With 61 fraternities and 37 sororities, four different Greek councils and approximately 22.5 percent of undergraduates involved, the University is home to the nation’s largest Greek community.
The four different Greek councils include the Interfraternity Council (IFC), Panhellenic Council (PHC), the Black Greek Council (BGC) and the United Greek Council (UGC).
Additionally, 33 percent of all chapters are culturally based. There are 10 historically African-American chapters, five Asian-American chapters, two South Asian chapters, 11 Latino chapters and five multicultural chapters.
Each of these different chapters operates on different guidelines and has a different recruitment process with unique rules and regulations.
The Black Greek Council prohibits potential members saying they want to be a specific chapter and Panehellenic Council, the council for sororities, requires candidates to visit each house before ranking their preferred chapters.
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Interfraternity Council, on the other hand, allows recruitment to begin once acceptance letters go out to applicants and has a more casual, unstructured recruitment process.
Regardless of the chapter, one of Greek life’s main functions is providing resources and a network for new students that want to make connections.
In addition to having networking benefits, Greek life has academic benefits. Study hours, help from brothers or sisters and house incentives motivate students to earn good grades.
According to Office of the Dean of Students, in the Spring of 2007, the average all-Greek grade point average was a 3.18 while all-University GPA was a 3.08.
Additionally, with the inclusion of multicultural chapters, sororities and fraternities are very diverse. In some cases, however, chapters divide the student body, said Daniel Cohen, junior in FAA.
“If people weren’t committed to their one house, they would step out of their comfort-zone and meet new people,” he added.
Quad Day on August 23 provides an opportunity to learn more about each chapter and the recruitment process.
