As many of you may know, Greek life at UND is huge! Greek life offers so many opportunities to its members to develop leadership skills, pursue excellence in scholarship, create lifelong friendships, and contribute to their campus and community. Sororities and fraternities enrich the lives of their members and others through sisterhood, brotherhood, philanthropy, service, and values.  

During the Meet the Sororities event at the Memorial Union on Wednesday, January 19th, I had the opportunity to talk to all the sororities and learn more about their philanthropies and sisterhood. The event offered all its attendees a chance to win a gift card and participate in crafts and games hosted by the chapters.  

The first sorority station I visited was Pi Beta Phi whose philanthropy consists of a program called Champions are Readers which helps students in pre-k through 3rd grade get materials and tools for reading provided to schools for free. Their Literacy Fund is a foundation supporting their cause where Pi Beta Phi matches 25% of donations. Their new member fees add up to a total of $917, and members residing in the house pay $2,786 in the fall and $2,734 in the spring. Members residing out of the house pay $880 in the fall and $828 in the spring, but there is a residency requirement of 1 year.  

Moving forward I talked to Alpha Chi Omega who works in domestic violence philanthropy, and new members fees add up to a total of $1,152. Their residency requirement is 1 full school year or 2 semesters worth with an in-house pay of $2,455 in the fall and $2,055 in the spring. Members residing out of the house pay $830 in both the fall and spring.  

Alpha Phi philanthropy is supporting women’s cardiac healthcare where they host numerous events throughout the year raising money and spreading awareness just like all the other sororities do for their charitable work. Their new members fees are $1,514.99 totaled up, and they require residency for 1 year. It costs $3,416.99 for the fall semester and $3,300.50 for the spring semester to live in the house. For members residing out of the house, it costs $1,064.99 for the fall and $948.50 for the spring. 

This next station implanted their philanthropy into their craft, which was super fun and creative, so I made a little keychain with my initials in brail glued on with little gems, representing Service for Sight and the School for the Blind causes. Delta Gamma’s new member fees are $1,493 and residency requirement are a 1 year minimum. For members residing in the house, it costs $2,955 for the fall semester and $2,809 for the spring semester, and it costs $1,118 in the fall and $972 in the spring for members residing out of the house.  

Gamma Phi Beta was hosting a charm bracelet station where I got to make a bracelet with a bunch of cool charms and my name spelled out in charms, which was fun. They support strong girls, so their philanthropy is Girls on the Run designed for strengthening 3rd to 8th grade girls’ social, emotional, physical, and behavioral skills. Their new member fees add up to $978, and their residency requirement is 1 year. In-house living costs $3,065 in both the fall and the spring, and out of house living costs $815 for both the fall and the spring.  

Kappa Alpha Theta’s philanthropy consists of an organization called Court Appointed Special Advocates, which supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children, and they host numerous fundraising and awareness events throughout the year. Residency requirement for Theta is 2 years unlike the rest of the sororities, and their new member fees are $1,086 totaled up. It costs $2,866.50 to live in the house for both the fall and spring, and $726.50 to live out of house for both the fall and the spring.  

Finally, I visited Kappa Delta’s station where they have close ties with the Girls Scouts of Grand Forks helping them flourish into young adults, and their philanthropy is also helping to stop child abuse in America. New members fees add up to $1,151.50, and residency requirement is only 1 year to live in the house, which costs $741 in the fall and $709. Those same prices apply to members residing out of the house.  

This event put on by the UND Greek life was an eye-opening and laid-back event where girls were able to talk to all the sororities without any pressure of trying to impress. I have never really considered joining a sorority until now, so if you are on the fence about Greek life, reach out to any Greek member for more information. You can find contact information for all the fraternities and sororities by clicking on their chapters on the UND website under fraternity and sorority life.  

Kelsie Hildebrand is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].