In North America, fraternities and sororities (Latin: fraternitas and sororitas, 'brotherhood' and 'sisterhood') are social organizations at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student but continues thereafter for life. Some accept graduate students as well.[1][2] Individual fraternities and sororities vary in organization and purpose, but most share five common elements:
Fraternities and sororities engage in philanthropic activities, host parties, provide "finishing" training for new members such as instruction on etiquette, dress, and manners, and create networking opportunities for their newly graduated members.
Fraternities and sororities can be tax-exempt 501(c)(7) organizations in the United States.
Fraternities and sororities have been criticized for practicing elitism and favoritism, discriminating against non white students and other marginalized groups, conducting dangerous hazing rituals, and facilitating alcohol abuse. Many colleges and universities[which?] have sought to reform or eliminate them due to these concerns, but these efforts have typically been met with intense controversy.[3][4][5][6][further explanation needed]
.jpg/1280px-Rear_view_of_the_Wren_Building,_College_of_William_&_Mary_in_Williamsburg,_Virginia,_USA_(2008-04-23).jpg)
The first fraternity in North America to incorporate most of the elements of modern fraternities was Phi Beta Kappa, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1775. The founding of Phi Beta Kappa followed the earlier establishment of two other secret student societies that had existed on that campus as early as 1750. In 1779 Phi Beta Kappa expanded to include chapters at Harvard and Yale. By the early 19th century, the organization transformed itself into a scholastic honor society and abandoned secrecy.[7]
In 1825, Kappa Alpha Society, the first fraternity to retain its social characteristic, was established at Union College in Schenectady, New York. In 1827, Sigma Phi and Delta Phi were also founded at the same institution,[8] creating the Union Triad. The further birthing of Psi Upsilon (1833), Omicron Kappa Epsilon (1834), Chi Psi (1841), and Theta Delta Chi (1847) collectively established Union College as the Mother of Fraternities.
The social fraternity Chi Phi, officially formed in 1854, traces its roots to a short-lived organization founded at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1824 bearing the same name.[9]
Fraternities represented the intersection between dining clubs, literary societies, and secret initiatory orders such as Freemasonry. Their early growth was widely opposed by university administrators, though the increasing influence of fraternity alumni, as well as several high-profile court cases, succeeded in largely muting opposition by the 1880s.[8] The first fraternity meeting hall, or lodge, seems to have been that of the Alpha Epsilon chapter of Chi Psi at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1845, leading to a tradition in that fraternity to name its buildings "lodges". As fraternity membership was punishable by expulsion at many colleges at this time, the house was located deep in the woods.[10]
The first residential chapter home, built by a fraternity, is believed to have been Alpha Delta Phi's chapter at Cornell University, with groundbreaking dated to 1878.[11] Alpha Tau Omega became the first fraternity to own a residential house in the South when, in 1880, its chapter at the University of the South acquired one.[12] Chapters of many fraternities followed suit, purchasing and, less often, building them with support of alumni. Phi Sigma Kappa's chapter home at Cornell, completed in 1902, is the oldest such house still occupied by its fraternal builders.[13]
Sororities, originally called women's fraternities, began to develop in 1851 with the formation of the Adelphean Society Alpha Delta Pi,[14] though fraternity-like organizations for women didn't take their current form until the establishment of Pi Beta Phi in 1867 and Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma in 1870. The term sorority was used by a professor of Latin at Syracuse University, Frank Smalley, who felt the word "fraternity" was inappropriate for a group of ladies.[15] The word comes from Latin soror, meaning "sister," "cousin, daughter of a father's brother," or "female friend."[16] The first organization to use the term "sorority" was Gamma Phi Beta, established in 1874.[17]
The development of fraternities for women during this time was a major accomplishment in the way of women's rights and equality. By mere existence, these organizations were defying the odds; the founding women were able to advance their organizations despite many factors working against them. The first "Women's Fraternities" not only had to overcome "restrictive social customs, unequal status under the law and the underlying presumption that they were less able than men,"[18] but at the same time had to deal with the same challenges as fraternities with college administrations.
