Another year of record enrollment at Lipscomb has put a crunch on social clubs and prospective pledges.

Associate Dean of Student Life Sam Parnell, who oversees Greek life at Lipscomb, said he is hoping for new social clubs to start so that those who desire to participate in them don’t get left by the wayside.

“Even with the growth of Gamma Lambda and Alpha Zeta, we are still at a deficit [in the number of clubs] for the amount of girls wanting to pledge,” Parnell said.

According to Parnell, to handle the number of students who want to pledge a social club, each club would have to take 23 new pledges. The average pledge class ranges from three to 12 students.

There are eight female social clubs, two of which were added in the last year. Women’s club Alpha Zeta was created in January of 2015.

“It really saddened me to see really great girls being turned away, because there wasn’t enough manpower to accommodate the ever-growing rate of perspective new members,” said Ashley Arledge, club president. “Alpha Zeta exists to be a home for girls who love God and want to grow in a community on campus.”

Parnell said he encourages students to start social clubs, because the university is growing so quickly, and so many students wish to become involved.

“If there are people interested in starting a club, they can come to me, and I can tell them exactly what I am looking for in a new club.”

Arledge said the process for starting a new club was stressful but exciting: “There’s a lot to do when writing a constitution that’s going to govern the club for the rest of eternity.”

Photo courtesy of Lipscomb University

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