The Panhellenic community at DePaul will gain an eighth chapter this winter as Phi Mu wraps up their recruitment events and settles in on campus.
After months of preparation leading up to the expansion of the Phi Mu sorority onto DePaul’s campus, two representatives from the Phi Mu National Headquarters finally arrived after a few flight delays courtesy of the Polar Vortex. The two Phi Mu alumni immediately got to work recruiting women interested in joining the nation’s second-oldest sorority.
“We visited the campus ahead of time to meet with the campus administration, learn about the campus culture and get to know current Greek leaders,” Katie Billotti, the chapter’s extension coordinator, said.
Phi Mu arrived on campus this winter quarter to begin recruiting potential new members; therefore, the chapter missed out on formal recruitment, the way all other chapters on campus recruit women. By sending in an application, meeting with one of the Phi Mu representatives and attending one of the recruitment events, women were able to get involved with the chapter and potentially become a founding sister.
Those currently part of the Panhellenic community at DePaul have been in support of the expansion of Phi Mu.
“We have felt extremely supported on campus here at DePaul, we have received personal recommendations of potential new members which is helpful so that students, of all class standings, have an opportunity to learn more about sorority membership,” Alex Pisauro, Phi Mu’s resident chapter consultant living at DePaul for the winter and spring quarters to help teach and mentor the future members, said.
Not only does the expansion of Phi Mu extend the opportunity for women to be involved in sorority membership and sisterhood, but also to experience philanthropic opportunities not otherwise provided to them.
Phi Mu was the first sorority to create National Philanthropy Day, a day in October solely dedicated to community service, as well as, National Ritual Celebration Week in March, a reflective week on why sororities and fraternities participate in rituals and what it means to live by them. “We will be able to offer the community new events and programming opportunities,” Billotti said.
After Phi Mu’s Bid Day, where the women they’ve selected will receive bids to join the chapter, they will be very similar to others on DePaul’s campus. They will participate in weekly chapter meetings, have sisterhood activities, socials, and philanthropy events, as well as supporting the other chapters.
“We want our chapter to be involved on campus immediately,” Pisauro said.
In 2012, DePaul expanded their Panhellenic community by adding Alpha Xi Delta. The success of that chapter has shown that the Greek community can benefit from the extension of more chapters and potentially gain great leaders.
“The best way for us to benefit as a community is to expand, in the sense that the more people that we can have involved in such an amazing experience, the better off we are,” Maddi Ulrich, president of the Panhellenic Community and also a member of Alpha Xi Delta, the most recently colonized chapter at DePaul, said.
Phi Mu will be the eighth sorority on campus, along with seven fraternities. With a city law that suggests more than six women living under the same roof is to be considered a “brothel,” the campus is not able to have sorority or fraternity housing. Although some difficulties do come with this, such as having to hold chapter meetings in classrooms and making it harder for commuters, this makes DePaul’s Greek life unique and often times not having a housing requirement is preferred by members.
As the added eighth chapter, Phi Mu hopes to continue to strengthen the Panhellenic community and strive within their own chapter.
“We are excited to join the Panhellenic community here are DePaul and plan to be an actively involved chapter on campus,” Billotti said.