A question for Pitt Sorority Girls ;)
 

Hey you wonderful Pitt People! I was just doing some early morning thinking (my job has *such* wonderful hours :rolleyes: )

Do you know if your Panhellenic is thinking of expansion any time soon? Is there enough interest on campus for another organization? I would love to see Phi Sigma Sigma get their Iota chapter back! If you hear about expansion at all.... put in a good word for us! :)

I doubt that they'll be talking expansion anytime in the very near future.... This is the first year that numbers have gone up, but there's still several houses that are still at least 20 girls away from total.

If they did decide, it would probably be Kappa Alpha Theta, because they still have a house here (they rent half of it to KKG). They shut down the year that I rushed due to low numbers. One of my new law school friends is a KAT advisor to the chapter up the road at Carnegie Mellon, and she said that they'd really like to recolonize at Pitt once the 5 years are up. I'm not sure, but they might have some arrangement with Pitt- they let Pitt house students in the KAT house when they run out of rooms on campus.

There have been so many sororities at Pitt over the years it seems. Question for anyone who might know (KillarneyRose? anybody else)- who has been at Pitt but isn't there now.
Who's Here Now:
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Phi Epsilon
Delta Zeta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Sigma Delta Tau
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Theta Phi Alpha

How has been here and when they closed:
Kappa Alpha Theta (1999)
Phi Sigma Sigma (????)

I know there's a lot more.

The 11 Danielle listed plus Theta are the sororities at Pitt back when I was there.

I actually have a slightly different spin on the idea of expansion there. I think it could be good because it would draw attention to sorority life.

My junior year (maybe senior; can't quite remember!) Kappa Alpha Theta recolonized and interest was huge. They easily took ceiling (55 back then) and continued to be very strong for a few years after that. Because of the hoopla surrounding that, rush numbers went up for awhile so it benefited everyone.


I was already graduated when Sigma Sigma Sigma recolonized a few years later, but if I recall there was a surge in rush numbers after that as well.

I'm going to have to agree with kddani. I think if they ever did recolonize it would be KAT if not strictly for the housing situation as pitt has a bit of a student housing problem.

I also agree with kddani about the numbers. There are 11 sororities ranging in size from 78+ girls to 29. But who knows, maybe some fresh blood would be nice for pitt. On a side note, we found an alumna from 1938 who is going to give us some of our history that we have lost, so kddani, I'll ask if she knows anything about you all and about what other sororities were on the campus!!

However, and here is a question for kddani, do you think that KAT would have to abide by the policy for the fraternities where they cannot be recognized as a house now? Just a thought. But AngelPhiSig I'll mention it to my girls if it is ever brought up!!!

I think that they'd be sorta grandfathered in...... and since KKG is in the half of the house (they rent it off of KAT I believe) I don't think it would matter much to Pitt. Although i'd love to see these actual pitt "rules" for the fraternities, etc. They've just always sounded bizarre.

I think KAT also has a "scratch my back i'll scratch yours" thing going on with Pitt by letting them use their space to help ease the housing crunch.

Although KillarneyRose has a good point about new interest. It would be interesting to see.

fire1977, that's pretty cool to find that old of an alumna!

I thought that about the "scratch my back" thing, and I agree that you are probably correct. It would be nice to see something new on campus though.

As far as the fraternity rules. I know the one about the houses just came around in the last three years. I agree that they are really dumb!!!

Please be gentle and not call me old here...! Seriously, I was the chapter historian who really read up on the old stuff:

Phi Sigma Sigma's last year was 1973 or 1974. They were on the 6th floor, and it became the "spill-over" floor for the larger chapters who didn't have enough room for as many sisters who wanted to live there (mostly Tri-Delts & ADPis at the time).

Tri Sigma came next, and took over the 6th floor. The same year, DPhiE pretty much went under.

Kappa Delta came on campus - Theta Phi Alpha went under.

Theta Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Theta, Alpha Delta Pi, Delta Phi Epsilon, and heaven knows who else have re-colonized in the past 20 years to stay on campus.

FWIW, as much as I hate NOT having more sororities at Pitt, (and still can't get over Theta's demise!), it always seems that bringing in a new sorority rings the death knell for another. I would have to see at least 3/4 of the chapters making quota during formal rush, and the rest doing better at COB before I'd be in a hurry to interview a new sorority. And yes, with Kappa Alpha Theta having a house & all, they really should get first shot at it.

