primarily southern sororities

[kappaloo]

Originally posted by honeychile
Personally, I've always considered ADPi, Phi Mu, KKG, Pi Phi, and ChiO as "the" Southern sororities, with the Farmville Four thrown in for good measure. It probably has more to do with family members who were greeks than anything else (although we have no Phi Mu's).

I've heard this setiment before, even though we have far more chapters in the North-East then the south.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by honeychile


That being said, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is the "Southen Sorority". Sororities as a whole are more important & larger in the South than in the North, and I'm sure there's a good rationalization. Personally, I've always considered ADPi, Phi Mu, KKG, Pi Phi, and ChiO as "the" Southern sororities, with the Farmville Four thrown in for good measure.

The thing about KKG, Pi Phi, and Chi O (and Tri Delt, as someone mentioned above) is that while they're strong in the South, they also have a lot of chapters spread out just about everywhere, so I wouldn't really count them as "Southern sororities" per se . . . whereas Phi Mu and ZTA at least seem to be concentrated more heavily in the South.

But you're right, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I've attended two Midwestern universities and my perceptions are definitely based on the chapters that are there and at schools around here.

Alpha Phi and Gamma Phi Beta strike me as very "Midwestern" sororities -- Gamma Phi Beta has a bunch of chapters here in Wisconsin alone.

Can anybody think of sororities that would be considered "West Coast"? -- because I can't. Probably because no sororities were founded there (at least, I think there weren't any).

[aephi alum]

Originally posted by Beryana
This relates in that AOII expanded to Sophie Newcomb College in 1898 (2nd chapter and a year or so after AOII's founding!) and that one of our founders (Stella) was from Louisiana. In a way you could say that we are Northern born but Southern at heart. . .

That's interesting... AEPhi was also founded at Barnard, and one of our earliest chapters (I believe it was our first outside New York) was at Sophie Newcomb College.

Although we have chapters all over the country, AEPhi is still very much concentrated in the Northeast. National HQ is in Connecticut, and there are tons of alums around here.

[AnchorAlum]

Interesting thread!
For the record, Florida is definitely southern when it comes to sororities. Both of the BIG state schools - the old line ones, FSU and UF - are in very southern style cities. FSU has sororities that have 100 year old chapters. KD and ADPi for sure. While fluctuations in membership over the years have meant that APhi, TriSigma, AZiD, AOPi and SKappa have gone away, FSU has not had a new colonization or re-colonization in years. The last NPC group to come on was back in 1964 and at one point they supported 18 GLO's, all NPC groups.
Gainesvillle's sorority history is newer by comparison and still growing, which is great. The University of Miami is smaller, but there are some 60 year old chapters there.

[Aphigal]

Alpha Phi and Gamma Phi Beta strike me as very "Midwestern" sororities...

Actually I don't think of Alpha Phi as a Midwest group...although we are strong there. Alpha Phi is very strong in the West, very strong in the midwest and very very strong in the NE. The chapters we have in the South are fantastic as well!

[honeychile]

I just did a quick count: ADPi has 59 Northern chapters (including 3 in Canada), 70 in the South, and 8 in "border states".

I counted the 10 in CA in the North, but I guess those would be western. I was thinking in a North/South mode, not East/West.

Btw, nice site, ariesrising! How often do you update your figures? I noticed that ADPi is down by about 20,000 on your chart.

honeychile

[bruinaphi]

ariesrising, where do you get your numbers? They seem a little bit off.

[SoCalGirl]

US Dept of Labor -- Bureau of Labor Statistics

According to the government the break down of the four regions is:

WEST
AK, HI, WA, OR, CA, ID, NV, AZ, MT, WY, UT, CO, NM

MIDWEST
ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH

NORTHEAST
ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NJ, NY, PA

SOUTH
DE, MD, DC, KY, WV, VA, AR, TN, NC, SC, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL

Personally, I'd argue the Mid Atlantic should be a 5th region. It would take care of some to those questionable states like MD, DE, and DC.

