Greek life will soon be expanding as three sororities compete for a spot at USI.

National representatives from three sororities, Alpha Sigma Tau, Sigma Sigma Sigma and Theta Phi Alpha, will make presentations and discuss goals and histories from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 15, 16 and 17. Alpha Sigma Tau will present the 15th, Sigma Sigma Sigma will present the 16th and Theta Phi Alpha will present the 17th. 

“I always compare it to a reality TV show,” said David Stetter, Greek Life and Leadership program adviser. “We have 23 sororities that could have applied to our campus. Four did apply, and from those four we selected the three that will come.”

Stetter said he has confidence the women on campus will want to join the new sorority.

“If no one joins, then we did not do our research correctly. We have very good reason to believe that women are interested in joining a sorority, and given the opportunity, they would,” Stetter said. “To me, I think there is enough want that there will be enough women interested in joining.”

The Expansion Committee, which is made up of undergraduates on the Panhellenic Council, alumnae and collegiate members from the three current chapters, will choose between the three sororities.

They will then notify the council of their decision and the council will vote to accept the recommendation.

Vanessa David, Panhellenic Council’s recruitment and expansion vice president, said the three current chapters each have close to 100 members.

“Our numbers are bizarre,” David said. “We need another chapter before the current ones get too big.”

David was a member of the decision process.

“We chose the strongest chapters that proved they wanted to be at USI,” David said. 

“We didn’t want similar sororities,” she said. “We wanted sororities that will thrive and do well here.”

The expansion will provide more activities on campus, as well as more philanthropic opportunities, David said.

The sorority candidates were chosen based on its scholarship policies, new member education programs, leadership opportunities provided and alumnae support.

Sophomore criminal justice major Nikkie Harris is a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, a current chapter at USI. She said she likes the idea of a new sorority coming to campus because it will give more girls an opportunity to go Greek.

“Going through recruitment in a bigger pledge class, it’s upsetting to see girls kind of disintegrate because we couldn’t give like 70 other girls who are passionate about rushing a bid because we only have a small number of spots available,” Harris said.

She said she believes the new sorority will bring different aspects to the table and create ideas that the current sororities did not think about.

“There will be more people volunteering, more philanthropy and more people holding offices,” Harris said. “It’ll be a great expansion.”

There are some members in her chapter that are concerned about competition, but she thinks they need to be less apprehensive, focus more on the positives and be more optimistic about it, she said.

“Just because we have different chapters doesn’t mean that we have to stray away from people who aren’t wearing the same letters as we are,” Harris said. “We need to work more on Greek unity.”

Freshman biology major Stacie Kelley said she is considering going Greek and with a new sorority coming to campus, she’s thinking about it even more.

“We have seven fraternities and only three sororities,” Kelley said. “It’ll be nice to see more Greek life for the girls too.”

She said she would consider joining the new sorority because it’d be nice to meet some of the girls who didn’t make it into the other sororities, Kelley said. If she decides not to join, she’ll be watching to see how the new sorority will flourish on campus.

“Being a member of a sorority would be a way to make new friends, have people to look to for help and create a sense of family away from home,” Kelley said. She’s hesitant about joining though.

“I’d like to become more involved with activities outside of school, but sometimes, I wonder if I can with a biology major,” Kelley said. “I would need to know that the sorority isn’t just going to say they care about my academics but show it. There are some girls who I’m sure have jobs as well, and I would like to know the sorority wouldn’t have any unnecessary activities for them to do. I’d also want them to make a real difference for the campus.”