Sororities played a unique role in helping women matriculate into W&M after the university began accepting women in 1918. The Panhellenic sororities that have a presence at the university today - Alpha Chi Omega, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, and Phi Mu - were safe spaces for women on this campus in a time where there were few women in higher education. The national governing bodies of these chapters didn’t officially allow women of color to join until the late 1960's, while William & Mary didn't allow black students to live on campus until 1967. Today the chapters remain majority-white, but women of all races at the university have found sisterhood in these chapters.
Black women wanted to create spaces where they could support each other through sisterhood. Sororities in the “Divine Nine” created chapters at William & Mary. The Mu Upsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was founded at the university in 1976; the Nu Chi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded in 1981; the Xi Lambda Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated was founded 1982; the Sigma Lambda chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated was founded 2011 in but is no longer active at the university. Non-black women of color also carved out spaces to support each other while seeking sisterhood. On April 7, 2013, nine women joined forces to create the Beta Delta chapter of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Incorporada, a Latin-based sorority. The Founding Mother Class of Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Incorporated, a South Asian-interest, multicultural sorority, was founded on November 6, 2016, and the sorority’s presence at the university is continuing to grow.
Today, all Panhellenic sororities as well as Delta Sigma Theta Inc. have houses in Sorority Court.
Women have sought to support one another from the very start of their presence on campus, and sororities have been one of the keys to that support. The university is the birthplace of Greek Life, and sororities have been a special place for women to expand their horizons and build meaningful, supportive relationships.
]]>Sorority Court is a complex of sorority houses located on Richmond Road with two houses facing Armistead Avenue. Opened in 1929, it has provided the residence for a limited number of Junior and Senior women.
The current sororities with houses here consist of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Chi Omega, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Kappa Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Alpha Epsilon Pi. The Moncure and Bozarth houses are not occupied by sororities.
Since women were first admitted in 1918, sororities have always played a unique and pivotal role in the lives of women students. They were safe spaces at a time when there were few women in higher education. In the beginning, sorority housing was spread throughout the area. In the early 1920s, William & Mary began purchasing homes on Richmond Road to house sororities. Throughout the decade, additional nearby houses were acquired for sororities. When Kappa Alpha Theta arrived in 1928, it joined Chi Omega and Alpha Chi Omega in the Sorority Complex. In 1929, three new houses were built and occupied by Kappa Delta, Pi Beta Phi, and Alpha Chi Omega. These houses were the first on campus to have dining rooms, forever changing sorority life.
The national governing bodies of many sororities denied women of color the opportunity to join until the late 1960's. This aligned with the first African American students in residence at William & Mary in 1967. Despite this, Black women created spaces where they could support each other through sisterhood. Sororities in the “Divine Nine” created chapters at William & Mary. The Mu Upsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was founded at the university in 1976; the Nu Chi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded in 1981; the Xi Lambda Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated was founded 1982; the Sigma Lambda chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated was founded 2011 in, but is no longer active at the university. Non-Black women of color also carved out spaces to support each other. On April 7, 2013, nine women created the Beta Delta chapter of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Incorporada, a Latin-based sorority. The Founding Mother Class of Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Incorporated, a South Asian-interest, multicultural sorority, was founded on November 6, 2016; the sorority’s presence at the university continues to grow.
]]>