In a circumstance that is certainly rare - and possibly unique - among Greek letter organizations, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma chapters were all founded at Colby College. A limit of twenty-five members for a chapter had been set in 1879, but fifteen women entered the Colby class of 1894 and the desire to share Sigma Kappa with them was so great that it was decided to establish a new chapter - Beta - to accommodate them. In 1892, Gamma chapter was instituted to meet the similar needs of the class of 1896. In the fall of 1893, 33 women entered the Colby class of 1897 and Alpha, Beta, and Gamma chapters together could not accommodate them all. After much discussion, it was decided that the ranks of Alpha chapter would be filled only by the best possible candidates among Colby's women and that there would be no more initiates into Beta or Gamma chapters.
