Interest group to petition for fourth Tufts sorority

A group of students interested in the multicultural Asian interest sorority Sigma Psi Zeta are generating a petition to establish preliminary relations with the University''s Greek system.

At least 15 female students have expressed interest in the preliminary establishment of an Asian culture sorority at Tufts, and the Committee on Fraternities and Sororities (CFS) is "looking into it," Pan-Hellenic Council President Mandy Scheinfeldt said. Though Sigma Psi Zeta has historically been focused on Asian-American culture, membership would not be limited to women of Asian-American descent.

Initiated by sophomore Wen Cai, the interest in Sigma Psi Zeta is in its very early stages. "It''s pretty hard for me because I basically went around campus and people kept telling me to go to different [offices]," Cai said. "It turns out that there''s no official form [to get the required 15 petition signatures] _ you just take a piece of paper and get signatures on it."

The small group plans to attain the signatures and meet with CFS some time in November, accompanied by a sister from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst chapter of Sigma Psi Zeta, Cai said.

To form a Tufts chapter recognized under the Inter-Greek Council and the Pan-Hellenic Council, which governs the sorority system, the new chapter would "have to abide by the same rules as the other [sororities]," Scheinfeldt said.

The group of students interested in the sorority is not yet officially recognized, according to Sigma Psi Zeta''s national vice president, Jeannette Moy. "The women aren''t sisters," Moy said. "There is an interest group and they have talked about recognition, but they don''t have status with us yet."

If approved, the sorority could possibly be granted colony status in the spring, Scheinfeldt said. After three years with a minimum membership of 15 people, the Tufts chapter of Sigma Psi Zeta would be eligible for permanent recognition and an on-campus house.

Moy said the interested women are simply introducing themselves to the Tufts community and making their presence known. "We require that [the women be] on the path to recognition with us in order to petition for recognition on campus," she said. "If everything goes right and they confirm their interest, they may be on the path to recognition."

But the sorority might face a situation similar to that of Alpha Phi Delta, a fraternity which is housed in a Latin Way suite because of limited houses on campus. But the provision of housing for members of fraternities and sororities is an informal, unwritten guarantee _ "part of the... give and take relationship [the Greek system has] with the school," Scheinfeldt said.

A number of Tufts students have gone off-campus to participate in sororities for years, such as the local Latina sorority, Alpha Rho Lambda. These sororities, however, are not officially recognized by Tufts.

The addition of a fourth recognized sorority could have both positive and negative effects on the sorority system, Chi Omega President Debbie Anilionis said. "If there''s a large interest in the sorority that isn''t satisfied by one of the three that already exists, then it''s great to add another one," Anilionis said, adding that it would draw more people into and gather support for the Pan-Hellenic system.

Conversely, "If we were to add a fourth sorority while we were still drawing from these smaller numbers, and they were to get members from the same pool of girls already attracted to the Pan-Hellenic system, then it could be detrimental to all," Anilionis said. In that case, the number of girls who rush would be split between four sororities instead of three "and everybody would be left with even smaller numbers than we already have."

Despite talk in previous years that sorority houses were at risk of shutting down due to low membership, the Tufts sorority system is in no immediate danger of dissolving, according Inter-Greek President Adam Biacchi. This year''s fall rush was "rather successful compared to past years," he said.

Twenty-five women signed up for fall rush this year, although the number of rushes who will choose to complete the pledge process remains to be seen.

The increased participation may be attributed partly to heightened house activism. "All three sororities have been active on campus with philanthropic and community events, in part to raise their visibility and to get their name out to potential sisters," Biacchi said.

The sororities have also worked to raise interest by combating stereotypes and misconceptions about Greek life, Pan-Hellenic Council advisor Ed Cabellon said. "The leadership within each of the sororities are all working very hard to attract more pledges through aggressive ad campaigns to improve the image and stigma of the sorority system."

While all three sororities hold spring rush once a year, only some hold fall rush, when freshmen are not yet permitted to participate. This year was the first in six that more than one sorority, in this case Chi Omega and Alpha Omicron Pi, conducted fall rush.

Fall rush participation is typically lower than that of spring rush. Interest in spring rush had been relatively consistent in recent years, averaging 60 to 90 eligible bid recipients, Anilionis said. Last semester marked a low, with only 46 women continuing through the rush process and receiving a bid.

Tufts'' bid numbers are comparable to those of sororities at other institutions in the northeast, while Greek systems at southern and western universities typically garner more interest.

Scheinfeldt called last year "a fluke," and said interest in sororities was exceptionally low nationwide. "We''ve already gotten overwhelming responses from the freshman class this year," she said "We''re looking forward to a really good spring."

The University''s "Guaranteed Bid" system, which promises every interested woman a bid from one of the three sororities, is unusual among collegiate Greek systems. Prospective sisters rush the sorority system as a whole, and are guaranteed a bid from one of the three houses, not necessarily their first choice.

After the number of all eligible bid recipients has been established, the Pan-Hellenic Council splits that number between however many houses conducted rush. Each potential pledge completes a bid-matching form, indicating their first, second, and third choice sororities. If 60 women complete the rush process, each house would be required to present 20 women with bids. Each sorority must give bids to an equal number of rushes.

The "Guaranteed Bid" system decreases the number of pledges because rushes are not allowed to choose between bids from various houses, as at other universities, Cabellon said. "Because of the University''s mandate on a "Guaranteed Bid" system and quotas established by the sororities to make it an equal playing field, those women who are offered bids sometimes do not accept them, which lowers our pledge numbers."

The system can be detrimental to pledge numbers, Biacchi agreed. "The national Pan-Hellenic Council''s already strict and burdensome rules are made even more complicated by the Tufts [system]," he said. "This produces a rush system that takes a lot of work to run."

The guarantee has mixed effects, Anilionis said. "While it''s a great idea that everybody who wants to will get a bid, it also works against us because we''re forced to split evenly the bids," she said. "Some girls who want a bid from certain house won''t even get it." The bid acceptance rates differ between the three sororities, Anilionis said.

If the University approves the recognition of a culture-oriented sorority, the "Guaranteed Bid" system may have to be changed. Under the current system, women seeking to join the Asian-American sorority would have to rush all sororities and could be offered a single bid from one of the three non-culture specific sisterhoods.

The University''s Board of Trustees mandated the current bid system over ten years ago in an effort to make sorority life more inclusive.

Tufts does not mandate a minimum number of sororities to maintain the sorority system, although the National Pan-Hellenic Council''s support is contingent upon the presence of two or more active sororities. "The national organizations of Chi Omega, Alpha Phi, or Alpha Omicron Pi may not feel comfortable providing support if there are two or less sororities at Tufts, which would create challenges," Cabellon said.

The success of Tufts'' sororities is partly contingent upon the support they receive from their national chapters, Cabellon said. "They look to their national affiliates for council and advice on how to proceed on almost everything they do," he said.



Jamie Cox contributed to this report.