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Chi Omega: Gone for good?
By Stephanie Bennett
Editorials Editor
September 11, 2003
In a shocking move last Thursday Sept. 4, the university’s Chi Omega chapter, Zeta Lambda, returned their charter to the sorority’s national organization instead of existing with social probation restrictions.
In a show of support, former brothers of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and some of the sorority sister’s boyfriends wore Chi-O shirts the next day.
Mary Ann Frugé, the national president of Chi Omega, met with the sisters Sept. 9 to clarify and respond to a decision made at a group-wide meeting with other national delegates last week. Frugé herself was not present at that meeting.
Anne Emmerth, executive director of Chi Omega National, came to campus Aug. 31, along with other delegates, to investigate the alleged violations. Senior Michelle Gallagher, president of the Panhellenic Council, said the Chi Omega national organization received the allegation in July.
Last week, national delegates interviewed individual members of the sorority and presented the women with two options: they could either accept social probation restrictions or return their charter.
According to a press release posted Sept. 5 from Ken Zick, vice president for student life and instructional resources, the university did not receive notification of the national organization’s visit until Aug. 27.
After meeting with the Zeta Lambda chapter Sunday Aug. 31, according to Emmerth, the women attended individual meetings conducted with members of the delegation. After these conferences, a second group meeting was held Sept. 3.
At this meeting, according to Gallagher, the chapter was offered “social probation for an indeterminate amount of time.”
Under this probation, the sisters would have to “go through some rebuilding procedures and some workshops to have social probation lifted,” Gallagher said.
However, meetings conducted on Friday and continuing over the weekend resulted in another meeting Sept. 9 for another vote because of procedural problems the first time.
The national organization as well as the university administration “was concerned whether there was fair, deliberate, reflective process” behind the campus women’s decision to return their charter, Zick said, who has been speaking with Chi Omega Nationals.
At the Sept. 9 meeting, representatives from Chi Omega Nationals defined the “national practices regarding returning the charter,” said Zick.
When the members of Zeta Lambda turned in their charter last week, the sisters’ votes were not recorded and overseas members were not consulted. Measures are now being taken to correct those oversights, said Zick.
Representatives present at the Sept. 9 meeting included Mary Ann Frugé, the national president of Chi Omega, and Emmerth.
A press release issued Wednesday jointly by Frugé and senior Kelly Mahan, former Zeta Lambda chapter president, stated that the meeting was “informational in nature and provided the opportunity for members to ask questions.”
The university and Chi Omega Nationals both “wanted to make sure everyone was informed” on the implications of returning the charter and its residual effects, said Zick.
At the two-hour long meeting, “the women asked very good questions, expressed very frank opinions, and asked questions that clarified the process.”
According to Gallagher, the probationary terms described at Tuesday’s meeting were the “exact same thing” as initially offered Sept. 3, but that “the emphasis was more on an individual level.”
“As far as I know … each sister makes her own decision on whether or not she decides to rejoin or take alumni status,” said Gallagher Wednesday.
“The chapter is now in a position to make a decision based upon this session,” said Zick.
According to the joint Frugé-Mahan statement, Tuesday’s meeting was “attended also by alumnae advisors and several university representatives.”
There was some question around campus as to whether Zeta Lambda’s Fideles roots were negatively affecting the chapter’s relationship with Chi Omega National.
When the University first began, in place of nationally organized sororities, girls rushed local societies: Lynks, which became Kappa Delta; SOPH, which became Kappa Kappa Gamma; Strings, which became Pi Beta Phi; Delphi, which became Delta Gamma; Thymes, which became the now-disbanded Kappa Alpha Thetas; and Fideles, which became Chi Omega.
When the state Supreme Court increased social host liability standards in 1993, the university required the campus Greek organizations to get group liability insurance and have a risk-management policy, according to the September 2, 1993 issue of the Old Gold & Black.
Policy costs were much too high to maintain local sororities, so the societies hosted a gathering of many National Panhellenic Conference sororities and individually picked the organization with which each society felt most comfortable.
“When the transition was made… some national organizations, from what I understand, were less enthusiastic about incorporating the socities,” said Samantha Rogers, president of the Kappa Delta local chapter, Zeta Omicron.
Perhaps for this reason, other sororities on campus do not seem to be concerned about similar events taking place within their chapters.
The Zeta Omicron chapter, for example, “are very open that Lynks is part of our history,” said Rogers.
“They [National Kappa Delta] recognize Lynks as this campus’s KD heritage,” said Rogers. “But we don’t identify ourselves as Lynks. We are KDs.”
Nor has anything been set in stone for the upcoming 2004 Rush, according to Gallagher.
“We can’t make any decisions and can’t anticipate anything until we know whether Chi Omega will be participating,” said Gallagher.
Last year there were some concerns about pledge class with sororities. While fraternity pledges tend to number in the teens, the largest sorority pldge class last year hit 55.
Again, however, “a number of things could happen because we have Delta Zeta on campus and Chi Omega could be coming back,” said Gallagher.
“So before we make any decisions about pledge class size, we need to know how many organizations we are working with.”
Though most sisters received their ballots Sept. 10, the earliest an official tally can be released is 10 days. The national organization wants to make a decision regarding the charter of Zeta Lambda “as expeditiously as possible,” according to the joint release of Frugé and Mahan.
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