For over 50 years, there has been Greek life on the University of Puget Sound campus. There are currently four fraternities and four sororities.
This may change in the fall of 2016. A committee has recently been assembled to examine the possibility of a new sorority on campus.
Before the process even begins, the overall health of the sorority community is evaluated by the committee.
“If it is deemed that another sorority would add a benefit to our community, then we put together a committee,” Director of Greek Life and Leadership Moe Stephens II said.
The committee is comprised of a faculty member, a staff member, two students from the Greek community and an ASUPS representative.
Once the process has begun, it can take up to a year and a half. In two weeks, the committee will have its first meeting where they will decide their plan of action, according to Stephens.
After the committee meets, it will make a recommendation to Mike Segawa, the Dean of Students.
Segawa will then take the recommendation to the President’s cabinet for review. The President’s cabinet has the ability to veto the recommendation. If it is approved, it will be passed on to the Board of Trustees for a final decision.
If the Board of Trustees approves the recommendation, the committee will make a proposal to send out to all the national sororities.
“Once proposals are returned, they will be scored and two to three sororities will be brought to campus to present to the campus population,” Stephens said.
After each sorority presents, one sorority will be chosen from the finalists. The sorority that is chosen is completely up to the vote of the students.
“Preference is typically given to those sororities that have been here before,” Stephens said. “Mainly because they have institutional knowledge and a built-in alumni base.”
For many students, the Greek community serves as a support system and a family system.
“I’m totally for a new sorority,” Grayson Williams-Krebs, sophomore and current Pi Phi member, said. “Greek life here is so inclusive, and having another sorority allows for more girls to find a place where they feel comfortable and connect with a group of people.”
There is a possibility that the community can benefit from the initiation of a new sorority, but the response to it from the student body and especially first-year students who plan on rushing is uncertain.
“I think it is a good idea to broaden the Greek community, but I am unsure whether or not people will want to join a brand new sorority,” said Shelby Cundiff, a first-year who plans to rush in the spring.
Greek Life in general is huge throughout the United States. According to Globalpost.com, nine million students choose to join a fraternity or sorority. Over 730 accredited schools across the United States have a Greek system on campus.
Recruitment at the University of Puget Sound is in the spring. Many students choose to rush. Having a new sorority will only increase the chances for those who rush.
“Another sorority will open that opportunity up for many more women on our campus,” Stephens said. “In addition, we will also have an opportunity to engage alumni through their local chapter.”
With another sorority on campus, the likelihood of getting into a sorority is heightened.
“Our chapters are very large after recruitment is concluded in the spring,” Stephens said. “There are also a number of women who come out for recruitment, but decide to withdraw from the process or do not receive an invitation to join. I believe there is a place for all of those women in our Greek community.”
