New Sorority on Campus?
 

Hi!
My school has one of the most extensive Greek systems in the country. Our recruitment went so well this year that our panhel is considering inviting one of five sororities to restart a chapter that has been discontinued. There's a vote for it coming up. Personally, I have one concern. Two of the 20 social sororities in our panhellenic council have consistantly had trouble recruiting girls. I'm just afraid that a new house could hurt chapters that are already on campus. Thoughts?

Hi there-

Very exciting for your campus. I went through 2 NPC expansions during undergrad., and it very much revitalized the entire Greek system, including the men's groups. I don't want you to think that the groups that are not as consistent will magically be strong and healthy...but overall, my experience has been positive regarding expansion. A few questions: Is your campus using the new release method? Do you know which groups are presenting? Keep us posted!

I'm not sure if I know what a new release method is.

My school is deciding between 5 sororities, and it will allow 3 to present. I know that one sorority already has property on the campus, so it probably will push hard to be selected.

Are the 2 you mention NPC members nationally or just members on UI's panhel? If it's the latter, their inconsistent recruitment may not matter as much.

FYI:

The UIUC's PHC sororities

Hi!
Both of the ones I mentioned are national, although a believe one is a bit smaller nationally.

Anyway, someone brought up that it might be good for the greek system as a whole. I could see that, seeing that there are twice as many frats as there are sororities.

Just curious: What NPC groups have closed chapters at Illinois? Have any groups not had a chapter there?

ASA's never had a chapter at UofI.

Seeing as the decision has been made to expand, I wouldn't be concerned about the smaller chapters' feelings. I am sure they had a chance to voice their objections before the campus opened for expansion. And if the majority of the chapters are bursting at the seams, a new chapter on campus will help even out the rest to a manageable size. All of the sororities receive regular support from their nationals in the form of traveling consultants, advisers, trainings, etc. I am sure they are aware of chapters that are struggling and are giving them the best help and resources they can. I think it is great that you are concerned-- continue to be a supportive Panhellenic sister and support their efforts at informal recruitment, their philanthropies, etc. Good luck to your campus on its expansion!

While it is great news about expansion, there will always be Chapters who are having problems especially when it comes to NPC and expansion.

The need to keep figuring numbers of members will continualy hold down expansion at many school such as smaller schools.:( Yes, of course it is harder for smaller GLOs to compete at major schools. As we all know, everyone wants to be on Major schools, but if it does not fit well then there is your answer.

Bigger name GLOs always have a step up on the smaller ones who started at Teacher Colleges such as ASA and SSS. No disrespect at all toward them as they both are on my Alama Mater.

But, facts are proof of the pudding.

Actually we did - our Epsilon Beta chapter was there from around 1982-1993.

From the OP - it doesn't seem that the Panhel at UI is definitely expanding - there is a vote coming up and just because there are only 2 chapters that seem to be having numbers problems - doesn't mean the other chapters will vote in favor of it. The situation she outlines is by no means a "done deal."

OrangeJuice - I know they are all national - but are the ones with lower numbers any of the 26 NPC member groups? That was my question.

AXiD has its Kappa chapter(1905 - 199?) presently closed.

Damn. What were we thinking?? Competing at UofI is the Midwest's version of Bama or LSU.

ZTA had it's Alpha Kappa chapter at UI from 1921-1994.

Yes, both of the ones I'm talking about are NPC sororities.

Thanks.

Jess - it was the 80s. Things were cheaper (i.e. expansion and running things in general) and Greek life was a lot more popular everywhere. The chapter did quite well for most of its run, from what I remember, and the pics I saw of our house were adorable!

As we should all know, it is dang expensive to try to start up any GLO on a major campus whether it be male or female.
Many of the so called older/younger GLOs who started out as say at Teachers Colleges and expanded that way.

Say using ASA and SSS for example were not anyless better than much older established GLOs, they are still growing and expanding.

Again, getting on Major College Campi it is a lot more expensive and they cannot afford it! Competing with the tried and true with huge houses is of course a tough road and hill to climb.

There is a place for all of us.

If one GLO places their fate in only Major Schools, there will be damn low GLOs and will go out of existence!

Oh, would like to watch Major Schools Football and BasketBall on TV and go to a smaller school where I know people and not a number!

A GLO size may be 100-200 members who you do not know, but there is a whole lot of other people that one can meet and learn from!:)

The closed chapters at U of I are:

Alpha Xi Delta (1905-? and 1983-1990ish)
Alpha Sigma Alpha (1982-1992)
Delta Phi Epsilon (1927-1988)
Zeta Tau Alpha (1921-1988)
Theta Phi Alpha (1919-1953)
Sigma Sigma Sigma (1957-1987)

The only NPC to never have a chapter at U of I is Alpha Sigma Tau.

