Penn’s chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma will close at the end of the academic year, the sorority’s national organization announced Friday afternoon.
The Penn chapter voted to close in mid-April due to “recruitment concerns and other challenges to success at this time,” according to a press release.
The vote to close was made after Phi Sig's national organization imposed a “minimum quota” to remain a collegiate chapter, Phi Sig President and College junior Jasmine Saxton-Mariah wrote in an e-mail. Phi Sig nationals expected its chapter at Penn to “recruit and initiate 80 women.”
“The majority of us felt that tripling the size of our chapter next semester would require a tremendous amount of time and effort,” she wrote.
The chapter currently has 55 members, all of whom have been granted alumnae status and have been invited to participate in the alumnae chapter in Philadelphia.
“We are still sisters,” Saxton-Mariah wrote, adding that many members will continue to live in the Phi Sig house next year.
According to Phi Sig Executive Director Michelle Ardern, the chapter size is usually determined by the Panhellenic Council. Phi Sig has maintained an “open conversation about membership” with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Council in recent years.
“Clearly, the other sororities [at Penn] are flourishing, and our chapter is lagging behind,” she said.
Saxton-Mariah added that while the “close-knit sisterhood” in Phi Sig makes it a strong chapter it also places the sorority at a disadvantage during formal recruitment.
“We would often have to talk to two girls at once during open house parties, for example,” she wrote. “Without having a one-on-one conversation it was difficult for the freshmen women to have the undivided attention from us that they deserved.”
A committee of sorority presidents and representatives voted in favor of extension on April 22 to accommodate a rise in interest in sorority life at Penn. Following the closure of Phi Sig, the new sorority will be Penn’s eighth.
Saxton-Mariah wrote that although Phi Sig is “supportive of the new sorority” and “happy for the Panhellenic system to grow,” she did not vote on Panhel’s proposal to add a new sorority on campus next year since Phi Sig will no longer be an active chapter.
“We have the utmost respect for Penn’s Panhellenic system,” Ardern said. “The fact that the campus is open for expansion shows that the numbers are growing and growing.”
Phi Sig first came to campus in 1926 as the Nu chapter.
In 2002, the sorority temporarily disbanded for a year following disagreements between the chapter and its national office concerning low membership numbers. Sisters were given the choice to either disaffiliate or retain alumnae status.
During this period, their chapter house was occupied by Sigma Kappa, which joined campus in 2002.
“The Fraternity will always be a strong part of the fabric of fraternal life at Penn,” OFSA Director Scott Reikofski wrote in a statement. Reikofski added that OFSA will work closely with Phi Sig headquarters and Panhel to establish a plan for the sorority's return to campus in the future.
College junior and Panhel president Darby Nelson was not available for comment Friday evening.
5-12-10 This article has been corrected to reflect that the Panhellenic Council determines chapter size, the total number of sorority women on campus is determined by interest and the selection process.
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