Penn's Panhellenic community may embrace a new sorority in the near future.
Last night, the presidents of each of Penn's eight chapters met with Panhellenic Council president, former Daily Pennsylvanian editor and College junior Alissa Eisenberg to discuss potential for an extension - the process used to add another sorority chapter.
Due to this year's higher than usual recruitment numbers and a national and campus-wide increase in Greek life interest, Eisenberg said the time is right to begin the process of recruiting a new sorority.
"We felt that there has been a ton of interest in the Greek community that currently our system cannot fully accommodate," she said.
Panhel has not added a new sorority since Sigma Kappa in 2002.
However, Eisenberg added that the extension process is "very much a long-term" project. The decision generally takes about six to 10 months.
Once the chapter presidents approve an extension, they create an extension committee, which is composed of both alumni and current undergraduates and represents all of the eight sororities on campus, Eisenberg explained.
When the committee is formed, notification is sent to the National Panhellenic Extension Committee, which then reaches out to the 18 national sororities that Penn does not have on campus.
Each sorority can submit a letter to the Penn committee if it is interested in colonizing on campus. Of the ones that submit, the committee selects several to present on campus, and after that another vote decides which of the organizations the committee wants to recruit.
In contemplating adding a sorority chapter, campuses consider many factors, Stacy Kraus, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs associate director for programming, wrote in an in e-mail.
These factors include the size of current chapters, community health, the admission rates for freshmen women, recruitment numbers and housing information, Kraus added.
"I believe the enthusiasm we have been seeing for fraternity and sorority life makes this a good time to consider this possibibility," she wrote. "Our office feels we have eight excellent Panhellenic sororities and potentially adding another group only opens additional opportunities for women."
