Why is Rush so Cut-throat on the Sororities' End at Big Greek Schools?

[Zillini]

Originally posted by carnation
Yeah, the old Pi Phi house was right up under the stadium and they were given a new location. Apparently their current house has everythin a sorority could want!

I went on a tour of the new Pi Phi house a couple of years back. It was absolutely beautiful and so well laid out. Add to that brand new pipes, air conditioning, heating system, etc. The costs we spend in maintenance alone are massive. And our house is younger than several others. Needless to say I left green with envy.

[Zillini]

Sorry GeekyPenguin, I forgot to address your question about housing should new GLOs be brought in. That is another issue being looked at by Admin. There really isn't anywhere for them to go on sorority row. Where do you put them? Would it hinder their potential growth to be seperated from the others? Many other campuses don't have traditional fraternity/sorority rows, but this campus is very traditional. So the answer is we have to wait and see.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by Zillini
Sorry GeekyPenguin, I forgot to address your question about housing should new GLOs be brought in. That is another issue being looked at by Admin. There really isn't anywhere for them to go on sorority row. Where do you put them? Would it hinder their potential growth to be seperated from the others? Many other campuses don't have traditional fraternity/sorority rows, but this campus is very traditional. So the answer is we have to wait and see.

That's okay. I'm pretty familiar with Bama's campus, and I was trying to figure out where new houses could go that would be close. The only thing I could think of is to put then in the lot behind ChiO (that's parking right now) but I don't think that would be very popular with all the current sorority members.

[zzazbama]

I wasn't aware that the sorority I thought was closed was still active on campus. I knew that they had relinquished their house and were no longer participating in formal recruitment. I stand corrected. They are a great group of woman and I am happy that they are still active.

Also I beleive the last time an expansion was done at Bama, two organizations came onto campus, only which one is left.

I also wonder where a new house would go?
I agree that many of the groups have out grown their houses.

I think we'll just have to wait and see.

[dgdramadawg]

A lot of people are probably saying the same thing:

At schools with established, competitive Greek systems, it can be very difficult for newer and smaller chapters to grow. At UGA, there were 18 groups when I pledged (although one of them did not participate in 2005 recruitment, so there are only 17 involved in recruitment now)... and it seemed that certain girls were always fighting over certain groups. I was told from the start that "XYZ, ABC, and GHI only pledge girls who grew up in the south, so you shouldn't bother with those houses" (and sure enough, 2 of the 3 cut my Yankee butt after round 1). Likewise, I was told that "DEF and JKL are the houses for girls who are really involved on campus" and decided to focus on those.

At a school with so many GLOs, I saw sororities compartmentalized a lot, and thus small groups of sororities competed with each other: the Southern houses competed, the Prom Queen houses competed, etc. It seemed to be not so much cutthroat on the whole, but cutthroat between particular groups of houses.

[exlurker]

Originally posted by Zillini
. . . As to which GLO's could potentially colonize on campus, there are currently only 15 of the 26 Panhellenic organizations represented.

But as I said earlier, this came out of a casual conversation I had with the Asst Dean of Students. I have no idea when or even if it will happen. . . .

So if expansion were to happen, and if it were NPC expansion, then the eleven organiztions that might potentially or theoretically be interested would be

Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Sigma Tau
Alpha Xi Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Phi Epsilon
Phi Sigma Sigma
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Theta Phi Alpha

[Denise_DPhiE]

Originally posted by exlurker
So if expansion were to happen, and if it were NPC expansion, then the eleven organiztions that might potentially or theoretically be interested would be

Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Sigma Tau
Alpha Xi Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Phi Epsilon
Phi Sigma Sigma
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Theta Phi Alpha

Not sure why exlurker is stating the obvious , we could list the "who is not represented on the campus" stats for every campus in the US & Canada but the point is that the campus is NOT open and many of these groups would not throw their hats in the ring even if it was.

This is like a GC discussion I had with someone else about extension at another school where one group is small and nearly a dozen are at or over total. Do they really need another group or is the campus kidding itself? There does not HAVE to always be a weak group. I believe it was U of Missouri who used release figures this past Fall and EVERY group took quota. Nobody is weak and everyone benefited. Now will expansion occur there in the future? Possibly. Does it have to? Only if the groups feel they need to lower overall chapter size and new member classes get to be cumbersome (i.e. they can no longer fit chapter meetigns in their present locations etc).

Soap box retracted,
Denise

[Glitter650]

Originally posted by Denise_DPhiE

I believe it was U of Missouri who used release figures this past Fall and EVERY group took quota. Nobody is weak and everyone benefited. ).

Soap box retracted,
Denise

WISH someone would tell this to MY campus.

[Drolefille]

Originally posted by Denise_DPhiE
Not sure why exlurker is stating the obvious , we could list the "who is not represented on the campus" stats for every campus in the US & Canada but the point is that the campus is NOT open and many of these groups would not throw their hats in the ring even if it was.

