At 25 members strong, Sigma Mu Omega sorority is the smallest at the University of Oregon. But it’s not just Sigma’s size that makes it so unique. It also has an informal recruitment process, which means they do not participate in the uniform recruitment process the rest of Sorority Life does.

Typically, when a potential member decides to rush, they must interview with every sorority before they receive a bid. But Sigma recruits members by holding independent rush events, such as bowling or going to Yogurt Extreme.

“It’s a very bonding-oriented recruitment process, which I think is what a lot of people like about it,” said Rebecca Brandel, president of Sigma Mu Omega. “You actually get to meet people one-on-one.”

The sorority promotes recruitment through its Facebook rush page and setting up a table outside the EMU. The sorority’s small membership does not mean it is more exclusive, though. According to Brandel, Sigma Mu Omega welcomes expansion and new membership.

“Our sorority is so diverse that we think there would be a spot for anyone,” she said. “Our goal is to keep expanding but keep our bond and our sisterhood close regardless of how many people we have.”

Although independent in their rush process, this sorority does not isolate itself from the rest of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Philanthropy events are a regular part of the schedule.

“We try to be as involved as we can,” Brandel said. “We truly enjoy participating in all the philanthropy events in FSL.”

Sigma Mu Omega was founded 10 years ago as a Jewish sorority, although religious affiliation is not a requirement. She said the founders were looking to create an “alternative and unique, laid-back sorority.”

Sigma Mu Omega still does not have a registered sorority house, but it does have an apartment complex where several of the members live. Brandel acknowledged that it would take “a lot more growing to get a larger house.” But there are more important things on its docket – mainly maintaining their unique sisterhood.

“It is a wonderful, unique experience filled with friendship that makes its members better,” she said.

When it comes to community service, members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, on average, go above and beyond. Each member of Kappa is required to meet five community service hours per term, but as a sisterhood they average around nine. A large part of this is thanks to community service chair Rebecca Brennan.

In her freshman year, Brennan has used her experience in volunteering to help keep the members of Kappa informed about local community service events and help them meet their hour requirements.

“I really wanted to be involved with Kappa, and I’m a freshman, so I figured I might as well start with something I’m good at,” Brennan said.

Brennan is a family and human services major, a student teacher at Kelly Middle School and is currently interning with Moss Street Children’s Center and student alumni events. As a community service chair, Brennan emails the members of the sorority nearly every other day about upcoming community service opportunities and organizes two to three large community service events per term.

“I love having so much fun volunteering because a lot of people have the notion that volunteering is like a chore, and it’s not fun,” Brennan said. “It’s shocking to see all the people we’re volunteering with so happy to have college students around and truly appreciate what we’re doing.”

On Tuesday, May 21, Brennan helped organize a trip to Alpine Springs retirement community with the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity to play Bunco. She is now planning a community service event with Delta Sigma Phi fraternity to go to an elementary school to have lunch with the children and play with them during recess.

“The events are probably single-handedly how most of our girls get the hours because they’re so much fun,” Brennan said. “A lot of our girls are interns and volunteers in the community, so they just keep doing what they’re doing. But the majority do the big events.”

For Brennan, the contributions to the community will not stop after college. She has plans of going into social work and one day opening her own nonprofit organization.

“I want to start off being a social worker, so the police would always call me when there was an unattended child or an abuse situation, and I would go to the child and make sure they’re OK with clothes, food, etc.,” Brennan said. “Eventually I want to open up my own nonprofit, like a drop-in center for at-risk teens and children, so that they can play games and get tutoring help and all that stuff.”

Brennan believes that the skills and experience she is gaining as the community service chair at Kappa Kappa Gamma will set a valuable foundation for her career aspirations.

“I already had all the community service and volunteering down, but I never really planned anything before and organized events, so I think that’s really going to help me in the future professionally, like planning events and getting people involved rather than just volunteering by myself,” Brennan said.

So as the term goes on, Brennan will make sure that the sorority reaches its hours and that the community is served.

On Sept. 19, the sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority will be welcome to move into the first official Theta house at the University of Oregon since the sorority chartered in January 2012. So far, 50 sisters are scheduled to live in the house that holds up to 57 residents.

The house was spotted by Theta’s national headquarters last September after Phi Delta Theta fraternity moved out. From there, the executive board of Theta at the UO decided to move forward with the acquisition.

Theta CEO Candice Harbour believes that the home will bring Theta sisters closer together.

“Right now we’re all separated in terms of spatial composition. Being able to see everyone every day regularly, I think that will help me build a strong relationship with the chapter as a whole,” Harbour said.

The house is located just off campus on 15th Avenue and Kincaid Street, which provides easy campus access for sisters of Theta as well as their visitors.

