All the greek organizations on our campus are local... all 6 of them. And for being a small, private school in the middle of nowhere, that is pretty good. We don't have houses, we have suites. No one lives there... they are simply renovated "dorm rooms." We don't have alumni support groups; we have yearly newsletters to the sorority alumni. We don't have the high dues to pay to a national council. We do, though, have the one thing that unites us with all other sororities, national or not... sisterhood.
We make our own regulations, overseen by an Inter-Greek Council. Dues go to rent on the suite and sorority projects. All of the greek organizations but one on this campus are social, but that doesn's stop us from being prominent volunteers both on campus and in the community.
What keeps us from being a clique? I really don't know. Just because we are part of a certain organization doesn't mean we reject the rest of the campus. Yes, my closest friends are my sisters, but I still hold very dear friendships with those outside my sorority. Our organization is incredibly small compared to any national organization, but I feel that has more to do with the size of our school (very small), the amount of organizations to choose from, and the negative stereotypes of greeks. Every year during freshman orientation the greeks have to battle this negative view. This is why most of our pledges are sophomores. (They are not allowed to pledge until second semester of freshman year, anyway)
Probably the top reason for not being national, though, is that WE DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE! There had been one organization on this campus that was allowed to go national (this was quite a few years back), and within two years had lost their charter and were thrown off campus. So, you see, even if we wanted to be national, it would not be passed by the Head of Greek Affairs, who also happens to be the Dean of Students.
I don't mind being local. I would love to have some of the privleges of being national, though... the thought of having sisters across the country. But, my local sisters are still sisters for life.
Charlotte
Phi Delta Omega Sorority
Lakeland College
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