Sigma Kappa currently has 107 collegiate chapters.

WEST-20
WA 2, OR 2, CA 12, NV 1, AZ 1, CO 2

MIDWEST-33
NE 1, KS 2, OK 1, IA 1, MO 7, IL 8, MI 6, IN 4, OH 6

NORTHEAST-18
MA 4, RI 1, CT 1, NJ 1, NY 2, PA 9

SOUTH-33
MD 1, DC 1, KY 5, WV 1, VA 5, AR 1, TN 5, NC 5, TX 4, LA 2, AL 1, GA 1, FL 1



edited-oops SC is now included in the South

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by AnchorAlum
Interesting thread!
For the record, Florida is definitely southern when it comes to sororities. Both of the BIG state schools - the old line ones, FSU and UF - are in very southern style cities.

I was going to reply to that post, but you beat me to it. Tallahassee and Gainesville are as Southern as it gets.

Phi Mu and KD always seem like the most Southern to me. Maybe it's because I've heard those names spoken with Southern accents for years. Maybe it's because there are no chapters of either in my region (New England).

[OUKate]

Here's the breakdown for Alpha Gamma Delta"

WEST = 11 Chapters
HI-1, WA-2, OR-1, CA-3, ID-1, NV-1, AZ-1, MT-1, CO-1

MIDWEST = 38 Chapters
ND-1, NE-1, KS-3, OK-3, MN-1, IA-1, MO-4, WI-1, IL-5, MI-9, IN-3, OH-6

NORTHEAST = 14 Chapters
MA-1, NJ-2, NY-2, PA-9

SOUTH = 40 Chapters
MD-1, KY-5, WV-1, VA-3, AR-1, TN-3, NC-3, TX-4, AL-8, GA-7, FL-4

CANADA = 6 Chapters
BC-1, NS-1, OT-2, AB-2

(I know we've got more chapters, but this is according to the current list on International's website.)

So apparently we're (technically) a primarily southern sorority... who knew?

[greeklawgirl]

Kate, I think a few chapters are missing off that list, I know we have more than 103 active chapters. It looks like our midwest and southern chapters are fairly even...now I want to see Alpha Gam focusing west and northeast!

(I just realized where those other chapters are---I forgot about Canada! I guess we would characterize them as "North"? Canadian GCers, please help me out here!)

[AOII_LB93]

I don't know but I've always felt that AOII is a southern fraternity, if only because out international HQ is in Tennessee, and whenever I call there I always here the southern accent...not something you hear to much out here in CA. *lol*

[MSKKG]

SC got left off the "South" list.

[bruinaphi]

Here is Alpha Phi's breakdown (off by one chapter but I am not sure where):

WEST - 37
WA - 4, OR - 3, CA - 22, ID - 1, AZ - 2, MT - 1, UT - 1, CO - 3

MIDWEST - 41
ND-1, SD-1, NE-3, MN-1, IA-3, WI-4, IL-7, MI-5, IN-7, OH-9

NORTHEAST - 27
ME-1, NH-1, MA-4, RI-1, NJ-1, NY-10, PA-9

SOUTH-32
DE-1, MD-3, DC-1, KS-2, OK-2, MO-4, WV-1, VA-6, NC-4, TX-6, FL-2

Canadian Chapters-7
BC-1, MB-1, ON-4, QC-1

[Shark In Skirt]

Originally posted by Sistermadly
Alpha Phi seems to be concentrated in the West, Midwest, and Northeast with strong showings in the Southwest too (mostly Texas) and in Canada (six chapters). There don't seem to be any chapters in the "Deep South", but there are chapters in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida.

I'm interested to know if any organizations are larger in areas outside of the one they were founded in...

Although I don't know how the numbers compare to those elsewhere, there seem to be alot of wonderful Alpha Phi chapters here in California. My best friend is an Alpha Phi at San Diego State. They have a really strong chapter there, as well as at UOP.

XOXO,
Annie.