By Kate Augusto
Northeastern’s Panhellenic Council, the overarching committee of Greek life, has started hosting open presentations to determine which national sorority will be the sixth sorority to join the university’s Greek life.
After a voting and application process, Krystal Beaulieu, Northeastern’s Panhellenic Council president, said three sororities were chosen to compete for the chance to start a “colony” of their sorority at Northeastern. A colony refers to a new chapter.
The three finalists are Kappa Kappa Gamma, Zeta Tau Alpha and Kappa Delta.
Of the 26 national sororities, these three were from the nine who initially applied. The application process began in May, after the decision was made to open “the campus for extension,” the technical term for adding another sorority.
“Northwestern recently opened their campus for extension and they got nine applicants too, so the fact that we’re playing in the same league as them is pretty impressive,” Beaulieu said.
There has been talk of adding another sorority for a few years now, Beaulieu said, but it’s been difficult to accomplish because a majority of the five sororities on campus need to be in favor of it and some may see adding another sorority as competition.
Beaulieu said recruitment last year justified the need for a new chapter, since 122 students came out for recruitment and only 84 were given spots. That number increased this year, with 180 coming out for recruitment and 122 given spots.
“This was huge for us and also disappointing,” she said. “We had over 180 women come out for [recruitment] and there were some smart, intelligent, really qualified people, but because there wasn’t enough room, they couldn’t join.”
Courtney Haskell, a middler history major in Delta Zeta, is excited to give more students the opportunity to belong to a sorority.
“I’m all for the expansion of Greek life. It’s had a big impact on me,” she said.
With advisement from their respective national organizations, representatives from each sorority on the Panhellenic Council voted 3-2 on a secret ballot last spring to add a new sorority.
Jordana Nahum, a middler history major and a member of Delta Phi Epsilon, said she’s not sure who voted against adding another sorority or why they would.
“This is an exciting prospect,” she said. “The whole Greek community is excited to support this. Greek life at Northeastern is different from other schools. All the sororities here get along with each other. We definitely want someone who would fit in with that.”
They are now in the process of seeing presentations made by representatives from each of the three finalists. Representatives from Kappa Kappa Gamma held their presentation last week and representatives from Zau Tau Alpha held one last night. Representatives from Kappa Delta will come to campus next week.
“I have worked with these three groups at other schools and they are some of the best in the nation,” said Chris McGill, director of student leadership and engagement. “We are very fortunate at the amount of interest they have in Northeastern.”
At last week’s event, Beaulieu said more than 130 people attended. There was a similar turnout last night. While at least 15 members of each sorority were asked to attend each presentation, those in attendance also included fraternity members and students not involved in Greek life, Beaulieu said.
“That’s one of the most important things to us,” Beaulieu said. “We don’t just want a sorority that the other sororities want, but we want one that the whole school wants.”
Katie Ryan, a middler business major who is in Delta Phi Epsilon, said she is looking for a sorority that will adapt to Boston’s urban culture.
“This is a big and exciting step,” she said.
Deb Ensor, the executive director of Zeta Tau Alpha, said her sorority is selective in choosing which schools they apply to. In the same bulletin as the one that announced Northeastern’s opening for extension, Ensor said, there were four or five other openings announced that Zeta Tau Alpha didn’t apply for.
“We do our homework also before we express interest in a campus,” Ensor said. “We also look at the quality of the school and the students and we were extremely impressed [with Northeastern].”
Boasting seven colonizations in the last three years, Zeta Tau Alpha representatives shared facts of their sorority, including details about Think Pink, their philanthropic cause. They also answered questions from the audience, like how they will ensure the success of a new colony.
To do this, Zeta Tau Alpha is offering two consultants and a five to 15 person alumni board. Beaulieu said this is impressive, but comparable to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s proposals.
An elected representative from each sorority will vote Nov. 26 for the new sorority, following a forum for all the members.
The sorority that wins will become a colony in January and, if successful, will be installed six to eight weeks later, Beaulieu said. More than 100 women have already e-mailed her showing interest, she said.
Beaulieu, however, would not reveal which sorority she was most interested in.
“Ask me on Nov. 26,” she said.
