University sorority houses are going to be a little quieter and more spacious this year.
Last year about 500 women were members of sororities, but this year that number has dropped to around 350, said Melissa Winkler, vice president in charge of recruitment for the Panhellenic Council.
One explanation for the drop in sorority membership is the rising price of tuition, Winkler said, adding that it gives women the impression they can’t afford to join a sorority.
“Actually, we pay less to live in sororities than we do to live in residence halls,”she said.
According to a comparative chart from the Greek Life Office for this school year, the average cost of living in a University residence hall is $6,700, while the average cost of room and board for a sorority is $5,168.
The membership decline can also be partially attributed to the fact that students’ schedules seemed to conflict with recruitment-week activities, Winkler said. Events started at 5:30 p.m. every day during the week, but Winkler said she noticed a lot of women had classes in the evening.
Bad press is another factor Winkler cited to explain flagging membership numbers in sororities.
“I think there’s been a lot of negative press about greeks,” she said.
Specifically, she mentioned the MTV show “Sorority Life,” which she claims has negatively affected people’s perceptions of sorority life by showing irresponsible behavior and hazing. A lot of the girls who would join are afraid that all sororities are like that, she said.
“I know that we get a lot of questions about that, since the show’s been on,” she said.
Winkler said the University’s alcohol ban was not a factor in the decline because, as far as she can remember, sororities have always been dry.
Ava Hirschsohn, vice president of social issues for the Panhellenic Council and a member of Delta Gamma sorority, said she thought increasing the recruitment fee from $20 to $30 hurt University sororities. Also, fewer women may have applied this year because the applications were all online and more difficult to access.
Hirschsohn pointed out that the incoming class has the highest average GPA of any class admitted to the University in recent memory. She said she thinks that indicates many women are focusing more on academics and less on extracurricular activities.
Mary Sleasman, who is in charge of recruitment for Kappa Kappa Gamma, agreed that the $30 charge was limiting the number of women joining; however, it also may filter out all but the devoted members.
“The pledge classes that are coming through right now are just amazing, amazing girls,” she said. “Next year, I think we’re going to have a wonderful recruitment because of them.”