This week’s House of the Week is the largest sorority at NIU.

Alpha Phi has been at NIU since 1969 when it started out with 40 members, said Alpha Phi President Jennifer Sibley. The sorority has 122 members, which it has had for the past three to four years.

Sibley said Alpha Phi is presently selling Defiance, a type of legal mace, to raise money for the Heart Fund. “We don’t do any fundraisers to raise money for the house,” Sibley said. “All the money we raise goes to the Heart Fund.”

Sibley said Alpha Phi also volunteers for social events at Barb City Manor, a nursing home. “We are playing bingo at Thanksgiving.”

Sibley said over the summer, Alpha Phi took home the Most Outstanding Chapter Award internationally at the biennial convention in Florida. The sorority won with 136 Alpha Phi chapters competing, she added.

Sibley said it won the Most Outstanding Sorority award at NIU last spring. She also said Alpha Phi has consecutively won the President’s Award.

Sibley said Alpha Phi also won the Volunteer Award for doing community service. She said it was the only sorority to receive it for spring of 1992.

“We are the NIU athletic promoters,” Sibley said. “We time swim meets.

“We also coordinate Adopt-A-Huskie program for mens’ and womens’ basketball,” Sibley said. “At Christmastime we help out with lunch with Santa for the children of DeKalb.” Sibley said that the NIU basketball team also comes to talk to the kids at the lunch with Santa.

Sibley said the house is heavily involved with the campus and community.

Jill Lambakis, a sophomore elementary education major and president of the Alpha Phi pledge class, said, “No one pushes you to do anything, you do it because you want to.”

Sibley said, “You put into it what you want to.”

Lambakis said, “As a pledge you see everything that’s been accomplished and hope you can do the same.”

Sibley said the sisterhood in Alpha Phi is very strong, which was why she joined. “I felt everyone cared about each other.”

“The bond between everyone was very strong,” Lambakis said.

“I was also impressed with the scholarship and the emphasis they put on your studies,” she said.

Sibley said she was also drawn to the scholarship. “We have a 3.1 grade point average, which is the highest on campus for greeks and is above the non-greek average.” She also said “Everyone in the house works so hard to be the best they can be.”

Sibley said, “We are working on a program called Natural Ties, which is adopting an adult with a mental and physical handicap.”

“We take them to do different events, such as basketball games or to the house for dinner,” said Liz Arthur, a member of Alpha Phi and a senior elementary education major.

Sibley said that Alpha Phi is also celebrating its 120th anniversary this year.