A group of ISU women are attempting to bring a new sorority to campus. Alpha Sigma Kappa is a sorority set up for technical majors, including those in engineering, science and architecture.

“Females are the minority in most of these fields, so it is nice to have connections with girls who can help you with everything,” said Melissa Grimsley, freshman in materials engineering.

Ali Mostrom, junior in chemistry, and Leia Guccione, junior in mechanical engineering, got the idea to bring Alpha Sigma Kappa to campus.

“We said it would be really cool if there were a sorority like Triangle. We talked to our friends and other women we knew and got a good response,” Mostrom said.

They found Alpha Sigma Kappa online and decided to try for a national chapter at Iowa State.

“A lot of debate was between becoming a local or a national sorority,” said Mostrom, president of the chapter. “We decided that to be a strong enough organization, we needed to go national.”

The group is still waiting for approval from the university as well as the national organization. To become a sorority, the group must first petition the national organization for colony status.It will take about 18 months to become a sorority.

“We [send] them our bylaws and information,” Mostrom said. “They will send a representative to Iowa State to talk about what [Alpha Sigma Kappa] is and what it means to become part of their organization.”

There are currently four active chapters of the sorority in Minnesota, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas.

Alpha Sigma Kappa began as a little sister organization to the Triangle fraternity at the University of Minnesota.

On May 1, 1989, the women in Minnesota colonized and became a sorority.

Between 15 and 20 women attend local meetings, though there are more than 30 on the mailing list, Mostrom said.

“We want to see a chapter of [Alpha Sigma Kappa] started here at ISU,” she said.

“A key part of that is establishing an organization that is strong enough to continue after those of us that started it are gone.”

The national chapter needs to make sure students are educated about the sorority, that the colony is financially stable and that the group is established as an organization before they will be granted sorority status.

“It’s been a great time helping with everything from socials with Triangle to learning about the greek community to helping [Alpha Sigma Kappa] become a member of the greek community,” Grimsley said.

The main requirement to join is having a technical major.

“Basically, you have to be in the correct major and show you are interested,” Mostrom said.