I know plenty of people who are both social greeks and in professional/honor/other GLO's. The vice president of service in APhiO at my school is also the vice president of her local sorority Alpha Chi Lambda. I also have a friend who is in Phi Beta Kappa (honor), APhiO (service), and Kappa Delta Pi (professional-education)

Although the focus of professional societies is definitely more closely aligned with resume building, that doesn't mean that the only people that take them seriously are ones that can't get a bid to a """"real""" greek org (what a loaded term!).

Phi Beta Kappa could be called a resume building society, but it works in a very real way. At my school, at least, there are very strict standards for membership, a very high GPA cutoff (3.75), certain class requirements (Calculus I [not Calculus for life or an 'easy' Calc class], a natural science lab, etc.) Only the top 10% of people eligible by THESE standards get invited to apply and then even applying doesn't guarantee a bid. Having Phi Beta Kappa on a resume is a huge honor and honestly gives a huge edge in many job applications. Plenty of people who couldn't care less about """real""" greek orgs (but could get in) take Phi Beta Kappa and applications to it very seriously. So do plenty of people who are already in those """real""" greek orgs and who are in other, less """real""" ones as well.

This thread is going to hell in

3

2

1

Oh, wait. I'm signing on late... This thread went to hell the minute it was posted.

WHO CARES if you're a social Greek or an honors society Greek? I take back my former statement in the Rush Forum... THERE IS A SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION.

Go play outside. It's a nice day.

At many schools I don't think it matters much at all. With or without greek letters, there are all kinds of student organizations out there for people that offer many things that are so diverse as to be unmeasurable against a particular "yardstick" about what any organization should be.

The reason I posted is that at U. Texas we have a very unusual phenomenon whereby significant numbers of the various honors, school major, spirit, philanthropy and cultural student groups adopt greek letters and attempt to have some sort of existence that reflects certain facets of "Greek Life" at U. Texas.

This is especially ironic since so much of the GDI population can't stand us- but yet are dying to get themselves aligned with any group that has greek letters. I like it. Imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery.

In the big picture, I think you make a fair point adpiucf, but my example is there to show that there are a lot of preconceived notions out there about what a "GLO" really is. At U. Texas, it seems clear that many create GLOs that seek to imitate what most of us think of us as "Greek Life"- where, in fact- a GLO is quite simply a group of 2+ people that decides to put greek letters on the front door.

Greek letters on the front door don't really matter for many of these groups since there is little or no ritual or significant meaning behind the choices as is the case for the social groups (of which many are merely letters that are abbreviations of a major or just a random slogan), but clearly over the years those organizations have decided there is sufficient value in the association of their organizations with greek letters for their face value.

PS- Forgive please the exploration of minutia. Mental mastur-you-know-what is a favorite exercise of mine :)

Off Topic, but I was born and raised in Austin and I've never heard anyone call it U. Texas before.:confused:

Does a fraternity or sorority NEED to have Greek letters?

Yes and No!

Accacia and Farm House are considered Greek Social Fraternitys now.

Cannot remember any Sororitys.

And Acacia, FarmHouse along with Triangle are all members of the NIC/IFC.

Ceres International Women's Fraternity.

They use Greek letters, therefore they are Greek letter societies. Pretty simple.

Remembering that there are very few rules that can be applied across the board with regard to fraternities and sororities, as a rule of thumb:

-- a "Greek letter organization" is simply an organization that draws its name from a combination of Greek letters. Because most fraternities and sororities fit this description, "GLO" is sometimes used as shorthand for "fraternity or sorority."

-- a "general" fraternity or sorority is one that draws its members generally from the student body, without regard to major or area of study, and that exists primarily to further the social (in the broadest sense) life of members. The oldest of these evolved from groups like Phi Beta Kappa and early literary societies. Most NIC and NPC groups will fit this description.

Because they exist primarily to further the social life of members, "general" fraternities and sororities are sometimes called "social" fraternities and sororities, but it is not always accurate to use the terms interchangeably. There are social fraternities and sororities -- for example, Triangle, Theta Tau, FarmHouse, Alpha Gamma Rho, Ceres, and my own fraternity -- that cater to students in specific fields or areas of study or interests rather than to the general student population, but that exist primaily for social (again, in the broadest sense) rather than professional purposes. Often times, the oldest of these "non-general socials" have their roots in specialized institutions (for example, Ag or technical schools, conservatories) where the "general" fraternities, which centered in liberal arts institutions, were not likely to come. Likewise, groups that have a primary focus of multiculturalism, such as Theta Nu Xi, or some groups that cater to persons of a particular enthnic heritage, such as Latino or American Indian fraternities and sororities, could be "social" but not "general." So, while all "general" fraternities and sororities are "social," not all "social" fraternities and sororities are "general."

Most, but not all, general and social fraternities and sororities employ secret rituals and use exoteric and esoteric symbolism, and most, but not all, are single-sex.

-- A professional fraternity is one that draws its members from a particular discipline or field of study and that exists to further the professional development of its members and/or to further the profession itself. Many if not most will have some sort of ritual. By federal law, professional fraternities should be co-ed.

-- Likewise, a service fraternity or sorority exists primarily to develop the character of members and for public service. This description can include groups like Alpha Phi Omega, as well as the Divine 9, who, in my experience at least, describe themselves as "service" fraternities and sororities.

-- An honor society is a group that exists simply to honor students or faculty for achievement in a specific field of study, aspect of campus life or the like. Some private ritual is possible, although probably not on the scale as one would typically find in general/social fraternities and sororities.

I think people do so on here so no one thinks they're talking about University of Tennessee or University of Toronto. I doubt that same person would call it "U Texas" IRL.

I like this post. Can we put this under the FAQ or something?

I call "honor societies" exactly what they call themselves--"honor societies." I am a member of some honor societies and the members would be highly pissed if I ever referred to them as fraternities.

However I have been a member of professional fraternities who refer to themselves as such. So, it's fine to call them fraternities as long as we don't treat them like the social organizations. For instance, when I became of these professional fraternities, their rituals and consitutions were available for public consumption and our affiliations were only literally and figuratively for a "lifetime" if we decided to continue paying dues.