Seventy-seven women accepted bids to the new Tufts chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta (Theta) sorority this past Tuesday.
Theta - which held its first chapter meeting last Sunday - became the fourth sorority on the Hill this fall after years of discussion. By taking their bids, the students accepted an invitation to become new members of Theta at Tufts.
Jenny Cook, one of two Theta representatives for Tufts, said she is excited that so many students are interested in the new organization.
"I was actually blown away by the number of people who came to our table and information sessions," Cook told the Daily. "Coming to a very small school that is academically oriented,
it can be difficult to generate the interest to join a Greek organization, especially for a school with such a small Greek community."
Madison Cannon, Cook's fellow Theta representative, said she believes many students were drawn to the opportunity to become charter members of a new sorority.
"One of the big things is probably that they will have the chance to be the first charter members of this sorority," Cannon told the Daily. "They get to create their own group and make their own name on campus."
Cook added that the introduction of Theta made it possible for women to be a part of a group that they felt they belonged in.
"Maybe [the new Theta members] have gone through recruitment in the past and
didn't find their niche," she said. "This is their opportunity to really create their own identity but still be a part of the Greek community."
Of the 77 students who accepted bids, a little more than 50 were sophomores and the rest were juniors and seniors, Cook said. Theta was not allowed to recruit freshmen at this time. Cook, however, could not release numbers about how many people signed up for a position at the sorority or about how many total bids were given out.
While students rushing for a position in a sorority are normally guaranteed a bid, Cook explained that this was not the case for Theta this fall.
"One of the reasons we could not guarantee a bid was because of the process of recruitment," Cook said. "Normally people who don't meet certain standards are kind of removed from the system before rush, but for our process we are just doing interviews, so people aren't guaranteed bids."
Rush for Theta will open again during the second week of classes next semester, Cook said, when the other sororities also begin their recruitment process. Cook said she hoped to reach a chapter total of 98, which would put the chapter in "good standing" according to Greek standards at Tufts.
Over the next few weeks, the charter members will learn the basics of Theta life at Tufts.
"[Cook] and I will be walking them through the process of being a new member, so they will learn all the things a new member of Theta learns on any campus, if they are a charter member or a new member in general," Cannon said.
Cannon added that the sorority will form committees and hold elections so that officers can be installed in early November.
Vanessa Zhang, one of the new members of Kappa Alpha Theta, said that the process of becoming a member happened very quickly.
"It was super, super quick," Zhang, a sophomore, said. "We went to a meeting, and immediately after, signed up for an interview. The next day we knew if we were in or not."
According to Zhang, the group now has six weeks to learn about Theta, bond with the other new members and make sure they are committed before initiation. Zhang said she is looking forward to the process.
"I am really, really excited about the future of Theta," she said. "There are a ton of cool opportunities and possibilities for Theta on campus.
I think this is a good opportunity to meet new people I would never get to meet."
According to Cook, the Theta representatives' work at Tufts has gone smoothly so far.
"We have just been so thankful to how welcoming not just the Greek community, but everyone in general has been in welcoming Theta to campus," she said.
