New sorority hopes to set academic trends

04/09/09 - Gamma Xi Delta, the University of Rhode Island's newest sorority, will be officially recognized as an associate member of the Panhellenic Council Monday.President Angie Abbe, who established the sorority in the fall, said she didn't want to be a part of the sororities already on campus, but she still wanted to have fun socially.

Starting her own sorority became her resolution. Abbe advertised the idea of forming the new sorority Gamma Xi Delta through a Facebook group and said it was an immediate success. At one point approximately 80 girls were members of the group.

During the sorority's first meeting in November, Abbe said about 30 women showed. Abbe and her vice president, Katrina Meehan, were happy with the turnout and said the girls who joined the group seemed committed.

Twenty-four sisters were initiated in November, all of whom are "founding sisters." Abbe said spring rush was after break and Gamma Xi Delta now has 37 members.

"Since they took the time to find us, we knew they were committed," Meehan said. Abbe hopes the newly-established sorority will represent diversity, leadership and academic success as opposed to the typical sorority stereotype.

Abbe said the sorority held their own rush events, rather than URI's formal rush. Gamma Xi Delta held weekly Monday meetings welcoming anyone who was interested, she said.

"We are very welcoming [and] we want [the girls in Gamma Xi Delta] to want the same things we want," Abbe said.

She said even though everyone is welcome, strict requirements must be met before initiation. Members must have a 2.5 grade point average prior to initiation. Abbe said almost all of the women interested met these requirements. Those initiated are required to maintain a 2.6 grade point average.

Along with maintaining these grades, joining other groups on campus is important to the sorority. All of the sisters are required to be a part of one other extracurricular group on campus and are encouraged to participate in more than one, Abbe said.

When an individual candidate met all of the requirements, Abbe and other members of the executive board interviewed each woman to ensure she was serious about joining the sorority.

Meehan said potential sisters were questioned about their involvement on campus, academics, along with their future goals in life. Meehan and Abbe said some of the questions put candidates on the spot, but the answers showed their dedication.

"All of the girls who showed up were amazing," Abbe said.

After forming the group, they adopted rituals like mandatory study groups that consist of five-hour study sessions. Abbe believes the sessions give the women a chance to get know their sisters.

In addition, sisters are required to attend weekly workshops so they can learn how to produce well-written resumes.

"[We are] making sure in the long run, our girls will be successful," Abbe said.

Meehan said they are also "trying to promote networking in the sorority."

Gamma Xi Delta is also focusing on getting involved in various community service projects, like volunteering at orphanages, visiting animal shelters and creating packages for the soldiers in Iraq. Abbe said they tend to focus on Rhode Island-centered events because the sorority is a local sorority, as there is no national chapter.

"We have the intent to go national within the next two years," Abbe said.

If the sorority goes national, it will start establishing more traditions, but for now it's focusing on its recognition as a local sorority, Meehan added.

"We function like any other sorority," Abbe said. "We are just brand new.