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

the first organization of college women established as a national college fraternity. Kappa Alpha
Theta was organized in 1870 as the first Greek letter society for women (until that time women's
organizations were referred to as societies, not using Greek letter names).
It is difficult to find a consistent historical account of the 26 NPC sororities. Many of the
national sororities' historical books explain only their own historical development. Of the
material available, a book by Clyde Sanfred Johnson (1972) seemed to be the most
comprehensive account that addressed the founding of all 26 groups. Johnson's account of the
development of sororities explains in detail how these groups came into being. He explains a
need for sororities by documenting the following history. In the beginning of men's fraternities, it
was not necessary to restrict women from these organizations. Most of the men's groups were
founded on campuses that prohibited women from attending; therefore, the idea of women
wanting to join their groups was not a pressing concern. During the Civil War Era, more women
entered college, leading to the development of undergraduate women’s auxiliaries to men's
chapters and even the initiation of women by several men's groups. The role of women in higher
education was changing the role of women in extracurricular events as well. After the Civil War
Era, the need for women’s societies became more apparent and the resultant founding of
women's societies accelerated. Johnson (1972) presents an account of the development of
sororities as follows: The founding of Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma (1870),
during the same academic year at Monmouth College in Illinois, established a pattern that
eventually came to prevail: college women would not insist, as a kind of civil right, upon
becoming members of men's fraternities, nor would they become secondary departments therein.
They would have their own completely separate and equal fraternities to provide themselves with
comparable social and other privileges, but independent and self-governing (p. 58).
32