300+ girls dropped. extension in the future?

That's enough for 2 or 3 colonies!

I would like to see Gamma Phi or AOPi or DZ come back.

Along with GPB, DZ, and AOPi, I would love for Phi Mu to come back as well. They have a strong alum base in Texas and are considered very strong at many schools in the South.

Gamma Phi, DZ, AOPi, Phi Mu, and Alpha Gam would ALL be viable candidates.

I doubt there will be expansion. UT is not welcoming to new orgs.

Turning the Neill Cochran house on San Gabriel into Phi Mu or something. If only.

The Ma Maison dorm at 2222 Pearl used to be the gamma phi beta house. Haven't been there in a while but you could still see the letters woven into the pattern on the gate.

And alpha gamma delta used to be in kappa sig house I think??

1. I can't imagine that many of the 300 girls (most of whom WITHDREW vs being cut / released) would want to start a new sorority, seeing how 90% of them withdrew voluntarily because they didn't like the options they had left. Starting a new house means being willing to start at the bottom of the pecking order and work your way up the Greek food chain, establishing an identity and traditions, doing the hard work.

2. You can't just start a sorority (a NPC one, at least). First the campus Panhellenic has to vote to open for expansion (which UT is not). Then sororities submit interest packets and the final 2-4 come make presentations to Panhellenic. Panhellenic votes on which one and also timing. The whole process can take up to 3-4 years from the time a campus opens for expansion, meaning even if UT opened immediately it wouldn't help any girls who are currently enrolled.

I don't think anyone was saying it could happen soon. But with 300 withdrawing because they didn't like their options you can be guaranteed that groups that had chapters here are looking at the possibility. That is a big pool of potential colony members and a group could start with 70 freshman 70 sophomores and some juniors and seniors and jump right into formal recruitment.

I disagree. I think 300 girls dropping because they think they're too good for the bottom/mid houses sends a signal to other NPC groups to not bother with UT. It's a hostile campus and the houses are not supportive of each other.

Campuses who are open to expansion tend to be ones where quota is skyrocketing due to women interested in joining a sorority. At UT, the number of PNM's going through is static/declining and quota is relatively small.

Funny how most of the negativity on this mostly positive and interesting thread is all coming from you 33girl. Go back to greekchat and please don't come back.

If some orgs can't take the heat of colonizing on a competitive campus then so be it. But there are a few that could do it and do it well.

LOL, none of the posts on this thread was me. I am a lot pithier.

The way everyone talks about tradition and prestige at Texas you wouldn't know that you've had 21 out of the 26 National sororities so you've lost seven.....,

Alpha Gamma Delta was there 1940 to 1996 although they closed sometime in the mid seventies and re-colonized in the mid eighties only to close again.

Gamma Phi Beta was there 1922-1988

Delta Zeta 1924 to 1977

Delta Phi Epsilon 1934 to 1990

Alpha Omicron Pi was there 1941 to 1973

Phi Mu 1918 to 1965

Phi Sigma Sigma just 1920 to 1933: Wonder what happened so early on?

ASA, AST, TriSig, Sigma Kappa and Theta Phi Alpha have never had a chapter there. Surprising to me about Sigma Kappa.


What's the story on the closed chapters?!

My vote would be Gamma Phi Beta. I think they could succeed.

DZ or Phi Mu should come back
They have a good rep in Texas and the south

I bet the nationals could get away with a lot more back then and it would never get around except a little on the campus and whispers in other groups and alumni.
It just really makes me wonder if it wasn't publicized and wasn't hazing or drinking then what could have been so bad to close what you say was a well performing chapter. Just piques intersect is all.

Here's the rub gamma phi beta: you guys would be at the top of the list to rejoin. Recent history, Alum support, national resources, Other chapters nearby that seem to be doing well. So the whole we don't even know why we closed thing isn't going to work in your favor. If the day comes when you are giving a presentation to come back to Texas it will be the question in everyone's mind. And there will be someone who knows something at that point.....Your old house on Pearl was beautiful though!

KD is 1921-1934 then returned in 1981 and been here since.

They must have had a good recolonization and real estate?

