Author: Brenda McNary
Greek life at Oxy shifted into high gear last week as new pledges were courted and recruited during rush week, Sept. 15 – 19. While rush happens twice a year, this is Oxy’s second year of the new pledge procedure where informal rush occurs in fall and formal rush (open to first-years) takes place in the spring. “Informal rush was a huge success this year,” Student Life Coordinator and Greek Council Advisor Tiffanee Hopf said, “Of the 69 men and women who went to the recruitment events, 54 pledged.”
According to Hopf, there are at least 200 students involved in a sorority or a fraternity at Occidental, amounting to roughly 12 percent of the student body, and the number keeps growing.
The camaraderie of Greek life at Oxy is inescapable. Sororities and fraternities here rarely exceed 40 members, making for a tight community of individuals.
Typically those who rush first semester already have friends in the fraternity. Nick Summers (junior) joined SAE on the recommendation of a close friend who was already a member. He sees the fact that Oxy’s Greek life is publicized mainly by word of mouth as a testament to its closeness.
“The fraternity scene at Oxy is unique,” Summers said, “because at larger schools it’s rare to know all your brothers [. . .] here I hang out with all of them regularly.”
It was not necessarily the potential for a close relationship with her sisters that attracted Jessica Yant (senior) to join Alpha three years ago as a transfer student. Rushing “only for the free food,” Yant said, and on the encouragement of her roommate, Yant felt a strong connection to the women of Alpha during rush and said joining the sorority was one of her most positive experiences at Oxy. Yant appreciated not only the friendships, but also the service opportunities.
Each sorority and fraternity at Oxy has a community service requirement, and the list of organizations the groups work with is both extensive and diverse. Food bank volunteering, breast cancer research, Boys and Girls Club, the Downtown Los Angeles Women’s Shelter and New Orleans relief are just a few of the causes supported by Oxy’s Greek life. Hannah Alpert (sophomore) of Delta said a huge draw for her was the community service aspect. Alpert said she appreciates the positive image generated by Oxy Greeks who volunteer their time to charities, and feels it lends a needed legitimacy to the organization as a whole.
“Being involved in Greek life is not all about socializing at parties,” said Alpert, “but can act as a gateway to becoming more engaged at Oxy and in the surrounding community.” A benefit to joining Greek life at Oxy for Theta member Cassidy Merriam (junior) is the alumni network. Since Theta is a national sorority (with chapters at other colleges), it has an extensive network that can offer alumni support as well as job opportunities after graduation.
Yant mentioned her interest in the history of Alpha at Occidental, a sorority that has been active almost since the school’s founding. Meeting women from the class of ’54 at a mixer and uncovering a photo of sorority members circa 1913 helped her realize the long-standing tradition Greek organizations have at Oxy and fueled her desire to carry on the legacy today.
Recently, however, Greek life at Oxy has been in transition. Having worked as the Greek Council advisor for the last year, Hopf and others are developing an expansion task force to allow a more streamlined procedure for adding new Greek organizations and programs to Oxy. The task force will also help determine whether new ideas are the “best fit” for campus, Hopf said.
A judicial task force will also be formed to hear cases of judicial infractions involving Greek organizations and to develop definitive policies to be adhered to. Hopf plans to implement these procedures as soon as possible, but said she had no prediction as to when preparations would be completed.In the meantime, there are plenty of events coming up for those interested in Greek life. Theta’s annual charity Dodgeball Tournament will take place in late October, as well as SAE’s popular Haunted House around Halloween. For those really keeping up with their calendars, formal recruitment is slated for Feb. 2- 6 .
When asked about their desire to rush, nearly everyone interviewed mentioned their initial reluctance to join Greek life because of prejudice or plain misinformation, but all changed their views after having the opportunity to connect with new people at rush.
“Don’t knock it till you try it,” Malia Latin (sophomore) said. “At rush, I was introduced to new people I wouldn’t expect to be involved with in a sorority. It was definitely a pleasant surprise.”
For more information about Greek life at Oxy, visit http://departments.oxy.edu/orgl/greek/
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