Following a lengthy internal debate and a five-month search for a national sorority with which to affiliate, the 17 members of Delta Pi Omega sorority have decided to remain local for the time being.
Earlier this month, Delta Pi decided against affiliation with Alpha Xi Delta, a national sorority. Alpha Xi Delta was the only national to make a presentation to Delta Pi.
Emily Atkinson '99 said that while the sisters "thought Alpha Xi was great, we didn't want to join them just so we would be better off for rush in the fall."
Delta Pi will take part in the Panhellenic Council's regular rush process this fall, the first time they will do so as a College-recognized sorority.
The decision to stay local means Delta Pi is the first sorority ever at Dartmouth not to be initially associated with a national affiliate, Assistant Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders noted.
Reinders cited religious rituals, parietal hours -- restricted times of the day when males can visit the house -- and alcohol as reasons for Dartmouth sororities choosing to become local.
However, Atkinson said that "the no-alcohol and limited-visitation policies of the national sororities had very little to do with our decision to stay local."
Emily Csatari '99 said when Delta Pi was first formed, its members decided that before we could choose between 20 some odd national organizations, we first needed to define ourselves and our purposes."
Csatari said "while the advantages of a national are certainly appealing, the overall consensus was that we were not willing to terminate our existence as Delta Pi and take on the new identity of a national group."
Delta Pi was founded last May and was officially recognized as the seventh Panhellenic sorority by the College on Jan. 6.
Sheryl Koval '99 said "national or local, it is the people that make the house what it is, and the women of Delta Pi definitely have the tenacity and motivation to perpetuate what we have made."
"We just decided, or maybe found out, that we don't need a national to reach that goal," she said.
