I think the quality vs. quantity issue comes fromt he fact various chapters in organizations get closed down just because they dont have numbers like another chapter in their org does, yet they have just as strong of a sister/brotherhood. And many don't agree with this. Some would say (and Ill use my org, just as an example) that you can't expect Alpha Gam at ohhh lets say, SUNY Cortland (we dont have a chapter there and its a small school) to get the numbers that the Alpha Gam chapters at Auburn or Bama get. Why yank Cortland for having 13 sisters and a great sisterhood, because the dont have the 250 that Bama does? I also see this argument going because I have known many girls from larger chapters that complained about knowing all of their sisters. My one friend when she was a soph in XYZ told me she barely knew the juniors in her house and had no clue who the seniors were at all. The argument seems to be that with a quality chapter that's small, you'd know everyone and that makes a stronger sisterhood. But as Fuzzie Alum said, you can't say that unless you've been in both a small and larger chapter. Personally, I'd rather see quality rather then quanity, but I also don't mind having 100+ sisters either. Either way in all honestly, you have a bond cuz your all brothers and/or sisters, but your not going to like or get along with all of them.
I will say though at UM, there were plenty of small chapters were ahead and beat many big ones. So depending on your campus, sometimes quality can beat quantity