Visit panhel.mit.edu for more details.
A Message from the VP Recruitment
Hello!
My name is Jess Haskins, and I am the Vice President of Recruitment for Alpha Chi Omega at MIT. I’m majoring in Earth, Atmosphere, and Planetary Science with my focus on Atmosphere Chemistry and am extremely passionate about it, but that’s a topic for another time. I was a coxswain on the Open Weight Women’s Varsity Crew team for two years, a member of MITWE for a semester, a member of the Boston College Marching Band for a bit, and am currently a member of Love & A Sandwich, an R&B Cover Band at MIT. I love being competitive and I love music of all types. Despite being involved in so many different things, I can honestly say joining Alpha Chi Omega is one of the best decisions of my MIT career.
Alpha Chi Omega is truly an exceptional sorority. This sorority is full of some of the best role models on campus that can balance academic achievement with their other, non-academic passions from dance to stand up comedy to painting. I can personally say it is the strongest support system I have ever encountered, and I am so grateful for the people who are helping me become the person I want to be. The open motto of Alpha Chi Omega is “Together let us seek the heights” and that is just what my sisters are helping me to do. This is just my experience, and all the sisters will have something to say about why AXO has truly been an amazing experience for each of us. Being surrounded by the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega will be the experience I miss the most once I leave MIT. However, I know they’ll be there to share my life with far beyond MIT.
Please feel free to look around the website and contact me with any questions you may have. We take part in MIT’s Panhellenic Formal Recruitment each fall. Please see the Panhel website (http://panhel.mit.edu/) for more info about signing up! Finally, I wanted to share the poem below because I have always felt it really captures what I love about Alpha Chi Omega.
Loyally,
Jess Haskins, VP Recruitment
songs, bylaws, standards,
sweatshirts with letters, or a golden pin.
And it is not entirely an institution,
a creed, a legacy, an obligation, or a way of life.
If you are going to insist that it is anything at all,
a sorority is moving in with a sister for the first time
and learning that beautiful people have fat legs,
wear last year's coats, eat popcorn 24 hours a day and
have problems getting dates.
It's long late hours of black coffee, cold pizza,
and other exam snacks, when you still can't remember
Piagets developmental stages or the process of Osmosis.
It's borrowing a skirt from Jennifer,
a blouse from Kelly, shoes from Katie,
and a necklace from Jessica,
wearing it on a date and passing it all off as your own.
It's sitting in the house and listening with all your
helpfulness to a sister because she is lost and
she's lonely and it seems that the whole world just fell into pieces.
It's coming in very late one night and closing the door
to tell someone who has seen you through
the hardest years of college that you're happy now and
you're getting married.
And a sorority is, I suppose, a kind of evaluation.
You grow up inside those elegant halls and perhaps you do
learn more about this life than if you lived somewhere else.
But you also hear that some lecture halls are just watery
echoes and that there are silent rooms for deeper rivers.
You learn that a fraternity guy is sometimes just a lot of talk,
and that skinny arms sometimes hid a great man.
You learn that no matter where you come from,
or who you took there, you still have to find that
one small acre that belongs to you, by yourself.
You learn to wait, because change is slow,
and change isn't always right.
You learn that there is still a lot left to
believe in and a while lot more to hope for.
You learn that love has never been easy,
and that it is a long time in coming.
And if you are very smart or very lucky,
you learn that no matter how big or how messy
the world becomes, what is precious and
what is permanent is always the same.
And in the very end, a sorority can only be a better way
to stumble down the back steps and walk out the front door.
-Anonymous
Recruitment FAQ
How can I become an Alpha Chi?
Sign up for formal recruitment through the MIT Panhel website. http://panhel.mit.edu/ Through the recruitment process, you will be able to meet members of each of the sororities on campus and find a sorority that is right for you.
Does Alpha Chi Omega haze their new members?
Absolutely not. We believe in supporting all sisters throughout their time at MIT in all aspects of their life and hazing is ideologically opposes that.
Are sisters required to live in the Alpha Chi mansion?
Our home holds 25 sisters, so no one is required to live in the house if she does not want to. However, the option of living in the house is available to all sisters. Additionally, all sisters are welcome to come to the house for dinner, to hang out, study, bake, etc. whenever she wants.
Does Alpha Chi Omega endorse drinking at their events?
No. We have a strict risk policy which does not condone underage drinking or any risky behavior at our events. Furthermore, there are no alcoholic substances permitted in the Alpha Chi mansion at any time. We strongly adhere to this policy as it is in the best interest of our sisters.
What do dues go toward?
Sister dues help us support our programming, maintain our house, and provide dinner and other food for our sisters. Additionally, it helps fund events we put on for both the chapter and the general campus. For more information regarding finances, please contact our VP Finance.
Is financial assistance available?
Absolutely. A sister may set up a payment plan with our VP Finance. There are also a variety of scholarships and member assistance grants available from the National Alpha Chi Omega Foundation.
Who can I contact if I have more questions?
Please feel free to contact our VP Recruitment, Jess, or our President, Morganne. They will be more than happy to answer your questions.