Pi Alpha Chi, a local sorority founded on Catholic values, was accepted into the Panhellenic Association at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an associate member in September.

The sorority was designed to emulate sororities in the National Panhellenic Conference and had the goal of joining the Nebraska Panhellenic Association since its founding in 2012. In 2014, Pi Alpha Chi applied for Panhellenic Association membership for the first time. The application, which requires a two-thirds majority vote from delegates of each sorority, was rejected that year and the year following. Since Pi Alpha Chi is not a National Panhellenic Conference sorority, there was uncertainty among sororities of what Pi Alpha Chi’s role would be in the Greek community.

Due to early extensive planning, the third attempt proved successful. Prior to voting, each sorority reached out to both regional and national representatives to discuss the addition of Pi Alpha Chi to be certain the addition would benefit the Panhellenic Association.

“One of the things that changed this year was that we gave chapters more time to think it through and talk to their national organizations,” said Morgan Battes, president of the Nebraska Panhellenic Association. “We started the conversation last semester with presidents, recruitment chairs, and delegates and talked about any concerns that they had with Pi Alpha Chi.”

Although the extent of Pi Alpha Chi’s role in Panhellenic Association is still being determined, the membership provides the sorority with exciting opportunities. One big change is Pi Alpha Chi’s participation in the first two days of formal recruitment. While Pi Alpha Chi will give a presentation rather than speaking one-on-one with potential new members, its membership in Panhellenic Council guarantees that all young women looking to join a sorority will learn about Pi Alpha Chi. In addition, Pi Alpha Chi members will participate in Greek Weekend, be included in the Greek grade reports, and will be able to participate in other activities with sororities. One of these activities is sister sorority pairings, which occur when different sororities pair up to do different activities and meet new people. Pi Alpha Chi has voting rights on the Panhellenic Association, with the exception of voting on extension (expansion) matters.

“We are delighted that they’ve joined our Panhellenic Association,” said Director of Greek Affairs Linda Schwartzkopf. “We definitely feel that their presence on the Panhellenic Association will add value to our Panhellenic community.”

“We are incredibly grateful and humbled by the support we received and continue to receive from the Greek community as we begin this new chapter in Pi Alpha Chi’s history,” said Angelica Carlini, Pi Alpha Chi’s public relations and technology chair. “Nebraska is a wonderful place to establish our roots and we are blessed to work with such high-quality staff, students, and university leadership.”