Friday, October 9, 1998
Forget animal house
As rush week draws to a close, fraternities and sororities
across campus celebrate the initiation of new pledges into the
Greek way of life
By Meghan Ward
Daily Bruin Contributor
For most students, today is just another Friday, but for the 900
students who rushed fraternities and sororities this week, it’s the
end of a harrowing week and the beginning of life as members of the
nationwide Greek community.
Rush, a week of activities that traditionally marks the
induction of new pledges into fraternities and sororities, ends
tonight at midnight.
On Wednesday evening, though, nervous energy buzzed along
sorority row as over 400 women gathered in front of the 10 houses
that make up UCLA’s Panhellenic Council.
Dressed to impress, the women applied lipstick and checked their
hair while awaiting entry into the first of the four houses they
visited on "four night".
Inside the houses, active members were as jumpy as rushees
outside.
In black skirts and white tops, the Kappa Alpha Theta sisters
rushed around beneath a ceiling lined with black and white balloons
while preparing for the fourth night of rush.
Next door, at the Alpha Phi house, active members rehearsed
their spirited cries as a slide show of sorority events played on
three large viewing screens.
Chi Omega sisters prepared to give house tours and decorated
each bedroom in themes from the "formal" room to the "philanthropy"
room.
The whole process began last Sunday, when the women met their
"rho chi" – rush counselors – who explained the rush process before
escorting them to the first of the 10 houses they visited
throughout the day.
Through a process of mutual selection, the rushees’ choices were
narrowed each day, until they cast their bid for the one sorority
they like best.
Heather Case, a first-year world arts and cultures student,
noticed the support exhibited by the active members of the
sororities towards the rushees.
"It’s really exhausting, and by the end of the day you have this
permanent smile on your face, but all the girls are so cute and
nice and really do your best to make you feel comfortable," Case
said.
The rush process differs for fraternities – it’s much more
casual and unstructured than in the sororities.
Aside from a couple formal dinners, fraternity rushees can wear
T-shirts and tennis shoes to most events.
Steven Stevens, who rushed this week, was offered a bid by Delta
Sigma Phi.
"They have pool and ping-pong tables. Sometimes they have
basketball or they’ll have a big-screen TV and the guys will be
watching a game and just kicking it," Stevens explained.
While some sororities sing and perform dance and theater
routines, others show slides of parties and community service
events and give house tours.
But unlike sorority rush, during which active members are only
allowed to serve water, fraternity rush is largely centered around
meals.
"They cater from all different kinds of restaurants. They have
really good food, and they feed you a lot," Stevens said.
The selection process, too, is much less formal in fraternities
than in sororities. Stevens explained the bidding process:
"You go to the houses and if the guys decide to give you a bid
they take you into a room and tell you, ‘we like you and you seem
like you like us, so if you want to join, that’s cool.’ It’s
totally kick back," he said.
In contrast, sorority members must select their favorite houses
each night, and Panhellenic counselors use a computer software
program to match their selections with the choices the sorority
houses made.
Despite the stereotype that fraternity and sorority members
place partying above academics, a recent study conducted by the
University of Missouri indicates the contrary.
According to the study, students involved in the Greek system
are more likely to stay in school and support their alma maters
after graduation than non-Greek students.
They are also more likely to contribute to other non-profit
organizations later on in life.
Nationwide, Greek alumni reported higher satisfaction with their
social development and lower satisfaction with their academic
performance than their non-Greek counterparts.
Statistics, however, prove that Greeks at UCLA have no need to
be dissatisfied with their academic performance.
The average grade point average (GPA) for fraternity men and
sorority women is consistently higher than the average GPA for
non-Greek men and women at UCLA.
Scott Carter, fraternity advisor at the Center for Student
Programming, attributed the academic prowess of Greek students to
discipline and positive peer pressure.
"Greeks feel they are one of the most regulated entities on
campus. They are subject to the regulations of the university as
well as of their organizations and their councils," he
explained.
Carter also believes that they encourage each other not to skip
classes and to maintain high standards of academic performance.
Although most chapters require a minimum 2.0 or 2.5 GPA, the
average GPA last quarter was 3.2 for sorority sisters and 2.99 for
fraternity brothers.
