Newest sorority joins Greek Village, accepts 300 women in first class
After over two and a half years of planning and anticipation, Alpha Gamma Delta sorority welcomed about 300 women to its newest colony.
Despite Sunday’s gloomy weather, an outdoor barbecue party at the South Carolina chapter’s Greek Village house set the stage for its inaugural bid day.
More than 30 staffers and volunteers from 19 other Alpha Gamma Delta chapters came to Columbia last week to help USC’s newest Greek organization prepare for the event, said Stephannie Bailey, AGD’s international executive director.
“Bid day is all about fun, celebrating and meeting all of your sisters,” Bailey said Sunday. “Tomorrow, the new members have their first ceremony.”
Already, though, the new members said they were enjoying getting to know their sorority.
“My favorite part so far has been learning all of the new sorority cheers,” said Ann Taylor, a new member and a third-year business administration student.
The new member period will last for the remainder of the semester. Two leadership consultants from the sorority’s national office will live in the house as the colony gets situated and develops.
Members of the colony will move into the 44-bed house, which the sorority is leasing from Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Sigma Phi Epsilon’s national organization closed its chapter a year ago, citing “recent incidents, continued neglect of the property and a failure to self-govern.”
The chapter plans to recolonize in 2015, Vice President for Student Affairs Dennis Pruitt said last year.
Along with the leadership consultants, Alpha Gamma Delta will at first be led by a 16-woman advisory team made up of local alumni.
“I am so excited for the girls to make new friendships, see their sisterhood grow and become really involved,” said Jordan Gallivan, one of the leadership consultants.
Gallivan will continue to live in the AGD house for at least the remainder of the semester, as she has done since the beginning of August. In the meantime, she’s meeting with campus professionals, learning about USC and recruiting women for AGD.
Though it’s a young organization, its leadership said the colony plans to jump into campus activities and get involved as much as it can.
“We wanted to create an experience for them that is a good transition,” Bailey said. “They plan to participate in numerous philanthropy and social events as well this semester.”
This fall, AGD will be paired with Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity for homecoming.
“I’m very excited we get the opportunity to participate in Spurs and Struts this year,” said Liz Kenney, a third-year biology student. “I’m also definitely planning on getting involved with the social and philanthropy committees this semester and perhaps pursue a leadership role later.”
Like Kenney, a number of the new members were upperclassmen, including a good number of second- and third-year students.
For some, it was a second chance to jump into Greek life after choosing not to earlier.
“I went through formal recruitment as a freshman and was unsure of it,” Kenney said. “When I met one of the [leadership consultants] and saw the house, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do.”