For the first time since 1982, the University’s Panhellenic Council will welcome another sorority onto campus.
The Delta Tau chapter of Alpha Phi, a sorority founded in 1872, will officially join the Panhellenic community in the fall of 2013.
However, this isn’t Alpha Phi’s first time at LSU. The University once had an Alpha Phi chapter. According to Angela Guillory, assistant dean of students and director of Greek Life, in the late ’70s and early ’80s, there was a dip in membership for all Panhellenic chapters, and Alpha Phi couldn’t maintain its presence on campus.
The Panhellenic Council started the process to expand the Greek community about ten months ago.
The council votes to open the University for extension and accept information from sororities, and an extension review committee decides which chapters to invite onto campus.
Guillory said the University’s Panhellenic Council also asked potential sororities to answer detailed questions like, “the number of alumni in a 100-mile radius,” to help with their decision.
She said Alphi Phi sent quality material to the Panhellenic Council, which expressed its interest.
Alpha Phi International team also visited campus on June 21. While at the University, team members met with administrators and gave a presentation open to all University students.
Panhellenic’s motivation for this expansion, according to Guillory, was the exponential growth of the University’s sororities. Greek organizations weren’t designed to have a membership of 200 or more women, she said. Chapters that are too large jeopardize the members’ experiences and decreases the ability to control risk management at social functions.
To prepare for their move onto campus, Alpha Phi representatives will acquaint themselves with the University. In August 2013, the Delta Tau chapter will partake in round one of Panhellenic’s formal recruitment, which are the first two days of the University’s sorority recruitment. Then, the chapter will continue to transition on campus.
According to a Panhellenic statement, Alpha Phi hopes to recruit 263 members, which is the University’s average chapter size.
“We are pleased Alpha Phi is being a forerunner, and they could pave the way for other sororities,” Guillory said, “It is important that we rally around this organization.”
Although the Panhellenic Council voted to extend itself, Guillory said bringing even more sororities onto campus is a conversation for the future.
 
____ Contact Marylee Williams at [email protected]