Greek Participation Dropping at Utah
 

(see http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/me...l?mkey=1407447)

Is this deferred or Fall recruitment?

Fall - This year Panhellenic Recruitment is Aug. 27-Sept. 1.

I thought it was really interesting to see the problems that this Greek system is facing.

Maybe the no frills thing would help, but I think it would sort of change the type of people in sororities.
I mean, if they can't make it through recruitment because of time constraints, there is no way that they are going to be a member who really gives back.
I don't know. I think quality is better than quantity. So as long as it doesn't go too low.... I think they should just stick with it.

Actually wonder if the State and State Relegion has anything to do with it?:(

That's what I was thinking as well - has the Mormon population of the school increased? They do mention that the LDS chapters have gone up in size, but I wonder if you actually have to be LDS to join one.

33girl, HMMM, wonder if that Is LDS is What You Mean?

Oh Yes, I know what You mean and that is a great question!

That was My reference and You did pick up on it!:cool:

We Have enough Probs in GLOs with out this Crap!!! It is another World unto itself.

If it wasnt about GLOs wanting to be at Major State Uns. what would We Do with Them?

Me too. I wonder if going on Mission has anything to do with it as well?

An LDS who rushes as a freshman would only have one year as a member before their LDS mission. Then after two years, they return to complete their education. That may very well deter many LDS from joining a non LDS chapter.

We had a colony at Utah that struggled for quite a while. I don't know if it was every chartered.

I thought the comment at the end from the Sigma Nu was pretty shortsighted. He said that he thought that the students needed to evolve to fit the Greek System rather than the Greek System evolving to fit the students. I would disagree.

If the current system doesn't fit the needs of the students, then you need to make changes to better fit the needs. Or the students are just going to go somewhere else. They have other choices and they are making the one that fits their needs.

It's the whole "survival of the fitest" thing.

I am surprised that they have so many LDS chapters that aren't very big.

It's not on the list on the university website. However, Kappa Sigma is colonizing this Fall so things can't be that bad.

Ok, so I felt like I wanted to learn more. Here's an interesting article from last January.

http://www.utahchronicle.com/media/p...k-835527.shtml

I agree that quality is better than quantity, but i feel a no frills recuitment is better. my chapter is trying to recruit members we know are going to be leaders and get stuff done. those tend to be the students who are already involved in campus activities. i am a prime example of this. i was a junior when i joined dz and was already on exec board for the newspaper, radio station and glbt support group. i didnt do formal recruitment and was able to go to the events that i could around my schedule. my issters also took the time to work around my busy schedule for new member ed and i still did everything i needed to. i am now very very involved in my chapte and have been since i was initiated. and now as an alumni, i am keeping up with my involvement. i think with the right students, a less structured recruitment is necessary, but that doesn't mean just partying whenever. and we gotta do something to change because what we are doing as a community is obviously not working and with so much more offered at colleges, we have to work with our potential brothers and sisters.

ditto and amen
dznat
you've hit it.

The LDS church had sponsored two fraternities:
Lambda Delta Sigma (note that the letters are LDS!)
Sigma Gamma Chi (Stood for Service to God and Country)

But, five years ago, the church decided to rename them as "Institute Women's Association" (rather than Lambda Delta Sigma) and "Institute Men's Association" (rather than Sigma Gamma Chi.

http://www.mormonstoday.com/000220/N6LDS-SGC01.shtml

And.. this is what they have evolved as:

http://www.ldsces.org/InstituteStudentOrganizations.asp

I totally agree with what you and SmartBlondeGPhB said. We have to change for the new millennial student. Universities are doing this with apartment styled housing instead of dorms. It's going crazy at Nebraska. There are new buildings going up constantly.

We have had discussions about this subject at our conferences and are trying to taylor our greek life to supplement these new students. Some are the first in their family to go to college. They are tech savvy, more independent, etc.

Plus, I never really saw the point of those carnival style recruitment deals sororities do anyway.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! !

Sorry, but if I hear one more thing about the "millenial student" I'm gonna take someone out, yo.

Why? Did I miss something? Is it the label "millenial student" or is it the fact that students in college now are different that 10 years ago?
(curious)

PsychTau

Yes, please describe your distaste for the millenial student. I was in college in the late 90's and considered myself a part of that group. I was on the internet in 1993 and was the first in my family to go to college. I am pretty independantly minded and wasn't sure about a roommate. (Coincidentally, I went to college for 5 years, stayed in the dorms all 5 years, and I only had a roommate for the 1st year.) I wouldn't have had it any other way.

No sweeties, it's not the student, it's the label. :)

Kinda like calling every generation other than Baby Boomers "Generation X." grrrrrrrr

I just do not like labels in general. Everyone is different and I'm sure there are some people of the "m.s" age that have none of those qualities whatsoever.

LOL! This has been a hot topic in my seminary. There are those who whole-heartedly agree with you and say that you can't put a label on everyone like that. Then there are others (and I lean more this way) that see certain trends that are shared by the majority of any given generation. That's not saying that all "Gen Xers" are the same by any means.