KD's recolonization class in 1980 was the largest NPC pledge class ever at that time. The chapter was able to start off on par with all the other chapters numbers wise right from the start. We had a couple of alumnae who had been roommates in the original chapter in the 1930's who were determined to see their chapter return. We had alumnae in Texas from many other KD chapters and alumnae at the National level involved in the recolonization. Our Texas alumnae bought the house themselves from Delta Zeta, who had been leasing it to UT since they left campus. The house has been renovated and expanded several times since then. I've been told by alumnae who were there that the other chapters at UT were actually very supportive of KD back then. KD's success is really a great story of determination and sisterhood!

That's fascinating history of a successful colonization at Texas that involved actual Panhellenic spirit.

What an amazing resource and source of amazing stories they must have been for the colonizing members!

What was the story about why the chapter closed in 1934? Was it numbers even back then? Was there formal recruitment and formal quota even back in the 30s?

1934 was the height of the Great Depression, and sorority chapters around the country were hit hard by it. Ex: AOII at Oklahoma, which recolonized in 2002, closed in 1933 because none of their members could afford to stay in school. Not saying that's what happened to KD, but I wouldn't be surprised.

The chapter closed in 1934 due to the Great Depression.

Go back to GreekChat

Please tell me that I am wrong.

What National organization wants to be part of a campus that is activelly trying to run SDT off campus? Why would anyone want to participate in a Panhellenic group that is just going to pick a new chapter as a target to bully once SDT folds?

National organizations don't like to see colonies fail. They are expensive and time consuming to start. Texas is too nasty to colonize.

The culture is toxic. This is now my 2nd on the other side of recruitment. I can't argue with this. Sometimes I wish this school were more like UGA or UVA where there wasn't some giant underlying stratification that separated people. I mean I know there's Old Row, but there is much more mobility for chapters to improve and "lower tier" ones to accept people from good schools etc. but here? There are some fraternities and sororities where I know absolutely no one. That's wrong. Something is wrong with this picture. Even the scheduling of mixers is skewed for houses to hang out more with some than others. So far I'm fine with the way things work because it works to the sole benefit of chapters like mine. It's comfortable. But as long as we continue this socialization-by-high-school thing, other chapters will not be given the respect they need in order to take more diverse or affluent backgrounds of people.

Like I'll be at a fraternity party. The guys will talk to me because I know so and so and I'm a _ _ _. But any other girl from a less familiar chapter walks in? She's totally ignored. And it's so awkward. The problem extends beyond just Panhellenic.

Look, Bama (since yall love to talk about them so much) is in the same situation. They have 17 NPC groups, and the 2 most likely candidates for expansion would be Sigma Kappa and Alpha Xi Delta. Tri Sig might also have a decent shot, but Phi Sig, ASA, AST, TPA, DPhiE, and AEPhi don't have the millions of dollars to build a gorgeous house, the alum support, or the man hours necessary to be successful there-at least not right now. They ARE open for expansion, bc of the massive PCs, but no one is biting. Why? Because Old Row there is the same as Big 6 here, and it creates a very hostile Panhel environment. Also, APhi and DG are considered "bottom tier" because they're newer. The SAME thing would happen at UT. Until groups come together and create a supportive, uplifting Panhel at UT, no NPC group in their right mind would even present, even if we do open for expansion. It's not worth the risk. If we want change/more groups, then WE have to initiate that change.

Did KD own the real estate their house is on prior to 1981?
Or Was that location something else prior?

That's really interesting to know the KD had the foreknowledge back in the 80s when nationals of many orgs didn't seem to know what they were doing with big re/colonizations to do it well and do it right. Congrats

KD alumna bought the house for them from DZ who had closed due to low membership.

That's right up there with the confederate flag. Not necessarily something I would brag about.

What is wrong with "the confederate flag" is that it is a symbol that is symbolic of racism and treason. It was not a wide spread symbol that was used in the South before the Civil Rights movement. It is not the national flag of the Confederate States of America. It is a symbol of racism. Now racism might be part of your heritage that you are proud of, but it's not part of the heritage that I am proud of.

Secondly, the Confederacy is not something to be proud of. Those folks voted to secede from the United States. They fired on US troops. They conspired to murder the President of the United States. Every one of them was a traitor to the United States who should have been hung by his treasonous neck. That is also not a part of my heritage that I feel is something to be proud of.