This is like a GC discussion I had with someone else about extension at another school where one group is small and nearly a dozen are at or over total. Do they really need another group or is the campus kidding itself? There does not HAVE to always be a weak group. I believe it was U of Missouri who used release figures this past Fall and EVERY group took quota. Nobody is weak and everyone benefited. Now will expansion occur there in the future? Possibly. Does it have to? Only if the groups feel they need to lower overall chapter size and new member classes get to be cumbersome (i.e. they can no longer fit chapter meetigns in their present locations etc).

Soap box retracted,
Denise

To be fair, they just a lost a chapter there recently. So they're probably wanting to expand to replace the closed chapter as well as reduce the size of quota a bit. I doubt they're trying to create a "weak" group but add another strong one to the mix.

/I don't know the details there beyond the closed chapter

[AlphaFrog]

Originally posted by Denise_DPhiE
Not sure why exlurker is stating the obvious , we could list the "who is not represented on the campus" stats for every campus in the US & Canada but the point is that the campus is NOT open and many of these groups would not throw their hats in the ring even if it was.

Many of those groups listed (mine included) are not prepared to take on a school like Bama. That's lots of $$$ and the smaller sororities just don't have those kind of resources. Not to mention the other resources needed (an expansion team, advisers, Leadership Consultants, etc). Although there are a couple on that list that would love to sink their claws in at Bama.

[adpiucf]

Originally posted by ucfpnm
I'm rushing at Central Florida this year...40,000 students- hundreds of rushees- and 11 sororities, and I'd just like to say this thread is freaking me out.

But the great thing about Central Florida recruitment is that while you may not get your Top 1 or Top 2 choice sorority, they make an extra effort to try and place every eligible woman with a bid. Keep an open mind and look for the chapter where you feel the most comfortable, and not necessary the 3 or 4 that all the PNM's are gushing over. Talk to the PNM's between parties but ignore the tent talk and rumors!

[irishpipes]

Originally posted by zzazbama

Also I beleive the last time an expansion was done at Bama, two organizations came onto campus, only which one is left.

Bama - a campus with a history of multiple expansion:

1922 Chi Omega and Delta Zeta
1927 Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon and Kappa Kappa Gamma
1932 Alpha Phi and Sigma Kappa
1967 Alpha Omicron Pi and Kappa Alpha Theta
1981 Phi Mu and Alpha Xi Delta
1988 Gamma Phi Beta

As for the NPCs not currently represented at Bama, several of them would be recolonizations, and that is looked upon favorably by many NPCs and panhellenics alike. The NPCs not currently active but with a Bama charter are:
Alpha Xi Delta (1927-1972 & 1981-1988)
Delta Phi Epsilon (1927-1973)
Alpha Phi (1932-1968)
Sigma Kappa (1932-1995)
Delta Gamma (1947-1978)
Alpha Epsilon Phi (1948-1967)

Not that Bama is open to expansion or anything.

[Zillini]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Bama - a campus with a history of multiple expansion:

1922 Chi Omega and Delta Zeta
1927 Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon and Kappa Kappa Gamma
1932 Alpha Phi and Sigma Kappa
1967 Alpha Omicron Pi and Kappa Alpha Theta
1981 Phi Mu and Alpha Xi Delta
1988 Gamma Phi Beta

As for the NPCs not currently represented at Bama, several of them would be recolonizations, and that is looked upon favorably by many NPCs and panhellenics alike. The NPCs not currently active but with a Bama charter are:
Alpha Xi Delta (1927-1972 & 1981-1988)
Delta Phi Epsilon (1927-1973)
Alpha Phi (1932-1968)
Sigma Kappa (1932-1995)
Delta Gamma (1947-1978)
Alpha Epsilon Phi (1948-1967)

Not that Bama is open to expansion or anything.

Thanks for that list. I didn't know all that.

[hmd1014]

Bama - a campus with a history of multiple expansion:

1922 Chi Omega and Delta Zeta
1927 Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon and Kappa Kappa Gamma
1932 Alpha Phi and Sigma Kappa
1967 Alpha Omicron Pi and Kappa Alpha Theta
1981 Phi Mu and Alpha Xi Delta
1988 Gamma Phi Beta

As for the NPCs not currently represented at Bama, several of them would be recolonizations, and that is looked upon favorably by many NPCs and panhellenics alike. The NPCs not currently active but with a Bama charter are:
Alpha Xi Delta (1927-1972 & 1981-1988)
Delta Phi Epsilon (1927-1973)
Alpha Phi (1932-1968)
Sigma Kappa (1932-1995)
Delta Gamma (1947-1978)
Alpha Epsilon Phi (1948-1967)

Phi Mu has been at Bama since 1931 (it's one of the so-called Old Row sororities).

If memory serves, Sigma Kappa recolonized the same year Gamma Phi Beta first came to campus (1988); not sure when they closed the first time.

[Zillini]

Here's an update regarding possible expansion on the University of Alabama campus. I had the privellege of speaking with our NPC Area Advisor this past weekend and asked her since our Greek Advisor had been talking about it. According to her until the University can provide housing comparable to the other sororities, no group is seriously looking to expand here as it would simply be too expensive.

Personally I don't see this as being a high priority on the University's financial "To Do" list. I also suspect the University was hoping everyone would jump at the chance to come here with an open checkbook and pay for their own housing. So I'm not sure if/when it will happen, but hey you never know.