By the way, the generation right after "Baby Boomers" is "Baby Busters." I always thought that was kinda cute - well the reason behind it isn't but the terminology is.

As far as the "millenial student" - argh! I too was in college in the 90s and I never heard this term. It isn't very descriptive of any trends and it's not at all appealing to me.

I am not really sure what a label that is placed on a group makes any difference.

Kids are Kids and that really about covers it.

Oh, the labels are placed by Eco and Certain other Ology Groups to jusify thier jobs. Peer preassure and Lifes events are the the key to reasons that certain generations do and react to, ergo, The Viet Nam War for on example.

What the heck, you are born, you live, and you die. What each is doing in between is each ones personell business isnt it?

Pretty Simple isnt it when you think about it?

"Baby Busters", "Generation X", "13th Generation", etc. are all the same thing. The generation sandwiched between the Baby Boomers and the Millenials. The term "Baby Busters" reflects the dramatic downward shift in the birth rate following the explosion of the Baby Boomers in the 40s-50s. The "Baby Bust" generation is significantly smaller than the generation on either side of it, and that is supposedly one of the reasons for the impending "Social Security Crisis".

Back to the Utah issue. Generally LDS students do not join traditional GLO's. The University of Utah while it does have a high LDS population actually has more nonLDS students as the popular choice for LDS students is down the road in Provo.

Hmm, that's changed since I was there (almost 10 years ago!)

The U was about 50% LDS, and I would say that while most of the fraternities had almost all non-LDS members (Sigma Chi being a notable exception), the PHC sororities all had LDS members-- some were even almost entirely LDS, but all of them had nearly 50% LDS members (except one house which had more of a 'party' reputation). But the LDS sororities weren't nearly as popular, either.

Sorry, But I keep Reading LSD Students!

Not on Drugs but brain washed!:( :rolleyes:

Oh, Them, Not Me!:D

Are you implying that LDS church members are brainwashed? That's a pretty disparaging comment. I would never denigrate someone else's religion like that, even though I am not LDS. Perhaps going to school in Utah taught me a little more tolerance.

Really, I grew up in the Independence, Mo. area and We Have RLDS!

I know the Polotics of the Diaboltical Clan of Smith!:)

Why, were They run out of so many places?

Ill., Iowa , Mo. and then to Utah.

Dispareriging Relegion is in My Nature so to speak.:)

Religion is Lie As*holes, everyone has one!

I have seen somewhat first hand and I did not like it but I liked My own Better. But, to say Mine is More Right is Wrong.

I do not profess that Mine is more proficient than others!

I do not say if You are not Mine, then You are Wrong!

I only report to one person, not some prophet who said He Was!:D

Hi, My Name is Smith, Jones, Etc!

Huh??

Guess You dont really Know do you?

Study, and learn, is that simple enough?

RLDS, Reorganized Church Of Later Day Saints for your information.

Seek, and You might find!:)

No, I know what RLDS is. But I don't understand what the hell that had to do with LDS church members being brainwashed, or what else you meant by your post.

Maybe try less smilies, more complete (and coherent) sentences if you want to get a point across.

Thanks for clearing that up, I was told differently by a couple of sorority members from Utah. Do you think the drop in greeklife has to do with LDS members as was previously posted in this thread? Just ignore all of the crazy brainwashing comments.

If they don't smoke wacky tabaccky, Tom doesn't care.

I have several friends who are LDS and all of them told me that Greek membership is generally frowned upon by the elders of the church.

Well (and again, this could have changed) we had a granddaughter of the LDS Prophet in our chapter and there was another granddaughter in another chapter, as well as a lot of Sigma Chis who went on to be bigwigs in the church, so I don't think it was that frowned upon. I do think that Greek membership at a school outside of Utah, where the prevailing culture is so much different (in most sorority chapters you would have 50% at least non-drinking members, for instance, which I don't think is the case at the other schools I have seen), would probably be more inconsistent with LDS beliefs.

I think Utah's much bigger problem is its status as a commuter school. The large majority of its students are from Salt Lake City or the surrounding suburbs, and many of them live at home and do not get involved in campus life in general. The Greek population consisted of either students whose parents and siblings had also been involved in Greek life and so had a strong tie to it or people like me who came from out of state and were looking for a home away from home. But it was really hard to keep even the people who lived in Sandy (a suburb) and joined a sorority to stay involved, if you could even get them interested in the first place.

Bumping 'cause I'm curious about the current campus situation versus seven years ago.

The LDS-sponsored GLOs were dissolved last year in a restructuring of church programs for college students:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52...sigma.html.csp

This quote pretty much sums it up, IMO:

They may be surprised, though. I can easily see one or more of the NPC/IFC groups becoming the "default" LDS organization. And then they'd have no control over its being open or not - as no national or university is going to disband a GLO full of nondrinking members who study hard.

I am bumping this back up to the top in hopes that I can get an update on the situation at the U of Utah. One of my DD's friends has applied to Utah and is considering going Greek. She is not Mormon, but her family is from Utah. I checked out the Greek Life site and the FB pages of the sororities and they look like they are active and not dying out, but I know that looks can be deceiving!