“I think for me, just being able to have a place where I can go and be with my sisters and hang out with them, just have movie nights and eat together — it will be just kind of a fun little escape to go hang out,” Theta sister Courtney King said.

In addition to providing a home for the members to reside, fraternity and sorority houses offer a landmark for the rest of campus and a place to conduct chapter meetings. But for members such as Harbour, living in is a once-in-a-lifetime bonding experience.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting new women and becoming closer with them, just because I have 150 sisters, so it was hard to create those strong bonds,” Harbour said. “I think by living in, it will be a lot easier just because I can walk down the hallway and just have like an impromptu dance party or something like that.”

Before spontaneous dance parties are realized for the sisters of Theta, the house must be prepared over the course of the summer.

Renovations have already commenced as the front porch is currently being re-poured with concrete to be smoothed and shined so that it resembles slate. In addition to the porch, new carpets will be laid, the walls will be freshened with paint and the bathrooms will be transformed. Harbour hopes that the steps taken with the house right now will create a lasting effect for Theta at the UO.

“I hope that by having this facility we’ll be able to create a longer and stronger legacy on this campus, so that’s what I’m looking forward to the most is just being able to come back 15 years from now and see Theta’s house, wherever it may be, and just see how that’s impacted our image and our sisterhood,” Harbour said.

After an 18-month journey from colonization, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity will become rechartered at the University of Oregon, and the 40 members of the fraternity will become fully initiated brothers on Fri., May 3.

The chartering marks the first time Pi Kappa Phi will have an official chapter at the UO since 2001. Executives from Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., flew in on Wednesday to commence the final stages of chartering.

“The moment you look forward to when you sign a bid is that day of initiation,” said President of Pi Kappa Phi Zach Curtis. “For most people, that wait period lasts about 6-8 weeks. You work for it, you get it and you get to learn the secrets, the meanings and all that. That process for us has been almost a year and a half now.”

Twenty-four members of the University of Washington chapter of Pi Kappa Phi are coming down to perform the initiation ritual. But before the UO members are initiated, they must pass a 40-question test on the history and values of Pi Kappa Phi, as well as go through oral boards with members of the national headquarters.

Also as part of the chartering process, UO members had to raise $1,000 for Pi Kappa Phi’s national foundation, Push America, and make a brochure with pictures and biographies of every founding father at the UO colony.

“It’s something that a lot of people can’t say that they worked that hard for initiation, and it just means that much more,” Curtis said.

He and Chartering Chairman Dan Smith have a vision for what they want the UO chapter to be. He believes the fraternity’s fall rush class can fulfill that vision.

“I want to see it be done right,” Smith said. “I think the guys that we have right now want to do it right. It’s good to have some fun, but you have to do what’s right and make sure you’re getting all your stuff done with the academics and community service, being a leader on campus … They want to really show the good side of (Fraternity & Sorority Life).”

According to Curtis, the next steps for the fraternity are finding a house and putting the wheels in motion for their first big philanthropy they are trying to schedule for next fall. But nothing is sweeter for him than finishing the journey and becoming a brother of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

“Being able to be a full member, a lifetime member, of Pi Kappa Phi definitely is going to be a big milestone in my life,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard and for so long on anything in my life, and I’ve gotten so much out of the experience.”

For Fraternity and Sorority Life, when spring term rolls around, it means it’s time for philanthropy. Many fraternities and sororities hold signature philanthropy events in the spring that various chapters around campus participate in. Everything from football tournaments to dance contests are used to raise money for non-profit organizations.

Philanthropies remind us of the positive effect that fraternity and sorority life has on the community because these events aren’t merely social events. These events raise thousands of dollars for good causes, and the number of funds raised by fraternities and sororities at the University of Oregon is staggering. Sigma Chi raised more than $60,000 with their Derby Days philanthropy last term. Delta Gamma raised $32,000 with their Anchor Splash philanthropy last year and are raising the bar even higher this year.

It’s difficult to argue that philanthropy does not bring out the best in fraternity and sorority life. The members of Fraternity and Sorority Life pay dues every term, and part of those dues go to various philanthropies around campus. Fraternity and sorority members are paying money out-of-pocket to participate in events such as flag football tournaments and dance competitions, but at the same time contribute to non-profit organizations.

The sad truth is that despite all the accomplishments and money raised for the community by fraternities and sororities, they must constantly worry about upholding their image.

For example, I recently published a small listing of party themes in the Greek section (“Costume extravaganzas you won’t forget after graduation,” 4/2). The themes were a bit racy, but it was meant to be entertaining for a college audience. Since it was published in the Greek section, it became controversial and damaging to the fraternity and sorority image among the community. Now I’ll admit that, looking back, this article was bad for Fraternity and Sorority Life, and if I could do it again, I wouldn’t have pitched it.

