Greek life soars Northerner archive Sept 1991
Sororities have been on the campus of Northern Kentucky University almost as long as the university itself.
The first national sorority was established at NKU in 1972. Since that time, our Greek community has continued to grow.
“Rush” is the name of the recruiting period for the fraternities and sororities. It is a time for students to meet the members of the sororities and fraternities, explore common interests and make new friends.
The excitement and intensity of sorority rush began with a deck party on July 31. This gave all interested women a chance to meet each other and find out the process of formal rush.
On Aug. 19, formal rush began and by Aug. 22 it was all over. The interested rushees met the members of the sororities and made their decisions based on the chapter they were most comfortable with.
“This was not an easy decision nor an easy week,” said Shannon Reel, a former rushee and now pledge of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority. “It was very stressful, although it was worth it because I made so many friends.”
“All the formal rush parties were informative and fun,” according to Kristie Dixon, also a rushee and now a pledge of Theta Phi Alpha sorority.
“I would recommend going through sorority rush because it made the transition from high school to college, where I didn’t know anyone, much easier and more exciting,” stated Heather Scotty, a rushee and now a member of Theta Phi Alpha sorority.
Betty Mulkey, the student organizations coordinator and advisor to Panhellenic Council believes, “going Greek is a wise investment for any college student.”
“Sorority membership is for life and members reap the benefits well beyond their college years. It is much more than just a social organization,” said Mulkey. “The skills I gained as a member of a sorority were directly linked to my job offers after graduation — even before I began working in higher education. Also, the network and the contacts you make are nationwide.”
The 1991 fall sorority rush was the largest rush ever at NKU. There were a total of 51 women who pledged a sorority. Quota for each sorority was 18.
Quota is the number of pledges a sorority may pledge during formal rush. The quota-total system is often misunderstood.
Quota-total is recommended by the National Panhellenic Conference to give each rushee the maximum opportunity to pledge while at the same time maintaining adequate strengths in each of the chapters.
Last year, Panhellenic Council decided to raise the total number of members of each chapter to 45, to allow more women to pledge into the Greek community.
Rachel Klink, a member of Delta Zeta sorority stated, “I’d like to see the chapter total raised again next year to increase the participation and chance for membership.”
Overall she thought sorority rush went well because of the increase in the number of interested women and also because sororities worked well with each other to keep rush fair and pledge as many women as possible.
“I am sure our Greek organizations will continue to grow. Sororities and fraternities have cleaned up their act and are better and stronger than they were 10 years ago. The students of the 90s recognize this (and) that is why membership has continued to increase,” Mulkey said.
“I fully expect all of the sororities to have 65 members each within the next 2-3 years. When we reach this goal, we will have new national organizations that will want to establish a chapter on our campus and the national organizations will be more willing [to make] the financial commitment necessary for Greek housing,” stated Mulkey.