Every Sunday evening, some may wonder why there are so many students dressed up, looking like they’re going to brunch with their grandparents. This is actually when most sororities and fraternities hold their chapter meetings. It is required for those attending to dress in business attire or pin “badge” attire.
For college students, Sunday is usually a day of relaxation to catch up on homework, do laundry or sit in bed and watch Netflix all day. But once you join a Greek organization, you can kiss two hours of your day goodbye, unless you get lucky and don’t have your meetings until the evening.
All the women of Alpha Chi Omega make their way over to Reeves Theater for their meetings. This is the one day of the week when all of the sisters are in the same place at the same time. Everyone stands in line anxiously awaiting the start of chapter by gossiping and catching up with their sisters beforehand.
“Formal chapter meetings are my favorite because we recite our ritual,” said senior Rachel Shor. “Although it is annoying to have to dress up in business casual attire on a Sunday, it reminds us why we joined in the first place. Without our ritual, traditions and values, we are just another group getting together to do community service and hang out.”
Chapter meetings are a time where all the members of the Executive Board speak to the chapter and inform the sisters of what is going on with their positions and other events for the upcoming week or month. They also recite their ritual and the Symphony of Alpha Chi Omega, which reminds them of the importance that the sorority has in each of their lives.
“Chapter meetings are great because we usually have guests come into our chapter,” said freshman Kelsy Gonsowski. “It keeps us informed on what other organizations are doing on and off campus so we can get involved and help them out.”
This past Sunday, Alpha Chi Omega had special guests from the University of South Florida’s Kappa Sigma talk to the chapter. They held a bachelor auction at USF to raise money for their house they will be building soon. The VP Membership Programming made it a sisterhood event. Nothing can bring sisters together more than spending quality time with each other, and weekly chapter meetings are the perfect time to do just that.
Alex Sarling can be reached at alexandra.sarling@spartans.ut.edu.