But the truth is that if that article was published in any other section other than the Greek section and didn’t mention fraternity and sorority members, there would have been no controversy.

My point is that for all the money, community service and other contributions that fraternity and sorority life make to the community, (and I’m not saying that other students don’t make similar contributions) the slightest implication of promiscuity or partying can damage the image of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

So as judgments and assumptions of Fraternity and Sorority Life float around this term, which they certainly do, we must remind ourselves of the realities of Fraternity and Sorority Life. We must remind ourselves of the money raised and the causes that are being upheld.

Delta Gamma hopes to raise $36,000 this year with its annual Anchor Splash philanthropy in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease — and early blindness. If met, the goal would best Delta Gamma’s achievement of last year’s $32,000, which ranked them fifth among all 120 Delta Gamma chapters across the nation. Anchor Splash kicks off this Sunday, April 21 at Delta Gamma.

“It’s really cool being on this side directing it,” said Anchor Splash Co-Director Gianna Colosimo. “Seeing all that goes into it and all that’s coming out of it, and all the money that we’re raising for such amazing causes that we believe in, it’s really cool to see how we’re helping raise money for them.”

Anchor Splash at the University of Oregon is a week-long event filled with competitions between fraternities and sororities that help raise money for Service for Sight and Team Cure ALS foundations. Although Anchor Splash is Delta Gamma’s national philanthropy, the UO version differs significantly from the rest.

The UO chapter of Delta Gamma donates to Team Cure ALS, which, unlike Service for Sight, is not Delta Gamma’s national philanthropy cause. Service for Sight is a Delta Gamma organization aimed at “stopping blindness before it starts.” Team Cure ALS was founded by former Oregon State football player Mike Lopez to fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease. Although Lopez passed away in January from ALS, Delta Gamma continues to donate to the foundation.

In addition, Anchor Splash is normally a one or two-day synchronized swimming competition among fraternities and sororities. At the UO, however, Anchor Splash is a week-long competition filled with different events that culminates in a dance competition and talent show between all fraternities and sororities.

“There’s so much going on, it’s not just a one-night thing,” says Colosimo. “Because it’s so big and popular here, it has a lot of attention on it and money raised for it.”

The talent show determines who is crowned “Anchor Man” and “Anchor Woman.” The event is called the Big Show and is held at Mac Court. Tickets go on sale at the EMU Ticket Office starting Monday, April 22 for $8.

Like the rest of the events throughout Anchor Splash, the Big Show is worth points. The fraternity and sorority with the most points at the end of the week are crowned the champions of Anchor Splash. Pi Beta Phi has been the winning sorority for the last nine years and Sigma Chi has been the winning fraternity for the last three. There are also awards given to the top three fraternities and sororities in the dance competition, as well as a “Most Spirited” award.

Anchor Splash co-director Katy Strupp believes that the competitive side of fraternity and sorority life helps contribute to Anchor Splash’s popularity at the UO. “A lot of the new houses on campus are getting really involved and really want to win this year, which we’re really excited about,” said Strupp.

There are a couple of reasons that spring is a magical season for members of fraternity and sorority life. Reason number one, of course, is tank tops, but reason number two is the ceremonial pinning.

A pinning is when a member of a fraternity gives his chapter pin to a girl in a sorority he is dating to represent his feelings for her. Pinnings can be casual or serious, depending on the couple. Some pinnings are even treated as a pre-engagement party for the couple.

The pinning serves as a uniting of the fraternity and sorority as well as the couple being pinned. Sororities sometimes serenade the brothers of the fraternity and there is always a fun-filled reception after the gentleman pins his girlfriend. But the exchange is not as simple as it sounds. The ceremony that precedes the pinning is quite a show. Before the guy places his chapter’s pin over his girlfriend’s chest, the couple must sit before the entirety of their fraternity brothers and sorority sisters, who have gathered together in formal wear to listen to all of the couple’s most secret and embarrassing stories.

It is the couple’s closest friends that conduct the delightful humiliation of the two. You could call it reckless, you could call it cruel or you could call it an act of brotherly or sisterly affection.

Sure, there is a possibility that you learn something about your boyfriend or girlfriend at the pinning that you never, ever wanted to know. But as long as there is a party afterward and the relationship survives the ceremony, then the couple has done a beautiful thing. Let the spring romance begin.

Hannah Lowenthal, a sophomore at University of Oregon’s Chi Omega Sorority,has taken on the responsibility of ensuring that her sorority sisters have fun. At the start of winter term, she became the social chair of Chi Omega and has planned the sorority’s formals, date dashes and functions ever since.