As we were preparing for our 150th anniversary last year, I noticed that Zeta Tau Alpha was at Pitt at one time, too - and got to meet an older alumna and the founder of the Pitt ADPi chapter. I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. I did heard some cool stories - like that Shirley Jones (Partridge Family) used to live in the ADPi house, and the one alumna has a picture of her in her bra & panties on the upstairs phone! :)

honeychile

I'm not surprised. I know some of the albums that we have only have like 4 girls. I really think that the sororities have different periods of success and loss. Honeychile, I'm just curious to know who lived where. I know that we shared a suite with Kappa Delta for a period of time (as a matter of fact it's the "green" end).

I believe currently that there are 6 at or above ceiling with another one hovering pretty closely and then 4 that are at 40 and below.

I know that some of the houses would rather raise ceiling than bring another sorority in. Personally I'd like to see everyone doing fairly well before either of those options. Although I do have to say that I think there were 22 women who didn't get bids during formal recruitment, not counting the girls who dropped out. I know that we have to have 25 to start a colony, soooo......

Thanks for the info Honeychile! I have a question if you don't mind me asking, when were you at pitt??? I just wanted to know in case you knew how I got my screenname? :cool:

I know that when the sororities were forced into Amos Hall, there was a lottery to decide who got what suite. ADPi won, and we took the Penthouse (10). I don't know how the others came in the lottery, but as I remember it, the floors were:
10- ADPi
9- Tri-Delta
8- Sigma Delta Tau (formal end only)
7- Theta Phi Alpha (formal end only), then KD
6- Tri-Sigma (formal end only, mostly Tri-Delts & ADPi's on the other side) (formal side WAS Phi Sigma)
5- AEPhi (formal end only, mostly Chi-O's on the other side)
4- Chi-O
3- Delta Phi Epsilon (formal end only, mostly DZ's on the other side)
2- Delta Zeta

Our founder was alive until fairly recently, and she gave us some of the scoops of how things went. Our house was on Bigelow Blvd, where the medical building/parking garage for the Holiday Inn is now. We still have the light from the front of the house, but don't use it.

The Kappas & the Thetas had already started building their house when the big change went into effect (that's why they didn't live in Amos), and even in the suites, they still had to have a housemother! She usually lived in the room(s) off the kitchen, but it was different for each sorority. There was a service elevator in the stairwell (the stairwell is much different from when I was there), and it was bigger than the other elevator. It was shut down in the early 1970's, but you could have larger pieces of furniture brought up on it! It was also open for moving in, I understand. Oh, everyone also had a locker in the basement, for storage. It was around 1977 that everyone had to give that up.

Every dorm on campus had a large portrait of whomever it was named after, ie: Miss Amos (Dean of Women at one point, I think).

I have floor plans of Amos Hall from when it was built, and will be giving one that was changed to ADPi 1960-1980 in the next month or so. If I can figure out how to scan & send it, I'll try to do so, if anyone wants it. I can be a geek about stuff like that!



honeychile

Honeychile you are my new hero!!!!lol
You are a wealth of information!!!

Speaking of Pitt sororities, does anyone know how things are going with the colony/chapter of Theta Nu Xi on campus?

I'm unfamiliar with this GLO. I just looked under the GLO directory and it wasn't listed. Any information?

honeychile

I may have gotten the letters mixed up, but the sorority I am referring to is a multicultural GLO that has a few (from the looks of their websites, very successful) chapters. I am not sure what their main webpage is though. :( There was a thread a few months ago about their wanting to come to Pitt, and someone may have listed more info on there.

Okay I am reviving a crusty thread here.....
I was at the library with my boyfriend and as I had nothing to do I looked up the old baird's manuals, the latest being in 1960 something. Anyway it looks that besides the 11 they have now and Theta I believe we have had....

Alpha Xi Delta - Alpha Alpha Chapter in 1918 to 1935(?)
Beta Sigma Omicron - Alpha Tau chapter 1930-1964 (merged with Zeta)
Phi Mu - Beta Theta in 1920-1933(?)
Phi Sigma Sigma - Iota - 1924 or 1923
Pi Beta Phi - (this was listed diff. than the others) Pennsylvania Delta 1918-1931(?)
Zeta Tau Alpha - Chi - 1915 -?

as far as theta nu xi moxie, I haven't heard anything yet.

Now that you mention it, fire1977, I know that Alpha Xi Delta WAS on one of Pitt's "other" campuses - I think Johnstown. I had a good friend who transfered to main campus, and was crushed to be out of the sorority loop!

The others, well, that's just cool! Is Baird's still published? I've only ever seen the ancient copy we used to have.

And, to those who wanted a copy of the floor plan, I wasn't able to scan it properly. If someone has a fax number, I'll fax it to you.

honeychile