There is an exciting update to our recent report on a group of young women battling to reestablish a sorority at Swarthmore College:

Nearly 80 years after women at Swarthmore College voted to ban sororities because they were too exclusive, a group of female students will reinstate Greek life this spring after weathering months of polarizing debate on campus.

The future sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta pledge that members will be welcoming, diverse and dedicated to civic engagement and community service. The sorority will also provide valuable national networking opportunities, supporters say.

But some students at the liberal arts school near Philadelphia contend not much has changed since 1933. Sororities are still elite clubs, they say, and flout the college’s Quaker roots emphasizing inclusion.

“It’s just a really stupid system that shouldn’t exist,” senior Maya Marzouk said. “I think Swarthmore is better than that.”

The highly selective college with about 1,500 students prides itself on rigorous academics, open dialogue and a commitment to social justice. It was co-founded in 1864 by Lucretia Mott, a prominent abolitionist and activist for women’s rights.

Campus officials said they are simply facilitating the creation of a group that students want and that the federal regulation Title IX demands. This requires colleges to provide equal opportunities for men and women, and Swarthmore has two fraternities.

It turns out Title IX was the key to victory for the drive to establish a sorority on campus, as there are two fraternities.  A college administrator notes that the sorority must still meet Swarthmore’s  definition of “diverse” and “responsible”:

Liz Braun, the dean of students, noted Swarthmore has a written agreement with the national Kappa Alpha Theta organization to ensure the new chapter will uphold the college’s founding principles of diversity and inclusivity. In this case, that includes allowing students who identify as female to join the sorority, regardless of their actual gender, Braun said.

“Each chapter takes on kind of its own flair … based on the campus it’s embedded in,” she said.

That’s partly why concerns about possible hazing and binge drinking have not been a large part of the conversation. Swarthmore is not considered a party school; Braun noted that Kappa Alpha Theta is dry and has a strict anti-hazing policy.