The 2 struggling groups are NPCs. PM me if you must know. One of them has struggled at least since the late 1980s when I was there, and has a fractional number of members compared to the other NPCs. The other struggling group has not struggled long-term like the other.

ZTA has a lovely house on campus that is presently occupied by a fraternity. http://www.illiniifc.com/page.php?pa...er_tour_id=156 DPE was also there when I was but I don't know if they owned their house. It was very small compared to the other properties. Alpha Xi Delta was also there when I was and also had a somewhat smaller house, but very nice. I don't know if they own it. Alpha Sigma Alpha was there when I was, but they had a regular residential house that was pretty far from the others. Again, I don't know if they owned that property. They were a very small chapter compared to the others.

FYI, in my opinion, a group would have to have/get a nice, large house in order to be competitive. Delta Zeta recolonized when I was there and it went very smoothly for them. A constant issue at U of I is local alumnae support. Because the chapters tend to be extremely old, they have tons of alumnae, but not necessarily in C-U, which is in rural Illinois.

Thanks for the info. On a visit to Champaign-Urbana my mom had me drive around and pointed out all of the houses she knew and what they used to be if they'd been shuffled over the years.

Come and go do they not?:(

So, it happens!:(

Until you can tell me where you came up with the idea that SLU has big old houses, you don't get to talk anymore.

No means no.

Bad Tom.

Tom - trust me that most of that is the fraternities. U of I has in the neighborhood of 60 some IFC fraternities. Some have over 100 members and others have merely a dozen. Obviously with that broad range they may change housing situations occasionally. The sororities are remarkably stable at U of I. Of the 19 NPC groups currently on campus, only one has ever even recolonized. The rest are very old, long-standing chapters with a continued presence on campus. Of the 25 NPCs ever represented on campus, all but 6 are still open. Groups may have changed where they live on campus, but the chapters don't "come and go." And actually, none of the NPC groups have even changed houses as far as I know - at least not any time recently. That is more of an IFC phenomenon at U of I.

To clarify, my reference to shuffling referred only to the movement of chapters into and out of specific houses on campus. Not the colonization/closure of chapters.

/can't wait for Earp to mention that you can't live in the house if you're SUSPENDED! OH NOES

Hey guys!
Just wanted to let you all know that the resolution passed.

I don't know how I missed this thread earlier. When I was there, the chapters having trouble received almost no support from the larger chapters. Unfortunately, chapters forget all too easily how quickly things can change. Top chapters become bottom and vice versa within five years at UIUC. A new chapter could do very well, and it is probably the right thing for the system, but it depends a lot on everyone playing fairly.

My only problem is the likely moratorium on COB. I am against this because it hurts the chapters that need to COB without helping the one that asks for it. I am sure this is what will happen the semester that the new chapter comes on, and it will hurt other chapters that need to keep their houses full (usually 4-5 chapters COB after formal recruitment, and it is not necessarily the same ones every year).

You're kidding, right?

The way that quota/total is at Illinois right now, another chapter can actually help the smaller chapters. Quota is usually around 50, but total is only 145. If a group returns in the fall with 100 women and makes quota, they are still about 30 women smaller than the larger chapters. Knocking quota down by a few women can help out over time. It would help the larger chapters too, because many of them have gotten so big that there are more women who want to live in the house than the house can accomodate. Overall, it is probably the right thing for the campus.

Like I said, my biggest concern will be the COB moratorium. That means that if suzie PNM joins XYZ and her roommate meets the XYZ's and loves them, XYZ can not give suzie's roommate a bid because ABC is colonizing. Never mind the fact that there is zero chance suzie's roommate will go join ABC. This happened a few years ago when one of the struggling groups was reorganizing. They asked for a COB moratorium. Two other groups that usually COB opposed it, but were outvoted.

In my opinion, they should instead ask for something like a moratorium on advertising COB events, so existing chapters could continue to recruit women they already know, while the new chapter would have the benefit of being the only one advertising in the paper, chalking the quad, etc. to get the women who never rushed. Or, they could have a moratorium on COB for chapters that are already over total. I just have a huge problem with a chapter being told they can't COB.

Just for the record, it really isn't. More than half the women coming through rush don't know anything about greek life, very few chapters require recs, and chapters climb and fall within the social tiers every five years. The chapter houses are nice, but most women don't want to live in them, so the smaller the better. Believe me, it is not the South.

