[Erik P Conard]

Originally posted by Firehouse
And this should be compatible with Wilson Heller's theories. In practice, there are no 'freestanding' fraternity or sorority chapters. Everyone operates within some system, and because of that each chapter is effected by its peers. For instance, at Penn State you are considered to be a large fraternity if you have fifty men. At Ole Miss you are small if you have less than 100. Both schools have excellent fraternity systems, and each system has its own standard of measurement. On my campus, the Panhellenic sororities all have big houses, and chapters of 100+. But on the same campus, the system of historically Black sororities do not have houses and their chapters are much smaller. And the Multicultural sororities are even smaller still. There is a natural heirarchy that forms within each system, and everyone seems happy. Within each system there are those who are 'large' and those who are considered 'small'. Heller's point is that in any system, circumstances and Human Nature favor the large.
In a system of large chapters - fraternity or sorority - various events and programs form around the numbers available. If you have a 'small' chapter of only sixty-five women and the largest ones have 100+ then you are hard-pressed to compete for the various honors. Dynamic and aggressive and ambitious women are attracted to the chapters that appeal to their personalities. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. Those who are reticent, les ambitious, less energetic are attracted to the groups that reflect those traits. That's why they always seem to struggle.
So, there's no magic number. The trick is to conform to the standards of the system you're in. Heller said that every wanted quality follows size. For fraternities at Penn state, 'size' means 55-60 men. At Ole Miss it means 150.