Today, both social and multicultural sororities are present on more than 650 college campuses across the United States and Canada. The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) serves as the umbrella organization for 26 international sororities. Founded in 1902, NPC is one of the oldest and largest women's membership organizations, representing more than four million women at 655 college and university campuses and 4,500 local alumni chapters in the U.S. and Canada.[19]
In 1867, the Chi Phi fraternity established its Theta chapter at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, marking the first foray of the American social fraternity outside the borders of the United States. At the time, many students from the American South were moving to Europe to study because of the disrepair southern universities fell into during the American Civil War. One such group of Americans organized Chi Phi at Edinburgh; however, during the Theta chapter's existence, it initiated no non-American members. With declining American enrollment at European universities, Chi Phi at Edinburgh closed in 1870.[17]
Nine years following Chi Phi's abortive colonization of the University of Edinburgh, a second attempt was made to transplant the fraternity system outside the United States. In 1879, Zeta Psi established a chapter at the University of Toronto. Zeta Psi's success in Toronto prompted it to open a second Canadian chapter at McGill University, which it chartered in 1883. Other early foundations were Kappa Alpha Society at Toronto in 1892 and at McGill in 1899, and Alpha Delta Phi at Toronto in 1893 and at McGill in 1897.[20]
The first sorority [outside the United States], Kappa Alpha Theta, was established in Toronto in 1887. By 1927 there were 42 fraternity and sorority chapters at the University of Toronto and 23 at McGill University. A few chapters were also reported at the University of British Columbia, Carleton University, Dalhousie University, University of Manitoba, Queen's University, University of Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo and Brock University.[20]
The arrival of the fraternity system in Asia accompanied the introduction of the American educational system in the Philippines. The first fraternities were established in the University of the Philippines. The now-defunct Patriotic and Progressive Rizal Center Academic Brotherhood (Rizal Center Fraternity), a brotherhood of Jose Rizal followers, was founded in 1913.[21] This was followed by the Rizal Center Sorority. The first Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia, the Upsilon Sigma Phi, was founded in 1918.[22] The first Greek-letter sorority, UP Sigma Beta Sorority, was recognized in 1932.[22]
Many early fraternities referred to Christian principles or to a Supreme Being in general, as is characteristic of fraternal orders.[23] Some, such as Alpha Chi Rho (1895) and Alpha Kappa Lambda (1907), only admitted Christians,[23] while others, such as Beta Sigma Psi (1925) and Phi Kappa Theta (1959), catered to students belonging with certain denominations of Christianity, such as Lutheranism and Catholicism.[23]
Due to their exclusion from Christian fraternities in the United States, Jewish students began to establish their own fraternities in 1895 and 1920, with the first one being Zeta Beta Tau, founded in 1898.[23]
Although many of the religion-specific requirements for many fraternities and sororities have been relaxed or removed, there are some today that continue to rally around their faith as a focal point, such as Beta Upsilon Chi (1985) and Sigma Alpha Omega (1998).[23][24]
Numerous Greek organizations in the past have enacted formal and informal prohibitions on pledging individuals of different races and cultural backgrounds. This began with historically White fraternities and sororities excluding African Americans due to racism. Historically Black fraternities and sororities were spearheaded thereafter in response.
Racist policies have since been abolished by the North American Interfraternity Conference, and students of various ethnicities have come together to form a council of multicultural Greek organizations. The National Multicultural Greek Council, officially formed in 1998, is a coordinating body of 19 Greek organizations, including nine fraternities, and ten sororities with cultural affiliations.[25]
The first multicultural sorority, Mu Sigma Upsilon, was established in November 1981 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.[26] The formation of this Greek organization allowed for the emergence of a multicultural fraternity and sorority movement, giving birth to a multicultural movement.
Fraternities and sororities traditionally have been single-sex organizations, with fraternities consisting exclusively of men and sororities consisting exclusively of women. In the United States, fraternities and sororities have a statutory exemption from Title IX legislation prohibiting this type of gender exclusion within student groups, and organizations such as the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee lobby to maintain it.[27][28]
Since the mid-20th century, a small number of fraternities, such as Alpha Theta, Lambda Lambda Lambda, and Alpha Phi Omega have opted to become co-educational and admit female members; however, these generally represent a minority of Greek-letter organizations and no such fraternity is currently a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference, the largest international association of fraternities.[27][28] The first coed fraternity was Pi Alpha Tau (1963–1991) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.[29]
Much more commonly, coed fraternities exist in the form of service fraternities, such as Alpha Phi Omega, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Alpha Tau Mu and others. These organizations are similar to social fraternities and sororities, except they are coed and non-residential. Similarly, in the United States, professional fraternities, such as Alpha Kappa Psi, Delta Sigma Pi, and Phi Gamma Nu are required to be co-ed under the Title IX amendments, as are any fraternities that are not social fraternities.
