Sorority Rituals - Reflections On Rites of ... - Mari Ann Callais

Gradually, however, they took over public functions, and, to varying extents, became
influential forces on many campuses. Thus, at California, Berkeley, where college
housing was almost nonexistent, the sororities functioned as select dormitories. In
addition, especially at coeducational schools, they provided institutional group support
for young women. Administrators, early wary of the political power of these societies as a
competing authority, at first tried to halt their development. In time, though, they found it
useful to enlist sorority leaders along with those of student government, to control social
behavior on campus. Some schools, like Stanford, Chicago, and California, did not permit
students to start a chapter unless their grades were required to indicate their intended
plans and activities. Sororities gained status from overseeing the members and helping
them maintain good grades (p. 107).
In addition, Solomon (1985) writes of the opposition to sororities in the following:
Some educators and students opposed sororities because their presence promoted
exclusivity. Membership in sororities was based, not only on personal congeniality, but
on the individual’s ability to share expenses as well. Students outside sororities
contributed to perpetuating them by too often believing that they were being left out of
something valuable (p. 107).
These descriptions place into context the changing environment in which sororities began on
college campuses and the mixed feelings concerning their contribution to the campus
environment.
The history of the sorority movement demonstrates the sorority movement's relationship
to women's participation in higher education. In the sorority world, the timeline of these
organizations' founding is very significant. Each group was founded based upon the needs of
their founders. The age of the founders, the geographical location of the institution where they
were founded, and even the religious beliefs of their founders played a significant role in each
sorority's purpose.
The first recorded founding of a women’s society is Alpha Delta Pi Fraternity, which was
founded as the Adelphean Society in 1851 at Wesleyan College. Alpha Delta Pi was followed by
Phi Mu Fraternity, which was founded as the Philamathian Society at Wesleyan College in 1852.
The two organizations were referred to as secret societies. Pi Beta Phi came into being in 1867 as
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