There are few institutions more closely associated with college than the Greek system, but myths and rumors often surround the traditionally secretive aspect of campus life.
However, officials said rumors about constant partying and poor grades are false, and in fact there are many positive social and academic benefits to joining a fraternity or sorority.
At UCLA, 13 percent of the student body is currently involved in the Greek system, which is comprised of over 60 organizations.
Troy Bartels, Greek adviser for the Panhellenic Association and the Asian Greek Council, said recruitment typically differs for each organization.
While many students choose to rush during fall quarter, some, but not all, Greek organizations have recruitment in the spring as well, he said.
Bartels said recruitment is an opportunity for students to find a group they fit in best with.
“When you have 62 organizations, there is something for everyone,” he said. “It’s basically figuring out where you feel most comfortable, and I would say (to) definitely make your own decisions.”
The rush to join
The 11 sororities that make up the Panhellenic Council coordinate a structured recruitment together, and potential new members need to register on the Panhellenic Web site, npcbruins.com, by Monday Sept. 24, Bartels said.
“Recruitment starts on Wednesday, and it’s broken down Wednesday through Sunday (of Zero Week), he said.
During recruitment, prospective members converse with active members from each house and, depending on which house they visit, have the opportunity to go on house tours, President of Alpha Delta Pi Katie Tillson said.
Women will visit all 11 houses on the first two days of recruitment and, as each day progresses, narrow down their choices. Each day, they are called back to a fewer number of houses.
“By a mutual selection process, you have up to two choices on the final night, which is Sunday,” Bartels said. He added that bid night, the night when the individual chapters extend invitations to members, is on Monday of first week.
Dacks Milliken, president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, said, unlike sororities, each fraternity has different and separate recruitment activities.
Milliken, a fourth-year economics student, said it is a usually laid-back and unstructured process.
“In general, it’s a specific time frame for prospective members, those interested in joining the fraternity, to come out and check out the fraternity and also see what they’re about and what they stand for, and just to meet the guys,” he said.
“It’s a two-way street. One for the individual to see if he likes the fraternity, and for the fraternity to see if (they) like the individual.”
Tillson said sororities typically seek girls who will bring diversity.
“You are trying to find someone who will fit into the circle of friends you’ve created but also will bring a new dimension to it,” she said. “You want someone who has academic achievement and who will be socially outgoing.”
Milliken said fraternities typically look for diversity and members who exhibit maturity.
“We are looking for someone who exhibits gentlemanly qualities and someone who carries themselves well and exhibits a certain degree of self-confidence.”
Finding Greek roots
Joining a fraternity or sorority is also an avenue for many students to become active within their culture and heritage.
Carissa Requejo, Greek adviser for the Latino Council and the Multi-Interest Greek Council, said many students join multicultural and multi-interest sororities and fraternities instead of joining other organizations because a lot of their events focus on culture and community service.
“(Other organizations) wouldn’t focus on the different events that are going on throughout the year that are a part of the Latino culture,” she said. “With the Latino organizations, your community service is going to be focused on the Latino community.”
Tiffany Hanke, a fourth-year psychology student and president of the traditionally Asian sorority Chi Alpha Delta, said her sorority and its sister sorority, Theta Kappa Phi, hold similar recruitment events but on different nights.
“We have a lot of traditions and stuff throughout the week,” she said. “We have an information night, a social luau and a garden party, and they’re all run pretty much the same way.”
Hanke said the members’ Asian culture is most clearly seen in the food they serve at recruitment.
“We make everything from scratch, and a lot of our dishes are Asian,” she said.
Requejo said some of the organizations in the Latino Council celebrate holidays such as Dia de los Muertos, which is a holiday celebrated in many Latin American countries, with other organizations on campus.
Greek mythology
Many members of Greek organizations tout the positive benefits of joining and call many of the preconceived notions students come in with inaccurate.
Tillson said she believes one of the biggest myths about sororities is that the girls who join them all fit a certain image.
“I would also say that a lot of times, people think that sorority girls are vapid,” Tillson said.
“At a campus like UCLA, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone like that because we’re such an academically rigorous place, and I think in sororities you see girls who are active in different things,” she said.
Milliken said a false stereotype about the recruitment process is that fraternities haze their new members.
He said all Greek organizations at UCLA abide by the university’s policy against hazing, their organization’s national hazing policies, as well as the California state law.
“Not only do we not haze because it’s not allowed, but also we don’t find it conducive to the morals we stand for,” he said.
Milliken said many people also believe fraternity members party all the time, but he said his fraternity stresses academics.
“We try not to play up that stereotype, and we try to tell them all the other experiences that a fraternity offers, such as alumni networking, stressing how you can meet alumni that can help you with internships or jobs,” he said.
Bartels said another misconception is that joining a Greek organization is time-consuming and affects students’ grades.
He said he believes being in such an organization helps many students because it gives them the opportunity to be tutored by older members and also encourage one another to study.
“All the sororities and fraternities have a higher GPA average than the university’s all-male and all-female GPA average, and it’s been that way for years,” he said.
In addition to a unique academic experience, Greek life also offers a different housing experience.
Milliken said one of the best experiences a fraternity or sorority offers is the opportunity to live in a house with other members.
“You live in a house with pretty much no rules with 50 of your best friends, so a lot of fun things go down,” he said. “Not only is it cheaper, but it’s also the best two years I’ve had at UCLA.”