In 2014, Sigma Phi Epsilon became the first fraternity in the North American Interfraternity Conference to accept transgender members, or those identifying as male, to join the social fraternity.[30] Several sororities have adjusted their policies to confirm that transgender prospective members are allowable.
Importantly, all these variants have stemmed from a process of self-determination, without challenge by other Greeks. In a bellwether case in 2016, Harvard University changed its student conduct code to bar members of single-sex groups from leading campus groups, serving as captains of sports teams, or participating in valuable academic fellowships. This is being contested vigorously in U.S. federal court by several affected fraternities and sororities.[31][32]
Individual chapters of fraternities and sororities are largely self-governed by their active (student) members; however, alumni members may retain legal ownership of the fraternity or sorority's property through an alumni chapter or alumni corporation. All of a single fraternity or sorority's chapters are generally grouped in a national or international organization that sets standards, regulates insignia and ritual, publishes a journal or magazine for all of the chapters of the organization, and has the power to grant and revoke charters to chapters. These federal structures are largely governed by alumni members of the fraternity, though with some input from the active (student) members.[33][34][35]
Before 1900, the expansion of fraternal housing and competition among fraternities led to increasingly aggressive recruitment among the social fraternities, which had hitherto followed the methodical process of tapping and individualized invitations that are still present among honorary and professional fraternities. In an introductory article about the nature and history of Fraternal life, Baird's Manual [a] indicates that the term "Rushing" and later, "Rush week" hearken to the effort to rush to meet incoming trains filled with new classmates and delegations of freshmen students, where bids were offered and lapel pins then "spiked" the new fellow to mark him as a new member of the fraternity which he opted to join. Baird's further indicates that the tradition was adopted from English boarding schools, similarly jostling to recruit incoming prospects, which the aggressive fraternities found to be "handy to imitate". Variations of Rush Week continued to evolve, some offering immediate recruitment and some deferred until the second half of freshman year, or even into the second year. Formal recruitment on all, or virtually all campuses continues as a defined Rush week, while many campuses and most chapters offer ongoing "informal rush" to welcome potential members, amounting to hundreds of thousands of new members every year.[36]
Today, most Greek letter organizations select potential members through a two-part process of vetting and probation, called rushing and pledging, respectively. During rush (recruitment), students attend designated social events, and sometimes formal interviews, hosted by the chapters of fraternities and sororities in which they have particular interests. Usually, after a potential new member has attended several such events, officers or current members meet privately to vote on whether or not to extend an invitation, known as a "bid", to the prospective applicant.
Those applicants who receive a bid, and choose to accept it, are considered to have "pledged" the fraternity or sorority, thus beginning the pledge period (new member period). Students participating in rush are known as "rushees", Potential New Members "PNMs", while students who have accepted a bid to a specific fraternity or sorority are known as "new members" or in some cases "pledges".[37]
A new member period may last anywhere from one weekend to several months. During this time, new members might participate in almost all aspects of the life of the fraternity or sorority, but most likely not be permitted to hold office in the organization. After the new member period, a second vote of members may sometimes be taken, often, but not always, using a blackball system. New members who pass this second vote are invited to a formal and secret ritual of initiation into the organization, advancing them to full membership.[8]
Many Greek-letter organizations give preferential consideration for pledging to candidates whose parent or sibling was a member of the same fraternity or sorority. Such prospective candidates are known as "legacies".[38][39]
Membership in more than one fraternity or sorority is acceptable, but only in accordance within specific Greek councils. Recently, some Greek-letter organizations have replaced the term "pledge" with that of "associate member" or "new member". Sigma Alpha Epsilon, in 2014, abolished pledging altogether. Potential members are now immediately initiated into the fraternity upon accepting a bid.[37][40]
Unique among most campus organizations, members of social Greek letter organizations usually congregate and sometimes live together in large houses generally privately owned by the organization itself, or by the organization's alumni association. Often fraternities and sorority houses, called lodges or chapter houses, are located o