Photo by: RodrigoFavera
A sister sorority program is an excellent way to foster chapter relations and personal friendships among sororities. As an abundance of healthy and high-tension sorority competition can be found at any university, pairing sororities together can help alleviate the competitive nature, introduce Greek members who would have otherwise never met, and promote a more positive image of the Greek community. For Greek communities who have yet to implement a sister sorority program, here are some tips on how to set things up.
Who Organizes The Program?
The sister sorority program is usually organized by the overseeing body of the sororities, in many cases the Panhellenic Council. Organizational responsibilities include making the sorority pairings each year, encouraging Greek support from both sororities and fraternities for sister sorority events, and dealing with problems and issues as they arise. Although Panhellenic normally oversees the sister sorority program, there are instances in which the sorority chapters themselves run the program. In these cases, organization, clear communication, and a strong commitment by all participating chapters is vital to the success of the program.
Additionally, Panhellenic may enforce rules and oversee sorority activities as some programs require a minimum number of sister sorority events. Events can range from just about anything but usually cover three specific areas: encouraging relations between sorority chapters and their members, supporting and promoting a philanthropic cause, and enhancing relations within the Greek community (with other sorority pairings and fraternity chapters).
How Long Do The Pairings Last?
Many programs have their sister sorority pairings run the length of the academic year (Fall to Spring) as it gives chapters time to plan events and introduce their members. It also cuts down on confusion as there is only one pairing per chapter per year. However, for other sorority chapters, the academic year is simply too much time. These chapters choose to have multiple pairings throughout the academic year with upwards of three or four pairings per sorority chapter. While the shorter amount of time limits the number of events each pairing can host, the multiple pairings throughout the year provide a greater number of opportunities for girls to meet members of other chapters.
What Do Sister Sororities Do?
The purpose of a sister sorority program is to foster relations between sorority chapters and their members. To this end, most sister sororities end up hosting mixers where members can socialize and get to know each other. Examples of such include dinner at one of the chapter’s house, game night, or an ice cream social. Additionally, many sister sororities capitalize on the holiday spirit and introduce their sisters while decorating cookies, running a canned food drive, or volunteering at a soup kitchen.
Sister sororities also serve to help each other. Yes, that’s right, help each other rather than competing against each other. Great examples of sororities helping sororities include academic tutoring, sport scrimmages, and mock recruitment. The last is among our favorites as we all know how competitive and ruthless recruitment can be. Mock recruitment is pretty much a dress rehearsal for the chapter. The sister sorority pretends to be the girls going through recruitment so your sisters can practice talking to girls they don’t know, singing chapter songs, and figuring out the perfect things to say.
Finally, sister sororities can improve the image of sororities and the Greek community by hosting public events. Events can be social such as a fraternity dinner, tailgate party or Panhellenic appreciation lunch, or they can be informational such as a domestic violence seminar, self-defense class, or alcohol and drug awareness posters. Sister sororities can also add the philanthropic aspect to their events such as a canned food drive at the fraternity dinner or a toys for tots box outside the seminar’s door.
Who Benefits from Sister Sororities?
While not the most important aspect of a sister sorority program, understanding who benefits can help motivate your sisters to participate and support the program. The most obvious benefactors of a sister sorority program are, of course, the sorority chapters and their members. Sister meet other Greeks, chapters become closer as a whole, and negative chapter images among sororities are dispelled.
Secondary benefactors of a sister sorority program are the Panhellenic community and the Greek community as a whole. More amicable sorority relations make things easier for Panhellenic as well as promote a positive image for the Panhellenic community in general. Additionally, improved sorority relations also make for better relations between sororities and fraternities, and, in turn, improve the public image of the Greek community. Finally, if sister sororities host any philanthropic or campus-wide events, the non-profit organizations and the college students benefit as well. In short, a well-run sister sorority program can be beneficial to all involved.
