In the span of two weeks, Colorado College has gone from having only two sororities on campus to taking the final steps to invite Tri Sigma to join Greek life at CC.
Two weeks ago, National President of Sigma Sigma Sigma (Tri Sigma) Lauren Moran and her team arrived to present their history, core values and vision for expansion onto the Colorado College campus. Dozens of students from Kappa Alpha Theta (Theta) and Delta Mu sororities gathered in Cornerstone Arts Center to hear their pitch.
The following Tuesday, the Greek Leadership Council, a group of student executive members from Theta, Delta Mu, Sigma Chi and Kappa Sigma, as well as administrative leaders, gathered to take a vote on whether they would invite Tri Sigma to campus. The vote passed unanimously.
Now the only step that stands in the way of Tri Sigma’s addition to campus is an official vote by the Tri Sigma National Council.
Tri Sigma was established in 1898 at Longwood University in Virginia. It has 97 chapters across 30 states and over 5,700 active members. Its philanthropic focus is on “play therapy,” an emotional support tool for hospitalized children and supporting the National March of Dimes, an organization dedicated to improving the health of mothers and babies. During the presentation, they touted their mentorship program and extensive alumni network, including an alumni chapter based in Denver.
Tri Sigma prides itself on being an inclusive organization. It was the first sorority to adopt a zero-tolerance hazing policy and one of the earliest adopters of gender inclusivity, according to Moran.
Their motto is “To receive much, you must give much.”
“I think there’s a much bigger story here than simply adding another sorority to campus,” Bryre Malone, the fraternity and sorority life coordinator, said in an email to The Catalyst. She said that Theta and Delta Mu have been at or near capacity and 20 to 40 women have been turned away over the past three years. The goal of a third sorority, Malone said, is to expand opportunities for belonging, leadership development and service for students on campus.
Malone said she was impressed with Tri Sigma’s willingness to reflect and evolve.
“They’ve spoken openly about parts of their history they aren’t proud of,” said Malone. “I appreciate that they aren’t presenting Greek life as something that has always gotten everything right, but as something that can and should continue to improve.”
When asked about their thoughts on the possibility of a third sorority at CC, current members of Greek Life had mixed feelings.
“If we want Greek life to be an inclusive space where it’s not like a cut situation, it makes sense,” said Delta Mu member Olivia Harris ‘27. “But I don’t think that the student body is necessarily craving another sorority or Greek life because it’s not that big in general.”
Kaia Garvens ‘28 of Delta Mu said the addition was “a little [bit] of a shock … I don’t think we necessarily saw this coming.” She said she felt that sororities were at a perfect balance. “There hasn’t been a third sorority in five years,” she said.
Yet, some students feel positively about the addition.
“The more the merrier,” said Theta Vice President of Membership Casey Wilson ‘29.
“Because there are only two [sororities], Delta Mu and Theta, we’re often pitted against each other, or put at like two sides of the spectrum that I really disagree with and I don’t think is accurate,” Wilson said. If there’s another option, she said this may help with the polarity.
Malone also dismissed concerns about Theta and Delta Mu losing pledges. Malone believes there is a high demand to join Greek life among the female-identifying community on campus right now.
“I think right now we have two very different chapters,” said Malone about the current sororities on campus. “So when these reps from Tri Sigma come to campus, they’re obviously going to find girls that may be interested in one of those two groups and yeah, there may be some competition there. But what does competition breed? Progress.”
Members of both fraternities at CC, Sigma Chi and Kappa Sigma, agreed with Wilson’s sentiment that more is better. Some members of Sig Chi House agreed that with more Greek Representation on campus, more positive feelings will arise about Greek life.
“If more people are part of Greek life, there’s going to be a stronger total Greek life culture,” Anders McKeever ‘29 of Sigma Chi said.
This sentiment was echoed by Noah Horsch ‘29 of Kappa Sigma, who believes that “the more people involved, the more people will see the upsides of it, and not just the more outward stuff that other people see.”
This year Sig Chi had nine pledge, according to current members. Last year they had 11 in the fall and 12 in the spring. Kappa Sigma also holds smaller pledge classes compared to the sororities.
Malone said that for her, growth is not the goal for fraternities right now. She is focused on health.
“When I’m looking at fraternities, I’m not looking at them as like, how can we make your community bigger?” said Malone. “I’m thinking, how can we make your community better, stronger, and also have positive impacts?”
She cited renewed efforts towards men’s mental health and making fraternities on campus a place where the culture of masculinity is changed and systemic issues of sexism and rape are addressed.
Malone has big dreams for the future of Greek life at CC. When asked if Tri Sigma would potentially buy one of the unused sorority houses on the sorority quad, she replied, “I would love that… I want that area of campus to be vibrant again.”