NPC Women and Why I Write This Blog

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is the umbrella organization for 26 women’s fraternities/sororities. Millions of women have been members of NPC organizations. The early NPC women are particularly fascinating to me. They are women who went on to earn Ph.D.s, some studying in Europe and writing dissertations in German. Others became doctors, dentists, educators, suffragists, founders of settlement houses and schools, or designers of buildings. Women who, when World War I broke out, stepped in and did what had to be done. At least one became an ambulance driver; others served as nurses, some near the front. And after the war, they tried to make life better for the orphans, widows, displaced citizens and returning soldiers.

Early fraternity women, including Julia Morgan, Frances Willard, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch, fascinate me. Until 1919, women did not have the right to vote in a federal election and yet the women who belonged to these organizations were mavericks in many ways. Yes, a good many of them went on to be wives and mothers. Juggling a profession and family wasn’t the norm back then. Most had to make a choice between the two. They faced challenges; they often had to do the best with what they had. They had great joy and deep sorrow. They lived and they died.

Each organization is proud of its notable alumnae. Members can often recite which famous women belonged to their organization. But do they know the sum total of  the notable NPC women? Isn’t that something of which every member of any of the 26 organizations should be proud?

The sad fact is that most people who are not familiar with our NPC organizations don’t know the difference between a Phi or a Psi or a Xi. It’s all Greek to them. When one group gets bad press for an indiscretion, all the groups suffer.

I collect the histories of the NPC organizations. I can open any of the histories on my shelf and find an interesting fact that has me wanting more information. For my dissertation research, I went through the fraternity magazines of the seven founding NPC members. I could get lost in them for hours on end.

I once eavesdropped on a conversation between two NPC women. “I’ve never heard of it,” was the response one gave to the other when told of her acquaintance’s organization. How very sad it made me. NPC women should know the names of the 26 groups, whether there is a chapter on their campus or not.

This is not to devalue pride in one’s own organization. It is the externals that set us apart – our badges, colors, symbols and songs – but it is our values and beliefs, those guiding principals that bring us together. The Panhellenic Creed says it all “We, as undergraduate members of women’s fraternities, stand for good scholarship, for guarding of good health, for maintenance of fine standards, and for serving, to the best of our ability, our college community. Cooperation for furthering fraternity life, in harmony with its best possibilities, is the ideal that shall guide our fraternity activities. We, as fraternity women, stand for service through the development of character inspired by the close contact and deep friendship of individual fraternity and Panhellenic life. The opportunity for wide and wise human service, through mutual respect and helpfulness, is the tenet by which we strive to live.”

I once interviewed for a job at a university and was asked what I was passionate about. My mouth was stopped by my brain in the nick of time. This was not the right crowd to regale in my passion for the women who founded and joined NPC organizations. It might have cost me the job (which I ultimately turned down).

NPC women will meet each other in the years after college. They will be living in the same neighborhoods. They will be in the other organizations we join. They will be working in the office or cubicle next to ours. Although it is extra-special to find one who wears the same badge, finding someone who shares the same belief in the NPC Creed can be nearly as thrilling. We are in this together.

Thirty-five years ago  I was bitten by this research bug as I was reading an old issue of the Arrow. In spotting an ad for the Beekman Tower hotel, I could never have thought about writing this blog. In 1977, could any of us have envisioned the creation that is the internet? If you enjoy these posts, please come back. Tell your friends. You can subscribe for updates, if you wish. I know there are a handful of kindred spirits who read this blog and I thank you. Knowing that there are others who enjoy this arcane stuff doesn’t make it seem so odd. Others are just dear friends who care and know that this is a distraction from the sudden loss of my only sibling. I appreciate you all more than you’ll ever know. If you have something you’d like to see covered in a future post, please send me a comment.

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