Sigma Omicron Pi, an Asian-interest sorority with an emphasis on philanthropy, chartered a new chapter of about 15 girls at Johns Hopkins on August 25.
The sorority plans to be heavily involved in the community and will concentrate on four objectives to improve campus and community life: unity, friendship, leadership and service, said Annie Hsu, the social and external chair of the Hopkins chapter.
The sisters will not begin rushing freshmen until the spring, but members urge freshmen to seriously consider their sorority since it offers a community awareness that they say other sororities often seem to lack.
"We will participate in national philanthropy, but we're really involved in helping the community too," said Laura Shin, president of the Hopkins chapter.
It took nearly a year of planning, researching and finally pledging before the girls could call themselves Sigma Omicron Pi sisters.
In Dec. 2001, 25 girls assembled and formed a group to find and initiate a new sorority at Johns Hopkins, said Hsu.
She said they visited various sororities and campuses, including Penn State University, and participated in sisterhood activities to find a sorority that exemplified their ideals.
"We decided that Sigma Omicron Pi was the best sorority for us because the sisters were very down-to-earth and really active on campus," said Hsu.
Calling the application process "rigorous," Hsu said first they put together a packet about the University and their lives as students. They filmed a short campus video, which also detailed the personalities of each woman.
They had to raise the $2,000 application fee through intense fund-raising.
Once the sorority's national board approved the packet, the group was officially recognized as an interest group, said Hsu.
In May, they attended the InterChapter Council Convention of Sigma Omicron Pi in San Jose, Calif. where they competed against two other universities for national recognition.
Of the three schools represented, the interest groups of Johns Hopkins and University of California San Diego were selected to move on to the third step: pledging.
Because of their geographic distance from most of the sorority's chapters on the West Coast, Shin said the sorority heightened the difficulty of the process for them.
"They wanted to make sure we were strong enough to hold a chapter on our own," said Shin. "They wanted to make sure that we were unified and had a strong sense of sisterhood, so the process partly was a little more rigorous."
Hsu said the rushing activities could not be disclosed since they were confidential.
Then, on August 25, the Hopkins women were officially recognized as a new chapter of Sigma Omicron Pi.
"That was the best moment of my life," said Hsu. "And I really hope we make a good contribution on campus."
Hsu said the sorority plans to conduct philanthropy events with other sororities and organizations on campus.
They will regularly go to soup kitchens, and they plan to volunteer in the spring Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.
And while they are an Asian-based sorority, they say that they welcome sisters from all backgrounds to "diversify" the makeup of their membership and activities.
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