VCU Greek Life: Expanding Fast

VCU Greek Life:

Expanding Fast

by Meredith rigsby

Virginia Commonwealth University’s College Pan-Hellenic Council currently consists of eight sororities but in the upcoming fall of 2011, there will be a new addition to the Greek community, Zeta Tau Alpha. If all goes well, Alpha Xi Delta will also be joining VCU’s campus in fall 2012.

The reason for the fast expansion, according to Dr. Carolyn Whittier, is the increasing amount of women who are interested in becoming involved in Greek life. In fall 2006 VCU’s

Greek life consisted of about 457 members. Today it is over 1,200. “In less than eight semesters we’ve almost tripled the size of the community and it is becoming difficult for only eight organizations to handle,” says Dr. Whittier.

“Our Pan-Hellenic women are doing phenomenal things on campus in a very different way than they were five years ago, so no wonder more women are interested. Because great things are happening and so more people are going to be attracted to great things.”

CPC nationally consists of 26 sororities, and VCU already has eight of them on campus. Of the 18 organizations that are not currently at VCU, eight have submitted applications to be considered a part of the VCU Greek community. An extension committee, a branch of VCU’s CPC organization, looked at applicants focusing on how each sorority would fit in with what Dr. Whittier explains as the already established, “non-housed, urban, commuter”. Educational programming and alumni support in the Richmond area are some of the characteristics the board considers. The committee chose ZTA and AXiD to be the sororities that would become the next additions to VCU’s Greek life.

Although the national CPC only set VCU to have two sororities join over the next few years, VCU’s CPC chose three, Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Xi Delta and Alpha Delta Pi, with the idea that, depending on the success of the first two, a third will be added to campus by 2015.

ZTA plans on extending bids to approximately 60 to 65 women in the coming fall and should be able to easily assimilate with the already existing Greek community because of the philanthropy that it supports. Breast cancer awareness, which is also supported by Phi Mu, Alpha Kappa Lambda and Alpha Kappa Delta Phi already on campus, is also at the heart of ZTA’s philanthropic activities. Dr. Whittier says this commonality between the four groups will give ZTA a way to connect to VCU’s Greek community almost immediately.

According to Dr. Whittier, another reason ZTA was chosen is “each sorority in CPC has its own niche. ZTA is a huge name that I think people will know. It’s a nice balance because our current Pan-Hellenic has organizations that are known nationally and

some that maybe aren’t as known nationally.“ ZTA’s national council will send volunteers of the sorority’s alumnae to participate in the first round of formal recruitment, which consists of three rounds, lasting the course of a weekend. They will explain their sorority, its goals, history and future plans, to interested members. Following the first round, ZTA will drop out of formal recruitment and after bid day is over, which is the last “ApproximAtely 4.9 percent of students Are now currently Greek. the community thAt wAs only 17 chApters day, a three-week process will begin of interviewing and extending bids to prospective members. The women chosen as ZTA’s first class will still go through the 6 to 8 week new when dr. whittier cAme to cAmpus in member process that all the current sororities’ new 2006 hAs expAnded to 37 chA ”members participate in. After the new member process is completed, the women will be initiated to form the first group of ZTA members to be a part of VCU’s growing Greek community. pters. According to Dr. Whittier, approximately 4.9 percent of students are now currently Greek. The community that was only 17 chapters when Dr. Whittier came to campus in 2006 has expanded to 37 chapters. The hope of VCU CPC is to reach 50 chapters by 2015 with a total of about 2,000 members. The addition of ZTA in the fall is the first step toward meeting this goal.