Panhel may add new sororities

Sororities in the Panhellenic Council are bursting at their seams. With a record-breaking spring rush that filled all eight of its chapters, Panhel is now looking to expand. Because some sororities' pledge classes this year contain nearly 55 women, the Council has set up an expansion committee to investigate the possibility of bringing new sororities on campus, Panhel President Maureen Hernandez said this week. The chairperson of the new committee, College junior and Delta Delta Delta sister Ann McGowan, said this week that each of the eight sororities in Panhel have representatives on the body. She also said the committee will study all the statistics from rush, and confer with the representatives from the national sororities which they plan to bring on campus. According to Tricia Phaup, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, five years ago a list was compiled with five sororities which were to come on campus. Three of these formed, but Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Kappa could still be added, Phaup said. McGowan added last night that these two sororities are the only two in the running to be allowed on campus. Panhel still must decide when either or both of them will be admitted. The committee has yet to meet, but many of Panhel's leaders are already calling for expansion. "Absolutely expansion is needed," said Phi Sigma Sigma President Kim Brodkin. "With an increase in the number of sororities on campus, everyone will benefit." Yet Brodkin said she is not certain an increase in the number of sororities on campus will mean that the quota will drop. "Two new chapters might mean even more people will rush," she said. Deborah Fries, the immediate past-president of Kappa Delta, said she is in favor of the addition of new chapters, but at a slow pace to give the new chapters a chance to grow. Many house presidents also said they felt this growth has repercussions on the pledge process and the sorority experience as a whole. "When you get a very large pledge class, it is hard to keep everyone happy and give them the attention they need," Fries said. College junior Brodkin sees the situation in a different light. She said since pledge classes have become increasingly larger, there are enough sisters to cope with the large pledge class. Even though it is "still like family," Brodkin said, "[you] don't feel equally close to everyone."

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