Bringing a new chapter to your campus has its ups and downs, but being a part of the Greek Community makes it all worth it.

Being the newest chapter on a campus where Greek Life plays a huge role in campus life is not a simple task. Being a new member of a Greek organization is tough enough: turning strangers into sisters, balancing school, making connections in the Greek community. We had to do all that, meanwhile establishing a vision, a one year plan, a five year plan, and answering the dreadfully awful question, "What chapter is that?" There are drawbacks, roadblocks, triumphs, and breakthroughs that come along with being a founding member of a sorority. We do not expect to be everyone's best friend or favorite house. We do not expect to be bowed down to, or given special treatment. We do, however, expect to be accepted into the greek community with open arms. We may be new, but we are not oblivious. We can hear the skeptics and I'm ready to debunk a few myths.

My personal favorite: "They couldn't get into any of the houses on campus, so they started their own." While writing a response to this, I had to battle my inner Jennifer Lawrence and shut out any and all burning desires to combat this ludicrous statement with sarcasm. I'll try to stick to the facts. A lot of our girls, (for whatever reasons) did not go through formal recruitment. Whether it was personal commitments, time management, nerves, bad timing, finances, age barriers, etc: recruitment was not for them. On the other end of that spectrum, many girls did go through formal recruitment, received bids from various houses, and at the end of the day just decided they weren't happy with where they ended up. Regardless, we hate to break it to you, the other houses on campus were not the major deciding factor in why we wanted to be founders of a new chapter.

Myth number two, "They think they're better than the other houses on campus." Let's reflect on, and add to, my previous statement: our decision to be founders of a new chapter was not an attempt to prove our superiority over other houses. Clearly we admired the image of greek life that houses before us projected. We admired it so much we wanted to become a part of the community, not start something "better." We admired it so much that we wanted to expand the opportunity to more and more girls who want to get involved in a college experience that changes your life.

"They aren't real until they get a house," This statement just tickles me. Unfortunately, the wish fairies have not come up with a spell that magically grants each new chapter a lot to build a castle on. While it would be grand to acquire a piece of realty with the blink of an eye and the wave of a wand, it does not work that way. We're working on it, and will try to remain "real" despite lacking a plot of land with our letters on it.

"Anyone can join their chapter. Literally, they let anyone join." Yes, this is absolutely correct. Come one, come all, this chapter is a free for all...not quite. While our recruitment techniques were not conventional during our first year on campus, rest assured that not just anyone can become, nor remain, a member of this chapter. We have guidelines, requirements, and expectations to meet; just like any other house. At the same time, since when is allowing more people to go greek a bad thing? The greek community is exclusive, there's no denying that. But it's also inclusive in that anyone who wants to join, and is qualified to join, should have the opportunity to be in any house.

We joined for many reasons: starting something new instead of molding to what was already in place. Molding the house into what we want it to be from day one. It's leadership, and leaving a legacy, and knowing that when we come back in ten years, most people won't remember that there was a point where our chapter wasn't on campus. 

Regardless of why we came, we're here to stay. This is our new chapter.