“The girls kind of rely on the functions to have a great time sometimes, and they look forward to them so if it doesn’t go well or it doesn’t go as planned, you kind of take the fall for it — because it’s your responsibility,” Lowenthal said.

One of Lowenthal’s biggest tasks as social chair so far was Chi Omega’s annual Cardinal Ball formal. She booked the venue, chose the food and organized buses that took Chi Omega members and their dates to the Downtown Athletic Club, where the ball took place.

“Everyone raves about what a great time Cardinal Ball was this term,” Lowenthal said. “It went really well, and I like seeing everyone’s faces and how happy they are and how much fun they’re having.”

For spring term, Low is planning Chi Omega’s spring fling and barn dance date functions. She has already started finalizing payment plans with two venues. Low is also looking to plan barbecues with different fraternities.

But balancing barbecues and barn dances with school isn’t an issue for Low. She does most of her work as social chair on the weekends so that it doesn’t conflict with her studies.

“It doesn’t really interfere with work — school is my number one priority,” Low said. “That’s why I’m here, you know, and that’s what my parents are paying me to be here for. (Social chair) is kind of a perk.”

Besides enjoying the looks on her sisters’ faces during a successful event, Low sees her responsibilities as social chair as good practice for her career aspirations.

“I’m a PR major, so I kind of wanted to practice networking and meeting new people, and it’s a good way to meet a lot of people in Greek life especially,” Low said. “I think it’s a good stepping stone to hopefully bigger things.”

Though living in a fraternity or sorority house is a unique experience, it can be a struggle at times. Brothers and sisters of various houses on campus at the University of Oregon are sometimes forced to wrestle with their roommates’ rambunctious shenanigans.

“It’s pretty hard to get to bed before 2 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” said Preston Hiefield, a member Lambda Chi Alpha at the UO. “It’s hard to focus.”

Luckily, there are ways to ensure that sanity is maintained while living with 30 to 70 of your brothers or sisters.

Katherine Casey of Kappa Delta sorority suggested, “(Making) friends with people who have places you can go over to, just to get away from the madness.”

If you can’t make your way out of the house, remember to “Stay calm and always be open to new experiences,” said Taylor Kay of Delta Delta Delta sorority. “If you respect your sisters, they’ll do that for you. They’re family.”

It’s also a good idea to remind yourself that you joined the fraternity or sorority for a reason. Take advantage of the only time in your life that you live in a mansion with dozens of your friends.

“Be involved and have a good time with your brothers,” said Wes Horton of Lambda Chi. “Just make sure you get out of the house, you have to keep a balance.”

For the last 15 terms, Delta Tau Delta Fraternity has sustained the No. 1 GPA for all fraternities at the University of Oregon. Since the fall of 2009, DTD’s average GPA is 3.23, as opposed to the general UO fraternity average of 2.96 (PDF). The recruitment process is their primary method for setting themselves apart from the rest of campus and ensuring their academic success continues.

“Whether it’s justified or not, we are known as the academic fraternity,” said Will Campodonico-Burnett, president of DTD. “That is something in recruitment that we do talk about, and that is a big draw for a lot of incoming freshmen we’ve found. That’s probably honestly the biggest thing we do differently.”

Throughout the rush process, the fraternity looks at a potential member’s high school career. It’s not necessarily the high GPA they’re looking for, according to Campodonico-Burnett, but the participation in extra-curricular activities, sports and leadership positions.

“Those are the kind of guys who — no matter their high school performance — will tend to do well in college,” he said.

After recruitment, it is up to the recruited members to keep the high academic standards alive. Like most fraternities at the UO, DTD requires its members to get a 2.7 GPA each term. The fact that DTD has been averaging a 3.23 overall since fall 2009 means its members go above and beyond — voluntarily.

“A lot of leaders in the house put a lot of effort into their school,” said Brian Blackiston, director of academic affairs at DTD, “and I think that kind of reflects the mentality of the house and encourages some of the younger guys to work hard in school as well.”

After a brother’s first term of not meeting the grade requirement, he is put on academic suspension. He must meet with the director of academic affairs and be a part of the risk management team for all functions.

If a brother does not meet the grade requirement for a second term in a row, he is brought up for an expulsion hearing. This means he must stand before the entire chapter and defend why he should be allowed to remain in the fraternity. The chapter then votes on whether or not he should be allowed to stay.

“That’s something we definitely are very proud of,” Campodonico-Burnett said. “We definitely recruit based on academics; we take a lot of pride in that. It’s not the only thing we focus on, but it’s a good way of representing ourselves to the community.”