2023/2024 New Chapters/Expansions/Charters/Closures

[PKT4LIFE]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

Sigma Chi has closed at Pennsylvania Western University-Clarion. Closure is due to low membership numbers.

This leaves PennWest-Clarion with one IFC chapter.

The remaining IFC chapter has 4 members.

How is it that there are 5 NPC organizations but one IFC chapter? It would be interesting to know the membership# for the NPC organizations.

[shadokat]

I don't know exact membership numbers for all the organizations, but the average sorority has around 20 members.

10 years ago, Clarion had over 6,000 undergraduate students. Today, they have around 3,900. Of those 3,900, about 2,600 are full-time students. Over 70% of the students are women. The acceptance rate at Clarion has risen to 99%.

This is why the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education consolidated these smaller schools under umbrella universities. (PennWest, Commonwealth, etc.) The smaller schools don't have the resources to function has a full-on university, but combined, they do. It's a sad situation for PASSHE for sure.

Originally Posted by PKT4LIFE

The remaining IFC chapter has 4 members.

How is it that there are 5 NPC organizations but one IFC chapter? It would be interesting to know the membership# for the NPC organizations.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by PKT4LIFE

The remaining IFC chapter has 4 members.

How is it that there are 5 NPC organizations but one IFC chapter? It would be interesting to know the membership# for the NPC organizations.

They’re in the 20s or 30s I think. It’s never been the type of campus where the Greek system is contained, ie you don’t have to be Greek to go to Greek parties and vice versa.

When I was a student there in the 80s we had 10 IFC fraternities (not counting the underground group and Pershing Rifles who basically functioned as a fraternity) and 7 NPC sororities. It started going downhill in the 90s with a very unfriendly President who was more concerned with buildings than student life and has basically never recovered. The fact that on campus housing is compulsory for the first two years, and is expensive, pretty much has put a dagger through Greek life.

This closure truly sucks. The alumni who helped the chapter get restarted were in school with me and are some of the best guys in the world, who embody the meaning of fraternity.

[shadokat]

Sadly, per the last Greek Life Report in 2021, Sigma Chi had 8 active members and Sig Ep had 4 members.

The sororities are a bit better off:

DPhiE - 32
DZ - 26
Phi Sig - 25
Tri Sig - 22
Zeta - 29

The drops in enrollment don't help an already disconnected Greek system for sure.

Originally Posted by 33girl

They’re in the 20s or 30s I think. It’s never been the type of campus where the Greek system is contained, ie you don’t have to be Greek to go to Greek parties and vice versa.

When I was a student there in the 80s we had 10 IFC fraternities (not counting the underground group and Pershing Rifles who basically functioned as a fraternity) and 7 NPC sororities. It started going downhill in the 90s with a very unfriendly President who was more concerned with buildings than student life and has basically never recovered. The fact that on campus housing is compulsory for the first two years, and is expensive, pretty much has put a dagger through Greek life.

This closure truly sucks. The alumni who helped the chapter get restarted were in school with me and are some of the best guys in the world, who embody the meaning of fraternity.