Tobin Lippert, former president of the Delta Tau Delta house at
UC Santa Barbara, said because the students in his house maintained
very high GPAs, they were able evade the consequences of their
raucous behavior more than other houses on campus.
"We knew we had to keep our grades up because people didn’t like
us, and we needed to be on the side of the angels," Lippert
said.
So why do fraternities and sororities get so much bad press?
Kristin McCann, a fifth-year art history student, said she feels
Greek students are belittling to non-Greeks.
"I used to live on Hilgard where the sorority houses are
located. We were surrounded by sorority girls, and it was like them
vs. the outside world," she said.
McCann also dislikes the Greek system because of her impression
that Greeks have a tendency to abuse alcohol.
"I’ve seen so many of them go home drinking and throwing up all
over the street, and it’s just not attractive." she said.
Carter agreed that the Greek system has its flaws.
"We have issues surrounding alcohol management and abuse, but
there is a movement by some national organizations to have dry
facilities by the year 2000," Carter said.
In efforts to educate Greek students in everything from alcohol
abuse prevention to eating disorders and nutrition, workshops are
held two to three times per quarter in both sorority and fraternity
houses.
Pam Viele, director of health education at the Arthur Ashe
Center for Student Health and Wellness, said there is a higher rate
of alcohol use among Greek students than among non-Greek
students.
A 1996 issue of Sex Roles, a monthly research journal, gave one
explanation for this discrepancy.
By identifying with the Greek system, in which everyone is
considered a "brother" or "sister", students may develop a false
sense of security, causing them to consume more alcohol than they
would in a public setting.
Ashely Anderson, a fourth-year English student, disagreed.
A member of Alpha Phi since 1995, Anderson said that before
events they pick "sober sisters" who are designated to look out for
the other women and to make sure they do not do anything to
endanger themselves or anyone else.
In addition, the women of Alpha Phi are presented awards if they
keep their GPA higher than 3.5 during any given quarter and are
encouraged not to skip class by putting their names in a "skippy
bucket" upon completion of a week without skipping any classes.
"At the end of the quarter they draw a name out of the bucket
and that person wins a big prize," Anderson said.
The Greek system, however, is not for everyone.
Kristin Stansick, spokeswoman for Alpha Phi, admitted that "not
everyone wants to live with a hundred girls in a house."
"But one of the great things about finding a diverse house is
that you can always find someone for you – and you never have to
live in a sorority house," she added.
Though living in a fraternity or sorority house is optional,
it’s an option that many students choose, mainly because of the
monetary advantage.
A typical house includes a kitchen where meals are prepared by a
cook or a caterer, one or two large living rooms, a library and
several bedrooms, each equipped with two to eight beds.
Fees for sorority members average $1,800 per year, excluding
living expenses. These fees are divided between the local chapter
and the national headquarters of the organization and cover the
cost of all events.
According to Peter Vasquez, director of membership of the
Interfraternity Council, it is less expensive to live in a
fraternity or sorority house than it is to live in a dorm or
university apartment.
Beside the social advantages that fraternity and sorority life
offer, there are professional advantages as well.
Being a member of a nationwide organization with decades of
history can offer major networking opportunities – a big incentive
for many ambitious career men and women to join a Greek
organization.
Lippert added that networking is also a common practice among
Greek alumni, even several years after graduation.
"I know guys who keep in very close contact, and they refer
business to each other," he said.
Germaine Gawel, a former Delta Zeta who graduated from Michigan
Tech University, took advantage of her sorority’s alumni club when
she began to move from state to state.
"When I first moved to North Carolina, I called the alumni club
and met a lot of people there," Gawel said.
Although Gawel never intended to join a sorority when she
arrived at MTU, she soon discovered that there were very few women
in her engineering classes.
"It was a chance to meet girls. It gives you a sense of
camaraderie – you have a lot of friends that you share a lot of
experiences with," Gawel explained.
Anderson, too, loves the sisterhood of her sorority.
"The bonds that you form with everyone there are really nice
when you are far away from home," she said.Photos by MICHAEL ROSS
WACHT/Daily Bruin
Sororities prepare for Rush Week by decorating their houses
thematically.
Two sisters from a sorority await the arrival of their rush
recruits.
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