National Post - Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Where everybody knows your name
Fraternities and sororities are eager to shed their tired image as elitist campus organizations and dens of debauchery

by National Post's Heather Sokoloff

Fraternities at the University of Alberta are launching a new recruitment campaign this fall. But instead of extolling parties and networking opportunities, their message is simply: Not What You Think.

"We want to work on dispelling the myths and stereotypes," says Chris Samuel, 22, a math major and president of the student organization that oversees the Edmonton university's 10 fraternities.

"This is not Animal House."

Tired of being the butt of jokes at today's university campuses, where selective, single-gender organizations are hugely uncool, fraternities and sororities are remaking their image. Hazing has been prohibited for years, and many do not permit alcohol on their premises. Some have discarded terms such as "rush" and "pledge" for the more neutral "formal recruitment" and "applicant." And all tout leadership development and philanthropy as their main activities -- over partying.

Greek life -- the term for activity in fraternities and sororities -- took a major hit during the 1980s and 1990s as political correctness overtook Canadian campuses and fraternities became associated with date rape, alcohol abuse and elitism. Most universities stopped giving the groups official recognition, denying them the funding and use of facilities accorded to other clubs. Many chapters folded; proud old mansions were sold to pay the bills, and some groups were booted off campus entirely.

But recently, there have been signs of life. A new fraternity is setting up at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., and there is talk of starting a new sorority. The University of British Columbia last year built eight houses for its fraternities and sororities, each with 30 to 40 beds for members, which number over 700. A ninth opens this fall. One of the oldest fraternities at Dalhousie, facing closure in 2002 with only eight members, turned itself into an award-winning chapter with a healthy enrolment.

All have policies prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians, and it's often immigrant and first-generation students who are most receptive to the single-gender aspect of Greek life.

"Any person who wants to join, we accept them," says Mark Teeple, 20, last year's vice-president of Greek Life at Wilfrid Laurier, which oversees all of the school's fraternities and sororities.

"We encourage people to be themselves and not what they believe a fraternity man should be."

Fraternities and sororities have managed to reinvent themselves at campuses that do not recognize the organizations. Alpha Epsilon Pi, a University of Toronto men's group, throws parties at the city's downtown clubs, always teaming up with a major corporate sponsor. Last year, the chapter of 47 young men raised more than $15,000 for diabetes research, the Hospital for Sick Children and tsunami relief. The group does not have a house, but members tend to room together in rented apartments.

Still, the struggle is not over. Many chapters remain dangerously near closure, while some universities maintain outright bans on the organizations. The majority of students remain skeptical.

Tommy Piribaurer, 24, president of the McMaster Student Union, says his organization will never recognize fraternities or sororities because of their selective nature. "Even if you have a specific club for Chinese Christians, they have to be able to guarantee that they'll let anyone participate. Fraternities and sororities cannot make that guarantee," he says.

Mr. Samuel acknowledges enrolment in fraternities is far from stable at the University of Alberta, where membership hovers around 550, out of 28,000 students.

"Involvement in extracurricular activities is decreasing in general," says Adam Cook, 23, president of the university's Delta Upsalon chapter.

He says students, facing increasing debt loads, are working longer hours at part-time jobs. They also feel tremendous pressure to keep their marks up -- discouraging them from participating in sports teams, clubs and fraternities.

"There's lots of individualism among young people," Mr. Cook says. "People want to do everything themselves. Fraternities are based on the belief that you are better off in a group."

It's something observed even at UBC, where enrolment is among the strongest in the country. Andrew Livingston, 22, president of UBC's interfraternal council, who is studying to become a teacher, says student apathy is a major problem.

"Most students come to campus and study and go home," he says. "So you have to target the ones who want to get involved."

The recruitment campaign Mr. Samuel has in mind would post fraternity members' GPAs compared with the average student's to counter stereotypes that fraternity men are beer-swigging dim-wits.

Mr. Samuel, who was born in Malaysia, also admits joining a fraternity was never something he imagined himself doing until he met some men he admired raising money for various local charities during his second year. They were all members of Delta Upsilon. He decided to join.

The concept of a fraternity was foreign to his Malaysian parents, but they came around and attended his initiation ceremony and even encouraged his younger brother to join.

"Brotherhood extends to every realm of your life," Mr. Samuel says. "If it's a birthday you need help celebrating, help with homework at 3 a.m., going through a breakup or an emotionally difficult time, I know my brothers are there for me."

But for all their talk of friendship and philanthropy, fraternities and sororities have not done a good job of explaining exactly what they are to the hyper-skeptical youth who populate today's campuses. Many continue to keep their initiation requirements and ceremonies secret.

In interviews with the National Post, for example, the presidents of two of Wilfrid Laurier's sororities could not offer much explanation of the selection criteria beyond stating the obvious: They are looking for women who exemplify the qualities of leadership, academic achievement and community service.

"We are looking for girls that will make great friends and great sisters," says Nancy Ngo, 20, president of Alpha Omega Sorority. "There aren't set guidelines."

Fraternities and sororities are likely no more cliquish or exclusive than many of the more politically correct student groups on campus -- anyone who has had a stint as a student politician, newspaper editor or sports team member would know -- but until they prove their relevance to a generation that places transparency above tradition, they are likely to remain on the sidelines.

Lindsay Jones, 22, president of the Zeta Omicron chapter of the Delta Gamma Women's Fraternity at Wilfrid Laurier, says the decision to join her sorority over the others was simply "a personal choice."

"Out of the three sororities on campus, I fit best with the women of Delta Gamma. The selection is made on both sides."