Kappa Delta sorority | Photo by Diana Jaber | The Wright State Guardian
Theta Phi Alpha sorority, one of the original six sororities on Wright State University’s (WSU) campus, was temporarily suspended due to low membership in 2020, but current spring recruitment efforts aim to bring the sorority back.
Theta Phi Alpha
Theta Phi Alpha is a national women’s social sorority that values educational excellence, professional achievement and social service. The sorority, established in 1912, boasts over 100 years of activities.
Membership is down across the board for all sororities and fraternities due to the pandemic, leading to recruitment difficulties. Theta Phi Alpha was hit especially hard with these low numbers, causing their temporary disbandment in 2020.
A similar incident happened in 2021 with the Gamma Phi Chapter of Theta Phi Alpha at Indiana University dissolving due to low recruitment.
“Challenges in achieving continued successful membership recruitment results have hindered the ability of the chapter to provide the enriching membership experience that our legacy dictates,” Theta Phi Alpha said in a recent news release regarding this change.
Theta Phi Alpha’s future as a sorority at WSU will be determined based on the success of spring recruiting efforts, despite the desire of students to have them back on campus.
College Panhellenic
Kaci Lovejoy, president of College Panhellenic Council, is excited for the potential return to campus since Theta Phi Alpha has traditionally been present at WSU.
“Everyone always talks about what Greek life used to be, all of what anyone knew at Wright State, but right now it’s kind of a different story because of COVID and involvement and everything so I’m just excited for there going to be a new sense of normalcy,” Lovejoy said.
Lovejoy also said that since some assistance is coming to WSU from the national organization of Theta Phi Alpha, there may be difficulties in recruitment since the assistance will have less familiarity with WSU as a university.
Fraternity and Sorority Council
Faith Thompson, president of the Fraternity and Sorority Council and member of Theta Phi Alpha, expressed similar concerns.
“They’ve [potential recruits] had a whole semester to get involved in other things and they may have leadership positions where they feel that they may not be able to take on another,” Thompson said.
Since Theta Phi Alpha is starting over from the bottom at WSU, there will also be a lack of experienced leaders within the organization. Despite this, Thompson remains positive about the future of Theta Phi Alpha at WSU.
Thompson reports that WSU’s chapter of Theta Phi Alpha has always been very LGBT+ inclusive and has had a special emphasis on philanthropy.
