Sororities surge as fraternities falter
Sororities attract largest pledge numbers in three years; fraternities see drop-off
Issue date: 2/21/08
While sororities saw a drastic increase in pledges this year, most fraternities' recruitment numbers were down from previous years, some dramatically so.
The decrease is thought to be a result of both apathy on campus and new athletic policies.
"We haven't had the enthusiasm in recruiting that we've had in past years," said Alex King ('09), president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The fraternity had 19 pledges this rush season, down from 22 last year and 26 the year before.
David Kurz, president of Alpha Delta Phi, sees the decrease as stemming from new athletic policies. "Who won't allow athletes to pledge fraternities," Kurz said.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which also draws many of its pledges from sports teams, saw the greatest decrease of all the fraternities this year. The fraternity has only eight pledges, as opposed to last year's 20.
"The fraternities on campus are in the midst of a lot of changes," said Andrew Brandel ('09), vice president of rush at Sigma Phi Epsilon. "The Greek community as a whole is very different from how it was even a few years ago and I think the next few years will see more drastic changes."
Not all fraternities have seen such a decrease in numbers. Sigma Chi more than doubled its pledges from last year, and Pi Kappa Alpha have experienced a steady increase over the past three years.
Lambda Phi Epsilon, which had no pledges last year, now has 10, the greatest increase of any fraternity. "We had a strategy change this year," Christopher Yook ('08), president of Lambda Phi Epsilon, said. "Instead of doing so many parties, we connected with different sororities and organization on campus and did more outreach events. We did more informal, smaller events, so we could interact with students more personally."
Liz Meinert ('09), president of Kappa Alpha Theta, believes outreach events caused the increase in sorority involvement this year.
"The Panhellenic Council made themselves more available this fall," she said. "The powder-puff football game is very popular. Events like this are a great way to show the cameraderie of Greek Life."
The decrease is thought to be a result of both apathy on campus and new athletic policies.
"We haven't had the enthusiasm in recruiting that we've had in past years," said Alex King ('09), president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The fraternity had 19 pledges this rush season, down from 22 last year and 26 the year before.
David Kurz, president of Alpha Delta Phi, sees the decrease as stemming from new athletic policies. "Who won't allow athletes to pledge fraternities," Kurz said.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which also draws many of its pledges from sports teams, saw the greatest decrease of all the fraternities this year. The fraternity has only eight pledges, as opposed to last year's 20.
"The fraternities on campus are in the midst of a lot of changes," said Andrew Brandel ('09), vice president of rush at Sigma Phi Epsilon. "The Greek community as a whole is very different from how it was even a few years ago and I think the next few years will see more drastic changes."
Not all fraternities have seen such a decrease in numbers. Sigma Chi more than doubled its pledges from last year, and Pi Kappa Alpha have experienced a steady increase over the past three years.
Lambda Phi Epsilon, which had no pledges last year, now has 10, the greatest increase of any fraternity. "We had a strategy change this year," Christopher Yook ('08), president of Lambda Phi Epsilon, said. "Instead of doing so many parties, we connected with different sororities and organization on campus and did more outreach events. We did more informal, smaller events, so we could interact with students more personally."
Liz Meinert ('09), president of Kappa Alpha Theta, believes outreach events caused the increase in sorority involvement this year.
"The Panhellenic Council made themselves more available this fall," she said. "The powder-puff football game is very popular. Events like this are a great way to show the cameraderie of Greek Life."
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Jeremiah
posted 2/22/08 @ 5:03 PM EST
I don't know if this has been explained previously, but as an outsider, I'm curious why the JHU athletics department forbid its students from pledging fraternities. (Continued…)
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