- February 23, 2012
- 12:01 am
- Karis Hustad
- no comments
Greek life growing at Loyola
Students taking part in Greeks for a Good Cause pause for a photo break during their work with Habitat for Humanity.
Greek life is getting some new life with the addition of two new sororities and two new fraternities in the last two years.
Adrienne Jaroch, coordinator for sorority and fraternity life, says the recent additions to campus were actually a part of an expansion plan that has been ongoing for two and a half years, beginning with an increase in sorority life.
“The new member classes [in Fall 2009] were almost as large as the active members,” she says. “The interest from women was even more than we could accommodate.”
Because of this the Panhellenic Council began to look for new chapters to join campus. After sifting through 16 bids from different sororities, they settled on Chi Omega to colonize for Fall 2010. After more than 89 girls decided to pledge, they voted to bring in another sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, in Fall 2011.
Liz-Marie Micula, junior marketing major and president of Alpha Delta Pi, says being the new Greek on campus was an adjustment, but not as hard as she thought it was going to be.
“Everyone has been helpful, some girls have even personally reached out to me, especially Chi Omega who said if you need help with this, let us know, we went through what you are going through,” she says. “Everyone has been willing to help, all the fraternities have been really sweet as well.”
Micula, who transferred to Loyola from Oakton Community College, says when she first arrived on campus Greek life didn’t seem to be that significant. Now that she has rushed, however, she recognizes its growing presence at Loyola.
“To be honest when I first got here, I will say that it doesn’t have a strong presence from the outside perspective, that it is not something that is majorly advertised,” she says. “Now that I am on the inside I see all the work that goes into it and now it is a bigger part of my life. I think that is great, with more expansion we will see more change.”
In the meantime, the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) saw the success of these new sororities and decided to bring in a new chapter as well.
“They were really just looking for new energy, to bring in a new organization would revive the IFC a little bit,” Jaroch says.
After reviewing 15 different applications, the IFC decided to invite Sigma Chi to colonize because of their close national headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, and Jaroch says they have done “such a phenomenal job very rapidly evolving into a strong community” and posted the highest Greek overall GPA for the Fall 2011 semester.
But the fraternity expansion doesn’t stop there. Starting the week of February 13, officially, Delta Sigma Phi kicked off the recolonization process.
Delta Sigma Phi used to be a staple fraternity on campus until participation in Greek life started to wane in the late 80′s and they closed their Loyola chapter in the early 90′s due to lack of interest. Eighteen years later, with the interest back on the rise, Assistant Director for New Chapter Development at Delta Sigma Phi Andy Bremer, says the time seemed perfect to get back involved at Loyola.
“They really like the direction we were going with new chapter development,” he says. “We were just a really good fit because of the values of our organization and the values of the University, and creating unique experiences at the campus.”
Bremer says Delta Sigma Phi is doing a referrals-based recruitment this semester, which means there will be one-on-one interviews leading to small-group events, in order to identify strong candidates to be a part of Delta Sigma Phi’s ”founding fathers” class. He hopes to establish Delta Sigma Phi as a fraternity comprised of campus leaders, and one that can partner with other student groups to create a strong connection between Greek life and other student organizations. This is indicative of a new direction that Greek life has been moving toward in recent years, he says, and one that fits in well with Loyola’s values.
“Especially in the last few years there has been a huge emphasis in higher education to start new chapters because the culture of fraternities went through a period where values were not conducive to our chapter,” he says. “Now they are trying to create a national movement, a type of fraternity not restricted by traditions… creating an opportunity for people to make this an experience they want it to be.”
Despite the rapid expansion, bringing a fraternity or sorority to campus is not a simple process. Jaroch explains that Panhellic and IFC must first vote whether to bring more chapters on campus, and Loyola has not been looking to expand until very recently. After the decision, they send out a letter letting prospective sororities/fraternities know they are looking to expand. From there, different organizations send packets of information, which the expansion committee sifts through. After narrowing the candidates down to three finalists, representatives from each Greek organization come on campus and give a presentation. Finally, after determining which organization has the most potential for leadership, support from other chapters, and values in line with Loyola’s, they offer an invitation to that organization to start the colonization process.
In addition to attention to new chapters on campus, the established Greek life has undergone a change as well. Jaroch points out that in past years, they have generally kept to themselves, “flew under the radar,” and were simply “existing” rather than interacting.
Now she says Greeks are “more known for the good things that are happening, and overall the organizations are doing some phenomenal things.”
She pointed to a Fall 2011 charity dodgeball event in which Chi Omega raised more than $5,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation, which is enough to grant one wish. In addition, she said she is looking forward to the “Stepping, Strolling, and Saluting” event put on by the Multicultural Greeks this spring. Jaroch notes that this division of sorority and fraternity life has been solidifying, and may also see growth in upcoming years.
“At this point, we are definitely having discussions [about expansion], but we are really focusing on other things that take a lot of time and energy, one organization a semester is all we can handle,” she says. “But there is potential growth.”
Jaroch says that Greek life at Loyola specifically may be attractive for Greek organizations because Loyola hasn’t been open for colonization for a long time, and there are several other local college chapters that can help with the growing pains of bringing a new chapter to a campus. But she also points out that Greek involvement on a national level is rising, both in terms of students joining and universities welcoming the process.
“I think there is a misconception that universities are trying to stifle Greek communities,” she says. “I think actually the opportunities they bring to the Loyola community foster healthy competition. The new chapters will do things right and do things well, which will bring something to their community.”
For more information on Greek life at Loyola, visit the Student Activities and Greek Affairs website here. For more information about Delta Sigma Phi recruitment, visit the IFC website here or their Facebook page here.
