South-Asian sorority newest addition to IU greek community

Delta Phi Omega, a South-Asian interest sorority, has officially taken root on campus.

“There wasn’t any organization on campus to bring together South-Asian girls,” senior Aakriti Bhargava, president of DPO, said. “Some girls wanted to join a traditional sorority but they didn’t really fit it, so we thought of this.”

The idea started with just a few women who were inspired by the work of the DPO chapter at Purdue University, Bhargava said. They decided they wanted to bring the sorority to IU.

“We wanted to start a chapter because all of us girls really wanted to make an impact on campus in a new way,” junior Ashley Narsinghani, vice president of DPO, said. 

Within two years the group received a bid from the national chapter. The exact process of receiving a bid cannot be disclosed.

“We are always excited when we expand,” Hiral Bhatt, the national president of DPO, said. “The girls at IU worked very hard for a long time, so I am really excited for their success.”

The sorority was officially established at IU in April.

The founding members at IU hope to appeal to women who want something different from what traditional sororities have to offer. 

“Our sorority is obviously going to be different than other sororities because we focus on South-Asian interest,” Bhargava said. “We are going to be more cultural and service-based as well.”

DPO’s national philanthropy is children’s education and literacy. The IU chapter plans to embrace this cause but wants to go even further in its service, Bhargava said.

“We want to focus on service,”  she said. “Not only will we support children’s literacy, but we will support a number of other service organizations such as UNICEF and Asha for Education, which helps children in India’s slums.”

DPO currently has eight members, but during recruitment this year the organization plans to expand considerably. Recruitment for the sorority begins the week of Oct. 12 and will start with many informal meetings, Bhargava said. 

The first event DPO has planned is a back-to-school picnic, which will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Sept. 13 in Dunn Meadow. The picnic will be an outlet for students to get information about the new sorority, Bhargava said.

DPO is busy making plans for the year. On Oct. 3, the group will hold a big service event in celebration of Global Ghandi Day. 

“Ghandi Day is huge at colleges all over, but nothing has ever been done at IU,” Narsinghani said. “We hope to change that and to get all IU students interested in South-Asian culture.”