By Jason Pepe & Amanda Ayers

Contributing Writer & News Editor

Two new sororities will be added on campus within the next two years. One will be a multicultural sorority added in the fall of 2012, and the other will be part of a Panhellenic extension, planned to start in the fall of 2013.

Mu Sigma Upsilon will be the multicultural sorority. A group of young women on campus saw the need for a multicultural Greek organization and reached out to Mu Sigma Upsilon about starting a chapter at the University. The presence of Mu Sigma Upsilon is planned to help foster diversity among the nine current sororities.

Jackie Petrucci, assistant director of residential education for sorority affairs, is optimistic about the sorority’s potential.

“I think this group will be well received because they are fulfilling a need that is not being met within our fraternity and sorority community.  Having a multicultural organization on campus will continue to add depth to our community and enrich the experiences for students at Bucknell University,” Petrucci said.

Mu Sigma Upsilon is planning to host several interest meetings this semester. Women who are interested in joining are encouraged to attend.  For more information, contact Petrucci at [email protected].

For the Panhellenic expansion, the chapter to be added in 2013 has yet to be determined. In order to decide this, there will be an extensive interview process in the near future which will allow various organizations to present information to the University in order to demonstrate that they will be the best fit on campus.

This decision was affirmed through a vote from each existing sorority chapter on campus. It reflects a desire to accommodate a greater number of undergraduate women who wish to affiliate. Another justification for the Panhellenic extension is that chapters have grown unreasonably large.

“With chapter membership over 120 women, the deep lifelong friendships all sorority organizations aim to foster can be compromised,” said the 2011 Panhellenic Evaluation, published by the Extension Exploratory Committee.

Additionally, the suites cannot accommodate all of the women who wish to live there, which can also inhibit the development of deeper relationships.

Women associated with the Panhellenic Council were not permitted to comment on the addition of this second sorority.