Clarke University is now offering to its students a sorority club on campus called SHE. As many Clarke students know, Clarke is not affiliated with Greek life or has offered any fraternities or sororities, but a few Clarke students saw the benefits these organizations can have on campus life. Created by Lydia Smith, Ruby Colin, and Taylor Foecking, Smith said the main reason they decided Clarke need this club was because “we wanted to offer something at Clarke that was fun and would encourage students to be more involved.”
Smith also explained how “she watched all her friends having fun at college in sororities, and since Clarke does not have that, we created a fun environment to get people more engaged.” She also stated that they tried to make it a real sorority, however, they are unable to call this new club a sorority due to Clarke’s lack of affiliation with Greek life.
This club gives many opportunities to new students who like to be involved, as well as upperclassmen who just want to have the experience. SHE is a great way to meet new people and bond through different activities according to Smith. Membership is open to any gender, currently having 25 girls and 1 boy. When the club was initially created the sorority about 50 candidates wanted to join after the first day according to Smith’s Instagram post.
After interviewing one candidate that has since joined the club and become a member, she stated “it was something new that seemed interesting, fun, and a great opportunity to meet new people.” This club does offer a variety of fun activities such as group meetings, making food, being a part of the homecoming booth, going to apple orchards, and being apart of door decorations for the dorms according to Smith.
SHE also plans to make shirts and apparel for the club and plan to do events with the community. According to Brooke Puckett, who just joined this club, explains why she likes this club so much, saying “it is different and new to Clarke, it seems like it will be a new positive social activity to be brought on campus.” Although this club has just started, Puckett acknowledges how this can benefit other students at Clarke. Puckett states “it’s a new way to meet new people and bring the Clarke community closer together along with being a fun extracurricular activity.”
However, because this is a new club that has great opportunities for Clarke students to have fun, not many people understand or know about this club. She said, “I heard about this club but I had no idea about what it was or what they did, or if I would even like it.” She also stated how “it would be nice if they could have put more information about this club on the media or (advertised) all over Clarke.”
-Gianna Garza