Panhellenic Council votes 'no' on new sorority

Despite suggestions last semester that Penn's Greek system might gain a new sorority, the number will remain the same.

Last night, in a simple majority vote, the presidents of Penn's eight sororities voted against extension, the process that would introduce another chapter of a National Panhellenic Conference sorority to Penn's Greek community.

The subject of extension was first introduced in April, when each of the eight sorority presidents met with Panhellenic Council president, former Daily Pennsylvanian Assignments Editor and College senior Alissa Eisenberg, to discuss the process.

The possibility of adding a chapter arose after last year's higher-than-usual recruitment numbers and increased interest in the Greek system, according to Stacy Kraus, associate director of programming at the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and the primary advisor for the Panhellenic Council.

Kraus explained that when considering extension, the Panhellenic Council looked at statistics to guide its decision process. These include numbers like female enrollment at the University, recruitment statistics and Panhellenic membership statistics.

The average chapter size of a sorority at Penn is 147 members - a number that has increased over the years leading up to the recent extension discussion.

The Panhellenic Council has not added a new sorority since the colonization of Sigma Kappa in 2002.

Had the presidents voted in favor of extension, the next step would have been to form an extension committee, which would represent all of the eight current sororities and be composed of both alumni and current students.

The committee would then notify NPC and to solicit application materials from the 18 NPC sororities not currently represented at Penn, said Eisenberg. The new sorority would have come to campus in either spring 2010 or spring 2011.

Kraus said she would have supported extension.

"There is definitely room for another sorority," she said.

But, in the meantime, "We are still committed to the chapters currently on campus," Kraus added.

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