December 7, 2023 | NEWS | By Charlotte Maley
Colorado College’s chapter of Delta Gamma, the first sorority established on campus in 1932, has seen 2023 as its last year as a campus organization. The Beta Delta chapter of Delta Gamma closed officially on July 25, 2023 and is no longer active, according to Mallory Borino, Director of Marketing and Communications of the national Delta Gamma organization.
Formerly one of CC’s seven active Greek life organizations, Delta Gamma had a long run on campus as one of the 14 total organizations to operate on-campus throughout school history. However, some within the organization could see that the disbanding was imminent ahead of the official decision.
Although members of Delta Gamma have been asked not to discuss the matter with outside sources, it is apparent due to accounts from three former sisters that the chapter is coming to an end due to a long-standing bureaucratic issue.
As a smaller sorority, each member is given a working position, something uncommon in most sororities nationwide. At schools with 300 women per chapter, designating 30 people to leadership positions works out perfectly, as the common population reaps the benefits and those in leadership can distribute their work evenly.
However, in a smaller chapter at Colorado College, every sister has a job, and some people end up with a far more work than others.
This unequal share of work led to some members feeling overburdened and spiteful of others, leading to what some described as a toxic and irreparable dynamic among the members.
After evaluating the poor conditions of the chapter, they resolved to end the sorority’s residency at CC.
“The stress of trying to maintain a good reputation while gaining new members brought out the worst in a lot of people – including myself,” said former sister Kirsten Varallo ’26. “I do not blame any singular entity or person for what happened, and I would do it all over again if I could, but I can say [that] I am much less stressed now that CC’s DG chapter has disbanded.”
Varallo added that she is “forever grateful” to have been a member of Delta Gamma.
The former president of the chapter could not be reached for comment after three attempts to contact them.
The chapter’s small numbers can be owed to the fact that sororities at small liberal art schools, such as CC, struggle to find enough recruits to be permanently sustainable. Although a minor struggle for all campus sororities, this general lack of interest has had the biggest impact on the chapter.
Even with personalized invites, tabling during lunch in the Worner Center and a week’s worth of recruitment activities, they still struggled to increase their numbers.
For some on the outside looking in, Greek life on campus can feel bizarre. Claire Moe ’26 said, “The whole process of interviewing for a friend group is something strange to me.”
One reason for the chapter’s low enrollment and interest rate is thought to be its reputation as an inward-focused sorority. Some have observed that the sorority had a lower presence in the campus party scene compared to other Greek life groups at CC, which some have speculated may be why it gets less attention.
In addition, the fraternity and sorority system itself has a long history of excluding people based on race, cultural background and gender. These stereotypes are not usually tolerated at progressive schools such as CC, but some students who think that there is not enough scrutiny.
Sofia Camacho ’25 said they believe the sororities on campus, “are kinda racist.”
It is unclear what effect their dissolvement will have on Greek life at CC as the spring semester and recruitment season draws nearer.
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