Sisterhood on Accident: Honorary Pi Phi Born Out of GroupMe Mistake
Fraternity and Sorority Life can be notoriously identified with negative and pessimistic attitudes and stereotypes. Some may list experiences correlating with judgment of looks or lack of deep, meaningful relationships. However, this is not the case with Minnesota Alpha Pi Beta Phi, located directly on the campus of the University of Minnesota. After completing the Fall 2023 Primary Recruitment round, Pi Beta Phi’s Vice President of Operations, Camille Casper, created and connected the new members with a new chapter-wide GroupMe text. New members who accept bids offered by Pi Beta Phi are incorporated into the chapter immediately by joining the chat. This initial interaction floods the new members with love, acceptance, and excitement. The women are met with expressions of welcome and virtual hugs.
While adding in the fresh faces, Casper added Haley Torrey, or so she thought. After exchanges of joy and greetings, Pi Phi new members are typically asked to share their social media usernames for members to connect; this can range from Instagram to Snapchat. As many were listing their Instagrams, “Haley Torrey” listed her username as @lydia.clinton. This left many within the chat confused and disoriented. Haley Torrey, later identified as Lydia Clinton, explained how she has no idea why she was added to a Pi Phi GroupMe. Clinton questioned what school this chapter was affiliated with and learned it was at the University of Minnesota. She eagerly replied, “Oh, omg, I went there.” This was just the beginning of the growth of sisterhood among Pi Beta Phi members and UMN Alumni.
Lydia Clinton was delightful in GroupMe, expressing love and kindness towards the chapter members. In addition to learning about what Pi Phi is all about and why she had been accidentally added to the group chat, Clinton disclosed how she would be on campus on November 4, 2023. Many members planned to meet her, as they were excited about the new honorary Pi Phi Angel. Furthermore, Clinton created a TikTok video explaining the interaction she faced. Found @lyderature, the video has reached over 1.5 million views with almost 200,000 likes.
The explosion on the app led to discussions of sisterhood and acceptance within the comments. Minnesota Alpha was praised for the fun way the members included a random stranger, coordinated a time to meet her, and then encouraged her to be an honorary member. It demonstrated the Pi Beta Phi values that chapter members strive to hold sincere friendship, integrity, honor and respect, lifelong commitment, and philanthropic service. These Angels were both charmed and appreciative of Lydia Clinton’s curiosity and promotion of how they hold themselves and develop true sisterhood.
Interested in the full experience? Check out Lydia’s TikTok here!
Written by Kimball Utsey, Member of Minnesota Alpha Pi Beta Phi
