University of Central Florida

[adpiucf]

The ADPi house repairs are DONE and the residents were able to move back in this weekend!

Background: The house sustained roof damage after the deluge of hurricanes this summer, and I got to tour the newly painted and carpeted upstairs this weekend when I was in Orlando.

Kudos: Violets to the committed alumnae who serve on House Corporation for all their hard work with the insurance company and repair contractor! All the bedrooms, both upstairs and downstairs, are a newly painted golden wheat (think Tuscan) color, with tasteful white baseboards and a VERY nice new carpet. It looks more like a real bedroom than the dorm-style living I was treated to while an undergrad! Lucky girls!

/End Hijack and Best of Luck to the NPC's presenting for expansion and our PNM's as UCF's Greek Life continues to grow!

[Lily1909]

Can't wait to see what happens at UCF!

[Denise_DPhiE]

Not sure about the rumor last semester about which group was coming but the opportunity appeared in the NPC bulletin in May. I did not hear that #s were down - quota of 62? doesn't sound low to me!!

The groups presenting for the first round (AEPHI, SDT and DPhiE submitted packets as per Greg's email) have not offically accepted the invitation to present yet but if and when they do, presentations will be this semester with a Spring colonization.

The "interest group" has been defined to me as a group with 50 or so women who have a core leadership group in Hillel. If I was looking for these women, I would start there.

I cannot comment further and will not be able to post on this subject again until after a group is chosen.

Best of luck to the group(s) who present!!

Denise

[TrueBlueKappa]

adpiucf- I am so glad that the house is finally complete! I can't wait until you host Pan again so that I can see it

rockcandy- As far as the interest group goes, I would say that you should go talk to someone in Greek Affairs. I'm not sure how this whole process works...

[UCFStefanie]

Hey Rockcandy dont worry about rushing as an upperclassmen. I am not gonna lie and say it will be easy. I rushed being well over 18 and definetly not a freshmen and it worked for me. Just be aware that unfortunatly it could work against you at some houses. But in the end, you will end up where you belong and you will find a place that you can call home.

[adpiucf]

Originally posted by Denise_DPhiE
quota of 62? doesn't sound low to me!!

Believe me, that's low for our school! It was an abrupt decline to an upward trend for the last 7+ years. We're excited at the opportunity to add more NPC chapters to campus, so we can PLAN for lower quotas AND more placements! Good luck with the presentations. This is so exciting!

[ADPiAkron]

What has quota been in the past, ADPiUCF? Also, when did the "boom" in the Greek System begin at UCF? Each year I hear a new sorority starting there basically-- when did the expansion really start and why was there such a sudden HIGH interest in Greek Life?

[adpiucf]

I don't think there was ever a boom. We've just always been large. There are a good number of marketing and advertising/PR majors serving on Panhellenic who do a fantastic job promoting Greek Life to non-Greeks, and the Greeks do a lot of campus workshops and activities for the school. I think a good PR campaign all-around, and a Greek Adviser who is good at his job and current on trends and training Greek leaders are reasons that the UCF Greek System is so strong and continuing to grow. We also take expansion seriously and when a new group colonizes, the existing groups help with PR and also inviting the new chapter to take part in events with them. A year or so grace period is also given to help the new chapter establish itself before a new one comes on.

UCF has always had large sorority chapters. The university was founded in 1968, and in the 70's and early 80's, sororities began colonizing, beginning with Zeta Tau Alpha. By 1995, there were 7 chapters; in 1998, there were 8 chapters, and since 2001 on, 2 more have been added, giving us:
ADPi
Alpha Xi
Tri Delta
DG
Pi Phi
ZTA
KD
Chi O
Kappa
Theta
* Alpha Chi Omega left campus in the 80s for a hazing incident. This is the only sorority to ever close on UCF campus, and we hope and look forward to it one day returning.

When I went through recruitment in 97, new member classes were in the mid-50s. Through the rest of the 90's, this was up to the mid-60's and low 70's.

Greek Life is heavily promoted to incoming students, and Greeks are very heavily active in non-Greek activities. There is a lot of Greek spirit-- you'll always see them in letters; there is even "Letter Wearing Wednesday" and most groups dress to pin on Mondays. It's a very visible part of the campus population, and a lot of the active university alumni are Greek alumni.

UCF continues to expand with Greek Life because it is widely recognized that we have a fantastic and supportive Greek system that encourages campus participation, scholastic acheivement, inter-Greek friendships, community service and leadership. In the 1990's, one Florida student leader magazine named us the Number One Greek System in the state. While it may seem overwhelming for someone from a smaller chapter, our chapters run to well over 100 members (at one time, we were close to 200), and with chapters this large and interest continuing, it is clear that there is a need for additional sororities to come on campus.

[ADPiAkron]

That is soooo awesome!! I wish that would happen here at Akron! I know a girl who is a Kappa Alpha Theta from UCF! I have know her since she was like 3-- but have not seen her since I found out she joined a sorority! I am sure if and/or when I see her-- we would have alot to talk about!

[Stacekat]

I know that a lot of the time colonies actually try to let SOME upperclassmen in due to their relative maturity and higher potential to be leaders. So RC if you portray the fact that you want to be a key leader in getting a colony off the ground and that the challenge of starting a new group would be exciting to you, that would be HUGE! Push your leadership desire!

[adpiucf]

I really think the biggest thing is that the Greeks work together and really work with the administration. Sure, there are anti-Greek students out there, but we require our members to be involved in 1 or more activities outside of Greek Life (our ADPi's are required to be in 2 or more) so there is a huge presence, and the "anti-Greeks" are softened up and become "pro-Greek"... 'cause we're just so darned nice. And we're everywhere. In letters. All the time. You can't avoid knowing Greeks. Greeks serve on boards with the admninstration-- they really aim to work together, and when there is a challenge to Greek Life by the administration, it is handled maturely. Admin will always have the upperhand-- it is up to the Greeks to be respectful and look for a mutually beneficial solution if a problem arises. Admin does recognize all the good things Greeks provide the school.

I still think UCF-TriDelta has the best event-- PR Week. They stand outside the student union building handing out candy and doing surveys about what the students think of Greek Life and Tri-Delta. Not sure if they're still doing this, but they did when I was a student.

During Orientation Week, incoming freshmen and transfers are treated to a 15-min Greek Life presentation. We also send out a mailing to all incoming students with the recruitment brochure.

In the past few years, a couple of fraternities have made some slip-ups that, to be honest, are a first-- and cast some stain on the Greek Community. It's a shame.

On a positive note, I do want to say I'm really proud of all the UCF sororities; they have really embraced the zero tolerance hazing policy, and their new members and prospective members never have to fear being treated unfairly or with anything not in alignment with their inter/national policies regarding membership.

[astroAPhi]

I have a feeling the low quota has to do more with the inclement weather as of late. Florida Tech also had an odd turnout because we kept getting hit by hurricanes every few weeks.

[ZTAngel]

I've heard that Theta Chi will be colonizing this Spring.

As for Panhellenic, I haven't heard anything.

[TrueBlueKappa]

The 3 extension presentations start tomorrow.... that's all I know.

[XGlitterGirlX]

That's exciting... I can't wait to see who it is going to be. Are they going to make the announcement this semester or wait until Spring for who it is?