Well, I don't know if I'd agree with that. The chapter houses here are very nice. Some are on the National Register of Historic Places. In my house, we don't have enough space to let all the girls live in. And we're not the only house with this program. And while there is probably some fluxuation in the social tiers, the top houses here are pretty much the same as they were when my mom attended Illinois. I'd agree that UIllinois is no SEC school. But it definately has a strong Greek life.

While I agree with most of what you wrote, I disagree with the overall sentiment. The general atmosphere at U of I is more laid back than the south, but the importance of Greek life is just as overwhelming, in my opinion. Yes, at U of I any girl can get into a sorority, but not every girl could get into certain sororities. I do agree that the "tiers" are not as rigid as they are in the south, although certain chapters tend to always hover near the top with the middle being where things change around a lot.

As for the housing, I don't think that it is insignificant. I think it is just culturally different than some schools. At Oklahoma or Arkansas, girls pledge as freshmen and then are expected to live in the house their remaining 3 years. Those houses tend to sleep 80-100 girls so that is necessary. That would never fly at Illinois. Most girls live in the house 1 or 2 years, but definitely want the freedom of an apartment at some point. I am sure that culture developed because the houses are very old and not quite as large, so not everyone could live in. But, I think if you have a house, it better be competitive with the others. As OJ wrote, some of those are historic (I know the AOII house is on the historic register), beautiful, and very convenient to campus, unlike most of the dorms and apartments. On the other hand, I have always thought that a group that came on and was unhoused intentionally could do well at Illinois, given the right marketing.

I should clarify my statement. Most women want to live in the chapter house for one year, but many do not want to live there for two. This is largely because of the freedoms you give up to live in a chapter house, and the plethora of cheap apartments on campus. If a chapter only has a one year live-in requirement, they advertise it heavily during rush.

As far as the tiers, yes, there are some that are traditionally strong and weak, but I have definitely seen a medium chapter have one good rush and shoot to the top, or a medium chapter have one lousy rush and fall to the bottom. This is true of the fraternities as well.

Anyway, the point of my post was not to debate the details of the UIUC greek system, the point was that a new group could come onto campus and be competitive, even if they did not necessarily have the resources of the largest NPC groups.

I hope that whomever is selected helps bring a solid recruitment in which everyone benefits and all the chapters are at a manageable and successful size. I was looking a the numbers in chapters currently. See the grades for the number of new members for each sorority and whole group number. Some of the chapters are HUGE! Some were big when I was there, but I don't remember so many hitting near 200. (Actually, were there any??? :confused: )

On a side note: I unfortunately never got to live in house. That is one thing that I wish I would have been able to do. The timing of when I was a member, my student teaching scheduling, and graduation date meant it never happened. Some people in my chapter LOVED living in and did so for three years. I know there is drama involved when you have so many women living closely together, but there are silly runs to the grocery store at 3 am, getting ready to go out for the night and yelling down the hall to find someone with a curling iron that works or a shirt that will go better with your awesome "bar pants", staying up doing laundry and chatting over juice bars from the basement freezer. It's just an experience that I wish I had. I was over there enough, it's like I lived there, but...

No, that would be Indiana. ;)

Clarification
 

Alpha Xi Delta's Kappa chapter was at U of I from 1905-1995 with a successful turnaround recolonization in 1980. I know we were at 150+ members in 1987 but then took a slide around 1990 and couldn't recover. We would LOVE to be back at U of I -- our members in Illinois are absolutely thrilled about this opportunity and all fingers are crossed!!

Were you at U of I in 1987? That's when I rushed. :)

Nope, I'm not a U of I alum, but my cousins all were hitting U of I starting about then (I still remember SO clearly when my aunt became Mrs. Active Officer in the Parents Club about 2 minutes after my first cousin went "away" to school ... he was very understanding about it, at least publicly). My dad's a Delta Sigma Phi from U of I, one cousin is a Delta Tau Delta ('85ish), his wife (and my dear friend) is an Alpha Gam ('87ish), and my other cousin is a Delta Zeta (also '87ish) -- all U of I. I'm just about the only one in my family who didn't go to U of I, and it's probably only because my leg of the family had left the state by then.

PM me if you want to compare names!! :)

i looked over the grades report . it seems most chapters are comparable in size. i mean, when one chapter is around 180 and another is at 150, will a pnm at a recruitment party really notice that one has 30 less members than the other?

i did only see one npc sorority that had low numbers-did i just miss seeing the other one? i believe that orangejuice mentioned 2.

PM me if you really need to know that badly.

If you look again it's rather clear. They're still a good size in my eyes, just not particularly for this campus.