Sorority Expansion at George Washington University
 

I thought people might be interested to know that GWU in DC has opened to expansion. Interested organizations have all submitted their packets and the announcement of who is being invited to present should be made early next week.

For the curious... the campus has eight NPC sororities, with total at 85 (I think) and they last opened for expansion in either 2001 or 2002, when Alpha Phi came to the campus.

Current sororities:
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Phi
Delta Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Phi Sigma Sigma
Sigma Delta Tau
Sigma Kappa

And the announcement came sooner than I expected...Pi Beta Phi, Chi Omega and Kappa Alpha Theta have all been invited to present.

All 3 are in the Big 6! GW can't go wrong with 2 of them, and maybe not the third!

Best of luck to GW and the three outstanding sororities chosen to present there.

What exactly is the Big 6? I've never heard that term before. :cool:

We used to have a chapter somewhere in DC a very long time ago, way before I came along. President Truman's daughter was an active of DC Alpha chapter.

Thanks for the compliments on Pi Phi, you guys!

Our current Ex. Dir. at HQ used to be the advisor at our chapter at American University in DC. Hopefully that will be a good resource when planning for the presentation.

Also, our convention this summer is in DC. But even if we got chosen, I'd think the founding class wouldn't be picked until the fall. Oh well - would have been very cool to have a colony right where convention is.

I'm also so excited to see another possible Chi O chapter on the East Coast (even if DC is verging on 'south' - though I doubt the southerners here would agree!).

Good luck to all the groups presenting!

alum likes to make up stuff, so in her twisted mind she thinks that, nationally, there's a tier system because she thinks there are sororities out there that are better than others and these NPCs should be invited to present/colonize only, not the weaker sororities. :rolleyes:

Don't know who her "Big 6" are, and frankly I don't give a shit.

Congratulations to the THREE wonderful sororities chosen to present at GWU. All are fine organizations, IMO, and GWU will benefit from having ANY of the THREE.

The DC Alpha chapter was the one at GW. It was actually the first chapter on the campus in the late-1800s. I believe it would be a recolonization for all three sororities.

Theta's Gamma Kappa chapter was at George Washington from 1946-1975.

So apparently within the Big 6 there are two that are better than others? Now we have tiers within tiers?

Are there not different different tiers according to say may sizes of NPCs? This is not to say that any one Sorority is better than another except for someone who thinks size is a criteria?

It doesnt matter waht some people think about waht someone has posted.

The main thing is, that there is expansion at a Prestigious School!:)

As Otter Said Every Greek Organization is equal in its own right.:D

Color me crazy, but I thought all of the Big 6 (again, depending on your definition of the "Big 6") are outstanding and generally strong sororities. Then again, I've been accused of being overly PC and Panhellenic before :D

It's got to be a perception thing. I mean, I come on. Think about it, the "top" sorority at W & L might be on the "bottom" at Illinois; and and the "top" sorority at Illinois might be "bottom" at Texas or UCLA. What ranks in Canada might not even register in Washington state, and of course, we all know about the SEC ;).

Again, all three groups are wonderful and best of luck to them and GW!

Chi Omega's Phi Alpha Chapter was at George Washington from 1903-1968.

So by Tom's logic (oxymoron?) the Big 6 are:

By number of chapters: Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Tri-Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, and Zeta

By number of initiates: Chi Omega, Tri-Delta, Theta, Kappa, Pi Phi, and Zeta

Of course all of those numbers are constantly changing, so the Big 6 must be a rotating term. Whatever. :rolleyes:

Tom, I think we all know what she meant.

Not so sure by some of the posts.:rolleyes:

I always thought "the Big Six" referred to accounting firms.........

Silly me. :rolleyes:

and silly me, I thought all sororities were created equal. get mad at me if you want, but really, a sorority is a sorority, yes, we all pledged our sorority because we liked something about it, but they're all similar. big sorority does not necessarialy mean good, and small, does not mean bad. expansion of any kind is a good thing. congrats to gw!

Poo on you (and the majority of GC) for being so Panhellenic-minded! ;)

In Texas, I've heard the term 'Big 6' in reference to the 'top' six NPC chapters at UT-Austin. And no, I don't know which chapters are part of the six. I've just heard the term.

Not trying to start isht, just trying to inform.

This is off the National Panhellenic Conference website.

Early histories of women's fraternities contain accounts of "rushing and pledging agreements" or "compacts" among fraternities on various campuses, and also many stories of cooperation and mutual assistance. However, no actual Panhellenic organization existed and no uniform practices were observed. By 1902, it was obvious that some standards were needed, so Alpha Phi invited Pi Beta Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Chi Omega and Chi Omega to a conference in Chicago on May 24. Alpha Chi Omega and Chi Omega were unable to attend. The remaining seven groups met and the session resulted in the organization of the first interfraternity association and the first intergroup organization on college campuses. (National Interfraternity Conference for men's fraternities was organized in 1909, now called the North-American Interfraternity Conference).

