Sigma Kappa @ Mizzou Closes

[SiKeS]

Sorority closes MU chapter
Sigma Kappa cites declining membership.


By ARCENIA HARMON of the Tribune’s staff
Published Wednesday, February 4, 2004
Citing a decline in membership, the Epsilon Mu chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority at the University of Missouri-Columbia will officially close at the end of the school year on May 17.

The sorority’s president, Erica White, declined to comment.

"I know that compared to other chapters, … Epsilon Mu felt that their numbers were inadequate," said Julie Kozicki, executive assistant at Sigma Kappa Sorority National Headquarters in Indianapolis.

A news release from Kozicki said the chapter voted to close last Wednesday. The chapter is classified dormant until its official closing.

Members will be treated as college graduates and granted alumnae status in the organization, the sorority said.

"This chapter has a proud history at the University of Missouri and has produced great leaders in our organization," Barbara Wilmer, Sigma Kappa’s national vice president for alumnae, said in the news release. "While saddened by the closure, we look forward to welcoming the collegiate members to alumnae membership."

Declining membership has not been a problem for other MU sororities, said Brook Hansen, MU Panhellenic Council adviser.

"Actually our recruitment numbers are going up," she said.

This isn’t the first time the MU chapter of Sigma Kappa has closed since it was organized on campus in 1968. According to the national office, the local chapter closed in 1973 and reopened in 1990. Neither Hansen nor Kozicki knew why the chapter closed in 1973.

The chapter is still deciding what to do with the sorority’s privately owned house at 908 Curtis Ave., Hansen said.

The sorority officially informed the Panhellenic Council of its decision last night.

"They brought a lot of great things, just like every organization brings to campus," Hansen said. "We’re very sad to see them go."



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