UPENN Panhellenic Council: Panhellenic Chapters

Sororities at Penn

Coming to college at the University of Pennsylvania can be a very overwhelming time between classes, co-curricular activities and friends. As the second semester starts and time management becomes easier, the freshmen class is invited to get to know the Greek system and the eight individual sororities during Formal Recruitment. With over 1,000 women, the Panhellenic Sorority System is the largest women's organization on campus and has long been a staple at Penn as it continues to be a vibrant and active sector of campus life.

Even though the Panhellenic Community is made up of eight individual sororities, each chapter offers four basic tenants that bind all sorority women together: scholarship, leadership, service and sisterhood. To these aims, scholarship is encouraged from the beginning of New Member Education (the first six weeks of membership when all the new members become acquainted to the rituals and sisters of the house) with study hours and throughout the next 4 years in the form of academic bowls, a faculty tea, Greek-wide study breaks and individual recognition during weekly chapter meetings. Informal academic support is offered in each chapter and can take the form of same-major mentors, class recommendations and study groups. As a result of this effort, the all-Greek female GPA is consistently higher than non-Greek female GPA.

Leadership within the sorority system is vital to its very existence; it is the undergraduates who are elected to each chapter's executive board and the Panhellenic Executive Board that shape the Greek community every year. From Community Service Chair to Panhellenic Delegate to Panhellenic Vice President of Administration, there is a place for all leaders within the system. Post-graduation opportunities abound, as there is an extensive network of professionals that make their careers out of the Greek system. Outside of the Greek community, leaders in many organizations are Greek, including the Class Boards, Undergraduate Assembly, the Nominations and Elections Committee, Wharton Women, the Honor Council, and most sports teams.

The Greek system is the single largest service organization on Penn's campus and continuously provides to the Penn community, Philadelphia community and beyond. Each sorority works year-round on their individual philanthropy to raise money and awareness for issues important to their chapter. The Panhellenic community as a whole has a unique history and partnership with the Rena Rowan Breast Cancer Center on Penn's campus. Each year, a fund-raising 5K Walk/Run is organized by the Panhellenic Council and draws in participants from the entire university. Panhellenic is also in it's second year of commitment to Operation Warm, a philanthropy that provides winter coats to local elementary school students.

At its root, sororities are support systems for their members and thus sisterhood remains a central aspect of the sorority experience. Navigating the choppy waters of college becomes less daunting with a sisterhood standing behind each member, supporting every member through any personal hardships. Events are constantly being planned by chapter executive boards and the Panhellenic Council and include sisterhood dinners, downtown date parties, semi-formals and formals, movie nights, fondue parties, Greek Week and Greek Weekend events, engaging speakers, backyard barbeques and karaoke nights.

The support system continues once we leave Penn, as networking ties established as a member of a nationally recognized sorority have powerful ramifications in the job market. The following excerpt demonstrates the ability of sorority membership to aid women in the advancement of their careers, taken from a recent New York Times article: "The opportunity to trade on school ties may well have contributed to a recent surge in pledges at sororities. 'Our membership is booming,' said Sally Grant, chairwoman of the National Panhellenic Conference that represents 26 sororities nationwide. It reported a gain of about 80,000 members in 2001, a 9-percent increase from 1999. 'We certainly have noticed a greater reliance by women on these kinds of informal networks,' said Shelia Wellington, the president of Catalyst, a non-profit organization in New York that advances women in business. 'That sort of relationship-building can be critical to career advancement.'"

There is no experience like sorority membership: recruitment, new member education, initiation, chapter meetings, sorority creeds, secret handshakes, lineage dinners, social events, Senior Send-off and countless other activities that bind each sisterhood together. Choosing to affiliate with the sorority community allows membership in both a large support system of women on Penn's campus as well as in a national organization composed of thousands of women. Importantly, sorority membership is an experience that is designed to enhance undergraduate experience but is in no way the only activity that sisters participate in. Rather, over 90% of sorority members participate in other activities on campus that range from varsity sports, club sports, student government and the myriad of clubs offered.

The entire Greek community (fraternities, sororities, and multicultural chapters) are supported by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs or OFSA. OFSA, the University, undergraduate members, chapter alumnae advisors and the inter/national headquarters continually strive to lead the nation in Greek affairs.