The Sandspur

Issue date: 3/19/10 Section: Opinions

Media Credit: Jessica Moses HISTORIC VALUE: The NCM house, Mayflower Hall, actually contains a piece of wood from the original Mayflower ship.

Media Credit: Jessica Moses A HOUSE DIVIDED: Mayflower Hall has housed NCM for decades.

In the spring semester of 2009, Non Compis Mentis (NCM), the only local sorority on campus, decided to undergo the process of researching a possible merge with a national sorority. The organization voted as a whole that they would look into the researching process, being told that at the end of the process they would have a choice: either to associate with one of three chosen national sororities, or stay local. After NCM made their choice, their vote would be taken to an expansion committee, which would consist of three girls from NCM, and one representative from each other sorority on campus, making a total of eight votes. In February of this year, NCM voted as a whole to stay local. When the sorority took their decision to the expansion committee, there was a two-hour meeting discussing the pros and cons of going national, and in the end, NCM was outvoted. The expansion committee gave their recommendation at the next Panhellenic Meeting, where the chapter delegates were instructed to take the situation back to their chapters in order to make a formal vote by the next meeting. At the aforementioned meeting, where the recommendation was given, the majority of the NCM chapter showed up and gave their testimonies, asking that the board reconsider the expansion committee's decision, and remember that going national was not the decision that NCM made as a sisterhood. Ultimately, Panhellenic voted against NCM and for their colonization by a national organization, the sorority Delta Zeta.

After the decision was made, those women that wanted to stay with NCM got together and had to figure out what would become of the sorority: whether an organization with roots at Rollins over 40 years old would no longer exist, or if it could exist as a residential organization, or even staying a sorority and coexisting with Delta Zeta. At NCM's chapter meeting, following the Panhellenic decision, 20 or so alumni from the Orlando area and even places such as Massachusetts were in attendance, offering full support in the fight for keeping NCM on campus. In the week that followed, hundreds of letters from parents, alumni, and students flooded the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, as well as the Administrative office, all in support of NCM. Panhellenic held another meeting on March 4, where the decision was announced that Delta Zeta would still be coming on campus, but NCM would still exist as an associate member of Panhellenic. Provost Casey, who was in attendance to answer any questions about the decision, simply stated that the decision was made by the Administration on the reasoning that letting NCM stay seemed like the right thing to do.

As a member of NCM, I can say that I am very happy with the decision for NCM to stay on campus. The biggest issue now lies with the fact that the sorority is essentially being split in half. One part of the sisterhood is going Delta Zeta, while the other half is staying NCM. It is a high price to pay, and the next few years are going to be hard. The concern that the two groups are going to become rivals has been expressed by plenty of people outside the organization, but from the perspective of someone inside the sorority, I do not feel that that is going to be the case at all. Although we will not be official sisters anymore, there are still countless relationships between the girls that are staying NCM and those that are making the transition to a national sorority. I do not have any hard feelings for anyone going Delta Zeta; I feel that everyone should be able to be a part of the type of sorority that will make them happiest and that they identify with most. Those girls who want to experience a national sorority should be able to go with Delta Zeta, but on the same note, the opportunity to be in a local sorority should not be taken away from others.

It has been expressed by some that these two organizations should not be permitted to coexist, but why not? The girls who want to stay NCM should not have their organization taken away from them. I am a new sister, and I should not have my NCM experience taken away from me just as I am getting started. In the same token, the girls who want to join Delta Zeta should also be able to have what will make them happy. Although there will be some heartbreak as the girls split, I feel that allowing both sororities to exist is what is best for this campus. It is a unique thing to have a local sorority on a college campus, and taking NCM away after 40 years would be a blow to the community. Rollins celebrates its rich history with its 125th anniversary, and honoring a long-lasting history should not be accompanied with the abolishment of an organization that has been a part of the college for 40 years.

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