Source: Shawn Eagleburger, 785-532-5546, sge@k-state.edu
Web site: http://www.k-state.edu/greek

Thursday, April 2, 2009

THREE IN RUNNING TO BECOME K-STATE'S NEWEST SORORITY

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University's Panhellenic sorority community is inviting three national sororities to campus to be considered as the newest K-State sorority.

"We are so excited to invite representatives from Alpha Phi, Delta Gamma and Zeta Tau Alpha to campus. These three sororities are some of the finest in the country," said Meghan Butler, K-State Panhellenic Council president and a senior in finance from Overland Park.

The procedure for extension, or inviting a new sorority to campus, is a lengthy and intentional process, said Shawn Eagleburger, assistant director of Greek affairs at K-State.

"When I first came to campus in 2007 it was apparent K-State could sustain a new sorority," Eagleburger said. "When the number of qualified women interested in joining a sorority is greater than the number of spots we have in the sorority community, it's important the Panhellenic Council considers extension. After much thought and debate, the Panhellenic Council voted to support the extension process and to invite a new sorority to campus."

The process began in October 2008. A committee, made up of one representative from each sorority currently on campus and including alumnae and undergraduates, first reviewed campus statistics and trends to see if extension was actually feasible, Eagleburger said. After agreeing extension was appropriate, the committee decided on qualities that would make a new sorority most successful at K-State and then offered a call for applications from all interested National Panhellenic Conference sororities.

"We were thrilled to receive a number of very outstanding applications," Eagleburger said. "The committee spent two weeks reviewing applications and seeking feedback from current members of the sorority community, then selected the sororities to invite campus to make formal presentations."

Delta Gamma representatives will visit K-State Wednesday, April 22; Zeta Tau Alpha will visit Thursday, April 23; and Alpha Phi will visit Monday, April 27.

During their campus visit, each sorority will make an open presentation from 3:30-4:30 p.m., which will include time for questions, in the K-State Student Union's Forum Hall; meet privately with the extension committee from 5-6 p.m.; and attend a welcome reception, sponsored by K-State Greek affairs and the Panhellenic Council, from 6-7:30 p.m. at Kite's Bar and Grill in Aggieville.

The presentations and the receptions are open to the campus community and public.

Following the campus visits, the extension committee will select a new sorority to colonize at K-State in the fall 2010 semester, Eagleburger said.

"All of the sororities who will be presenting on campus are new to K-State, meaning they have never had a chapter at K-State, with the exception of Zeta Tau Alpha," Butler said. "Zeta Tau Alpha had a chapter at K-State from 1931 to 1941. Though this is important information for the committee to consider, having had a chapter on campus previously does not automatically mean a group will be invited to start a chapter again."

More information about the sororities under consideration is available at their national Web sites:

* Alpha Phi, http://www.alphaphi.org/
Mission statement:Alpha Phi International Fraternity is a membership organization dedicated to promoting sisterhood, cultivating leadership, encouraging intellectual curiosity and advocating service. Alpha Phi develops character for a lifetime.

* Delta Gamma, http://www.deltagamma.org/
Mission statement: Delta Gamma offers to women of all ages a rich heritage based on principles of personal integrity, personal responsibility and intellectual honesty. Its primary purpose is to foster high ideals of friendship, promote educational and cultural interests, create a true sense of social responsibility, and develop the finest qualities of character.

* Zeta Tau Alpha, http://www.zetataualpha.org/
Purpose statement: The purpose of Zeta Tau Alpha is to intensify friendship, promote happiness among its members, to perform such deeds, and to mould such opinions as will conduce to the building up of a purer and nobler womanhood in the world.

K-State Greek affairs includes the university's 24 Greek fraternities and 12 sororities. It boasts a membership of approximately 3,200 K-State students. K-State's Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council are annually recognized by the Mid-American Greek Council Association as among the top fraternity and sorority councils in the 29-state Mid-America region for performance in areas which include recruitment, risk reduction, membership education, academic achievement, community management and civic engagement.

More information about the upcoming campus visits and K-State's Greek community is available at:
http://www.k-state.edu/greek or by contacting the office of Greek affairs at 785-532-5516.