Less than seven months after Alpha Epsilon Phi joined Texas A&M as its 13th sorority, a vote by A&M’s Collegiate Panhellenic Council started the process of adding another Wednesday night.
A&M’s Collegiate Panhellenic Council President Maddison Malone said the vote prompted the process of finding a sorority that will fit with A&M’s culture.
“We do not know what chapter we add will be,” Malone said. “What we do after [this vote] is notify all 26 national chapters, and the chapters that are interested will be sent a binder about Texas A&M and our community. They then send back a binder about their chapter, and the extension committee will choose their top three or however many. The delegates and advisors from each chapter cast one vote and decide which is the next chapter to join.”
If the committee recommends, only the two delegates from each chapter vote on whether or not to approve the extension. Each chapter only has one vote. Even with the approval, Malone said the council will not know what sorority will join them.
Before the vote, an exploratory committee statistically evaluated the chapters for growth and size over the past five years to determine the feasibility of a new chapter on campus, said Malone.
Malone said the timeline for when the new chapter will join is not certain, but she thinks it will be in place by the end of next semester. Either way, Malone said she has high hopes based on the success of the last added chapter, Alpha Epsilon Phi.
“They got super involved in Panhellenic, and they meshed really well with our community,” Malone said. “I would hope that happened the next time.”
As for whether another house will be built on sorority row, Madison said it depends on the national organization and whether they base their chapter at A&M similar to other school’s chapters.
Monica Lopez, interdisciplinary studies junior and Kappa Kappa Gamma member, said the addition of another sorority would be a positive action.
“I know Greek Life isn’t too big here,” Lopez said. “At some schools, there are 20 chapters whereas we have 12 here.”
Evelyn Villarreal, biology freshman and Alpha Chi Omega member, said she thinks in addition to increasing overall philanthropy efforts, another chapter will add diversity to Greek Life.
“I haven’t been in it too long, but [being in a sorority] is a great way to get to know people,” Villarreal said. “It helps having older girls in your major and getting academic help.”
Lopez said she thinks more chapters could make the process less competitive and allow more women to join.
“As Kappa Kappa Gamma, we had between 90 to 100 girls, but it varies with other chapters,” Lopez said. “About 1,200 girls got a bid — [each chapter] has to meet a certain quota for freshmen and upperclassmen, and it depends on the members they have and so on.”
