any of the NPC's would do well at UCF. It's got a great Panhellenic and wonderful students!

*lol* Love the DZ idea. Of course, that might not be such a good idea. I know an awful lot of Kappas who have it in for that stupid turtle. Murdering another sorority's mascot might not be the single most Panhellenic thing we could do.

On that note, I think AGD would be most appropriate. They'd love our insane squirrels.

And yeah, we have been expanding like crazy. Kappa was the third new sorority in six years, and adding us barely affected quota, if at all.

Ktsnake, I just wanted to say that IMHO Sigma Nu at UCF has a bunch of really great guys.

Hooray for more greeks in Florida....PERIOD!

It's about time UCF Panhell has done some major expansion. It always surprised me that their pledge classes (quotas) were larger than UF's & FSU's!

How come it's only now that they finally realized they needed to grow? Is there a new greek advisor/dean of students/univ president?

A few of the sororities @ UCF (I think - please correct me if I'm wrong) have only been on campus for less than 10 years. To be able to support more growth is incredible - and obviously, long overdue.

I was told that my chapter (colonized in Fall 02) was the 3rd new sorority in six years time. I know that at least my sophomore year, Theta still had charter members around.

I think we've known we needed to grow, it's just that UCF's campus has been expanding so astronomically it's been hard to keep up. It's also ben hard, too, since one of our chapters has been having numbers problems for quite some time. I think Panhellenic tries to balance the obvious need for growth with giving them a chance to catch up.

When they do add sororities, it barely makes a dent in quota. We just have so many girls going through recruitment every year that things are crazy. Quota was 69 the year after we were added!

LOL! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmili...ere/turtle.gif

You're right! Let's get a sorority with a squirrel mascot there! The UCF squirrels are infamous! :) Would the squirrels kick the turtle out of Lake Claire??

UCF has grown at a break-neck pace. When I started there, it was mostly woods and dirt paths. In the time I was there, there was an amazing amount of construction-- the student union, new dorms, the president's residence, new roads, parking lots, parking structures, an incredible number of extremely large, multi-phase apartment complexes, new academic programs, etc. The level of the programs went way up, as well as academic status. We just recently had our first Rhode's Scholar!

I have a great deal of respect for the UCF Greek Advisor, Greg Mason. Yes, while the new member classes of the sororities are huge, we've lost only one sorority charter since the Greek system began there in the late 70's. We have really good programming, and a healthy respect and competition among the chapters. The sororities take hazing education seriously. And, unlike many other campuses I have visited, there is a sense of sisterhood between the sororities. It is encouraged and common to have best friends in other chapters. They work together. No sorority comes on campus until another has been given a fair amount of time to become established. This may be part of the reason for our enormous chapters, but I think waiting it out and allowing new chapters to become strong is part of what has made the UCF Greek System so strong!

yay---I had been wondering about this for a while. When I met the UCF Pi Phi prez in February, she said y'all would probably be choosing 2 sororities to come on. :) She was excited!

It's official. UCF is in the latest NPC Extension Bulletin. Best wishes!

sherbertlemons- Any update about the housing situation? I heard that they're trying to get started on a Greek Park Village of some sort but that could be just a rumor.

UCF is supposed to expand again Spring '05 or Fall '05 but our panhellenic has a 2 year rule (meaning that since KKG colonized Fall '02 that another sorority cannot colonize until Fall '04 which is AEPhi). Since we have the rule, I don't know the validity behind the rumors that another sorority should be here next Spring or Fall.

I am just stating what was in Extension Bulletin #90. It doesn’t give a timeline just that the school is open and it makes no mention of AEPhi. If this is not correct then the GA needs to contact J.J. immediately. She will need to send out a correction to the Bulletin.


NPC Extension Committee
June 15, 2004

To: NPC Member Groups
From: J.J. Wales, NPC Extension Chairman
Subject: Extension Bulletin #90

University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL

Extension information and Panhellenic procedures have been sent to all NPC member groups who do not have chapters on this campus. The Extension Committee is in receipt of the documentation from the Proper Authority. Exploratory visits are not permitted. For more information please see the website: www.ucf.edu

Regarding the Greek Park, there is information about it on the school’s web site. http://www.greeklife.sdes.ucf.edu/Gr...ject_FAQ_1.pdf

Now I'm jealous. I wish that we had a stronger Greek system in Long Beach but thanks to the fact that the city of Long Beach is ANTI-sorority/fraternity, I highly doubt that we'd ever expand. Well, at least not in the near future.

We currently have 10 fraternities & 7 sororities here. However, the pledge class numbers tend to be in the 20's-30's. If we're lucky. I know that's not bad but in comparison to others, we're not high either. On the other hand, smaller numbers allows us to get to know each other better.

Our campus is not Greek friendly either & our school newspaper spends much of its "valuable" time doing "inspirational" articles bashing Greeks, Greek life, & trying to dissuade PNM's to not join. Our situation is bleak, to say the least.

Edit: Our housing situation is not good either b/c the city does not allow Greek houses to be within 2 miles of each other so we're spread out all over the city. When PNM's are visiting the houses, they have to drive everywhere & hopefully not get lost.

Long Over Due
 

But in only 40 years as a school to have what I think more success in the greek community than UF or FSU is outstanding. Expansion is great, however I am not exactly thrilled that the diagrams for the new houses are duplex orientated rather than traditional houses, but you take what you get.