Story by Paige Effinger, Staff Writer
National Panhellenic Council sororities and fraternities have been a part of Murray State’s campus since the late 1960s and are currently in the process of recruiting new members.
The National Panhellenic Council is made up of four organizations. There are three sororities Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta, and one fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha.
Kim Newbern, coordinator of Greek life and student leadership programs, said the NPHC is the ruling body over the nationally known African-American fraternities and sororities.
Historically, there are nine sororities and fraternities that make up NPHC. Newbern said these nine are often referred to as the “Divine Nine.”
Alpha Phi Alpha was the first NPHC organization to join Murray State’s campus in 1968. Newbern said they are getting ready for their 50th anniversary this year.
NPHC organizations do the recruitment process differently than the IFC and CPC organizations. NPHC organizations go through periods called “intake” that start a few weeks into the semester with informational meetings.
“There’s also an educational process that they have to go through,” Newbern said. “It is about a month for all of their activities, and then they will have a new member presentation at the end.”
Interested members are required to participate in four interest classes to enter into any organization. Newbern said these classes talk about time management, the history of NPHC, programming, recruitment and others like that.
Newbern started this position last July. She said one of her goals for this position is to make sure that NPHC organizations’ numbers grow.
The NPHC are generally smaller than the other Greek organizations. The average chapter size is four members, but this also allows for a stronger bond between organizations and members. She said the intake process makes a difference. It gives people time to learn about their brothers or sisters.
“When you have smaller numbers, you have more of an intimate relationship with your brothers or sisters,” she said.