The big 6 are 6 of those 7 initial attendees to the first conference.

Note, I am just expressing an opinion supporting certain groups as does everyone else.

So which of the 7 isn't a part of the Big 6?

I'll be honest and say I think it's ridiculous to deny the fact that as good as it is to be Panhellenic-minded, there are some groups that are stronger nationally than others, but you can narrow it down to just six groups as "the strongest." Especially since according to this, you wouldn't even have Chi Omega as one of your "big six" and to say that the national organization with the most chapters in the country doesn't make the cut?

I didn't say the strongest....nor that I think they are the best. There are a ton of different size NPC GLOs at GW. I'm sure all are doing well as GW is adding a new women's fraternity/sorority.

Why do members of the larger NPC groups get ripped apart on this board when expressing support for a group? As much as I hate to say this, the "other" board is a little more honest (in their drunken stupors) in terms of assessment.

There's nothing wrong with showing support or sharing personal opinions, but how you do that affects how people react. Making blanket statements and out-dated generalizations are not necessarily a good way.

I love our Fraternity. I love the history, I love our ritual and I love what we stand for, but I know that we also have a lot of things to improve upon and learn from other organizations.

Best of luck to all organizations presenting at GWU.

No, they're just more opinionated.

That's what "Top Six" is - an opinion. And one that isn't backed up by many facts.

Wow.

A sorority that is larger in one geographic area might be a serious minority or even a non-player in another. That's okay, really, it is. What is most important is the right fit for the PNM/member and individual chapter--or in the case of expansion, what is the right fit for the existing Panhellenic system and presenting sorority. Yes, that means that there are schools where (insert sorority letters here) would be wildly successful and the best thing since sliced bread for all involved. Yes, that also means that (insert sorority letters here) shouldn't get within 50 miles of another school under any circumstances.

There are dozens of variables, and it's really none of our business. Perhaps it is best for any specific discussion of expansion to be treated the same way as the catsuits?

That seems to be preferred. Most of the students at those schools prefer it that way.

It's one thing to have an opinion, it's another to be entirely unpanhellenic about it. The "bigger" groups can't colonize everywhere, nor are they right for every school. Each of the 26 NPC groups is special in its own right and has tens of thousands of wonderful members and many great programs.

And alum, if that "other" board is so much better, please go there. I'm sure they'll love your northern, non-strong greek system self. We're panhellenic around here, respecting other groups, and you don't seem to grasp that concept.

Oh POO! You're no fun. ;)

She'd get ripped to shreds over there because hello, she's not from the South. She won't survive there.

I just find it really sad that yet ANOTHER expansion thread gets thrown in the trash because of unPanhellenic blanket statements. :rolleyes:

really? I could've sworn you told me that it was the skank sorority

of course you did, guys usually go for that

So alum, are you saying that the NPC website calls those fraternities the "Big 6"? Why aren't all 7 of them "Big"? They were all there, weren't they?

Also, I doubt the "other" web site would have come up with the same "Big 6". That site is obsessed with Southern Greek Life, and those groups aren't all strong there.

No, the NPC website doesn't say that. She pulled that out of her nether regions.

And think about it..do you really want to be part of the BIG Six? Isn't that kind of like shopping at Dress BARN? Big...Barn...fat...hahahahahahahaha

In all seriousness, it's one thing to express support for a group for EMOTIONAL (my mom was a DG and she teaches at GWU, she would be so happy to get involved with a chapter there) or PRACTICAL (ASA has tons of chapters in Missouri so there would be lots of alums to help at St Louis U) reasons. It's quite another to support this or that national group solely based on the snob appeal factor.

Or that bigger means they'll take anyone and are less exclusive.

(disclaimer, just trying to debunk alum's crappy statements that she refuses to back up with any logical reasoning or even a hint of panhellenicness)

Can we please let this silly debate go?! I'm looking forward to following this thread & hope it won't be closed before the first presentation is made.

Back on track...

I'm curious -- when did the Pi Phi Chapter close at George Washington?

Had to be before the seventies, there was never a DC chapter while I was active.

1968

Alum is in one of the Edgewater Sororities - didn't you know!?!?!

GWU chose those three groups b/c they have something wonderful to offer with innovative and distinctive programming that would benefit GWU. They may have gotten extra weight for being dormant chapters but either way, they are wonderful groups.

Oh my, I forgot, that results in instant credibility! My mistake!