Vote for 5th Panhell. sorority overturned

By: Sarah Hersh

Posted: 11/20/08

The Panhellenic Council's proposal to invite a fifth sorority to campus was overturned by the existing four sororities on Nov. 4.

Plans for Panhellenic extension were originally supported last April due to the growing sizes of pledge classes. With students' increased interest in Greek life, the pledge classes were becoming unmanageably large.

Alpha Phi, who declined to comment on this issue, called the motion to revote at a Council meeting. Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) and Alpha Phi voted against extension, while Phi Mu abstained. Originally, last spring, KKG had the only dissenting vote.

"I think we got caught up in it all . . . I think that maybe the protocol for how to do extension was a little hazy for everyone. I think maybe there was less communication between chapters and their headquarters than was probably desirable for such an important decision." Hopkins Panhellenic President Allie Haeusslein said, when asked why most sororities changed their position.

As both Alpha Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta declined to comment on their reasons for changing their votes, Haeusslein offered her own interpretation.

"A conversation with [Alpha Phi and Theta's] headquarters that should have happened wasn't really happening . . . then they had that conversation with their headquarters and for some reason, I don't really know what each reason was, they just found that [extension] is not something they want right now for Hopkins."

In the future, especially if pledge classes continue to increase dramatically, a fifth sorority will likely be invited to campus. However, it probably will not happen until each sorority can meet their quota. KKG has not yet met their quota of 80 girls.

Robert Turning, coordinator of Greek Life, agreed with Haeusslein. He said that concerns over large pledge classes had certainly provoked the idea of extension in the first place, but that without the support of their national headquarters behind them, Alpha Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta could not proceed with the motion.

"The whole process [of extension] is very much driven by the national organizations," he said.

Fortunately, no national sororities had been contacted regarding possible colonization at the time of the revote.

"I don't want to put words in their mouths," Turning said, referring to the national Panhellenic organizations. "But generally, the rationale for voting 'no' would be to offer those women who are interested [in Greek Life] membership into the existing sororities that haven't met their quotas."

In order to help sororities meet their quotas, the Panhellenic council voted at the Nov. 11 meeting to allow for "open recruitment."

One implication of "open recruitment" is that the "total," or quota, number of girls each sorority aims to have will be increased to 85. If a chapter does not meet their total by the end of formal recruitment, they will be allowed to recruit year-round. If they do meet their total, they will only be allowed to recruit during the formal process in the spring.

"[Open recruitment] gives us a target, so once [all sororities] reach 85 and we sustain that for maybe a year or so, then I think we can make the argument that we need a fifth sorority and the headquarters will go along with that," Turning said.

"I think there needs to be more of a cohesive effort [by the Panhellenic Council]. I think everybody needs to be on board. I think it's a little hard when one [sorority] isn't on board," Haeusslein said in reference to the decision-making process for inviting a fifth sorority in the future.

Haeusslein said that she does not doubt there will be a new sorority at some point over the next few years.

"I think ultimately there will [be a new sorority]. If the numbers keep going up as they've been going up, I think ultimately every chapter is going to become too big, and it will become necessary. [Extension] would have been nice now, in my opinion, but I think that when it becomes necessary it will happen."