What is going on at University of Iowa?
 

Delta Upsilon just announced the closing of their University of Iowa chapter for disciplinary reasons. That is the 15th chapter closing in the past decade! Others which have closed are Acacia, Alpha Kappa Lambda, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Sigma, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Tau Gamma, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Theta Xi.

This huge Big Ten campus now has only eleven N.I.C. fraternities active and two colonies! Why are fraternities doing so poorly here?

I could probably lend some insight, but what makes you think that fraternities are doing poorly?

Five words:

University Administration
and
Changing Campus Atmosphere

When more than half the fraternities close within a decade; when the number of chapters is less than half that of other institutions of the same size; and when half of those chapters are small in size...I consider that a serious problem!

Imagine that....a university administration that does not tolerate drug trafficking in the fraternity houses.

The closed chapters will eventually be back....after everyone realizes that RISK MANAGEMENT issues are not a joke...but everyone's job to observe.

The recent closing of Delta Upsilon is due to their own members being idiots, but over the past two decades, the University has seen large shifts in the Administration (at least two different presidents) which directly affects Greek Life.

IMO, the campus atmosphere at Iowa has more to do with the decrease in chapters than the University, but the Administration still has had a part in it.

'Cause he's the Greek Master... he sees all and knows all about Greek life everywhere and makes new threads about it... didn't you know that? :p:D

Why ridicule someone for bringing new life and conversation to this place. I love hearing the happenings at different campuses, what is changing, how different GLO’s are doing, etc. Makes the forum worth visiting.


You can only read so many threads about never saying a bad word about any GLO, or someone rushing and choosing between sororities coded after clothing designers.

Kudo’s to you OldU, although I’ve never been up to Iowa, it’s interesting to hear what’s going on up there.

When, do you know what size the average fraternity is? For some reason I think it's fairly low (40's?)

A simple guess is that the University of Iowa administration (or administrations as the case may be) has chosen to take a firm stance on risk management issues. Until everyone "gets it", then chapters are going to be closed. At at the same time, when students see so many chapters being closed they can become leery of joining any fraternity. Simply because the many positive reasons for joining are being overshadowed by the negative actions of the few.

As for chapter size, of the chapters that have closed, would they be consider the traditionally large chapters at Iowa? And is the "small in size" average chapter size a result of the number of men participating in rush (i.e. campus culture), or the number of bids extended? For example, while I do not know for sure if the Iowa fraternities do this, I know that many fraternities on Midwestern campuses extend bids based on the number of men that may live in the house. Give or take a few men. So if the current eleven houses on campus are at their own self-imposed total, then statically, it would be possible to suggest that those chapters are doing well.

Side note here: While I understand wanting (needing) to fill beds and having that as a goal, I have never understood the rational to stop bidding quality men once the beds are filled.

Having said all this, I am guessing that most of those chapters closed have extensive alumni that they can draw from. Both financially and in numbers. As such, once the suspension is lifted, I am sure more than a few of the chapters will be back. And it would not surprise me with membership numbers near or at what they were before.

I agree.

oldu - Thank you again for bringing these interesting topics to our attention. The more we know about our history *and* what is currently going on, the better for all of us. As individuals, as chapters, as national organizations.

By the way, Delta Upsilon is still listed on the Iowa IFC website. I'm guessing they haven't had time to remove Delta Upsilon from it. However, both Beta Theta Pi and Tau Kappa Epsilon are listed on the Iowa IFC website as well. Would anyone know if Beta and TKE are recent closures as well? Or did they re-colonized (comeback) since they previously closed?

Are these the historical/traditional/normal size of the chapters? Or are the chapter numbers lower or perhaps higher?

The small size is due to campus culture. Formal rush is being formally eliminated after last semester as a result. The IFC website isn't updated too often. Beta and TKE have recolonized since their closures. Kappa Sigma as well but has since disbanded. Some of the closures were due to risk management issues DU, Fiji, Pike, Beta. Of which were all big houses in terms of membership. Others due to membership, Kappa Sig and Phi Delt. I believe Delta Tau Delta is scheduled to come onto campus, they have been attempting to expand by one IFC chapter each semester.

Another issue is that traditional houses are being converted into apartments. Thus there is no space for some chapters in terms of housing. Off the top of my head I can think of three houses that have been converted, and one that is about to be converted.

Beta & Teke are the two colonies on campus. Several of the groups that left were among the oldest and traditionally strongest, and I presume still own houses on campus. However, it is often a long and difficult struggle to restart a chapter and such a tragedy that such good long term efforts were wasted by a few irresponsible members.

Thank you for your comments. I didn't realize that my items were so offensive to a few people. Some people like inane subjects but I like them meatier. I guess you find your intellectual level and enjoy it.

I hate this. Those gorgeous old fraternity houses right on the river. I understand some Housing/Alumni corps have to sell their houses due to financial reasons, but still...

At least Iowa City isn't to the point of Ames, where there's a new apartment building going up every month it seems, yet less than 2/3 are filled.

I don't think anything has said that anything you post is "offensive" - I think people wonder where you get your info, if you are Greek yourself, and if not, why the intense interest in Greeks.

I mean, I post on a board for a profession I am not in, but I have come out and said I'm not a professional, just someone with an interest in the industry and how it works.

What would you (or any others who might know) say *is* the campus culture? More to the point, are there less men going through rush? And if so, why?

And for what it is worth, the NIC has advocated for years that member fraternities should rush 365 days a year. The concept of a "structured rush week" was more of less to allow freshmen the opportunity to view all the chapters at one time.

I believe this is a large part. IIRC all of the fraternities are required to be dry, regardless of inter/national policy.

Definitely some of the larger chapters are those that closed (FIJI was a very large chapter). I think part of it is the low number of men participating in formal rush.

AFAIK, there are no restrictions such as those

FWIR, Beta was another very large chapter before it closed a few years ago. They've recently recolonized, but are less than half their former size.

I think a lot of men see no need to be in a fraternity, especially if their main desire for joining is socially driven. Bars are 19 in Iowa City, fraternity houses are dry. Those who want leadership positions can find them elsewhere. Greek marketing is not very good.

For what it is worth, oldu has already posted where he (I'm guessing, apologies if I have the wrong gender) gets most of his information in another thread. The bottom line is the information is out there for any one to research. What I am quite thankful for is that oldu has taken the time and care to provide this information in an informative and interesting manner for us on GC to discuss.

Thank you for your responses. A few more questions if you don't mind. (See below in blue.)

Thanks again.

For the record, I am a Greek of many years. I have been involved with my own fraternity and chapter off and on over several of those years. Now retired, I can say that my fraternity experience had more to do with my success than anything else I was involved with. In addition to being interested in the subject, my goal is to motivate more Greeks to seriously address their activities to bringing this opportunity to the youth in college today. This is one of the few forums today in which this can be done and I would like to see it as constructive as possible.

For some reason, I'm having a difficult time replying to TSteven

there... that seemed to work.

I have been told I can be difficult. So I do apologize for being so. ;)

Seriously, I do want to thank you for your candied and insightful view. Yet I have a few more questions if I may.

What do you view as the future of Fraternity life at Iowa? Do you feel that the campus culture has turn the proverbial corner or can they (fraternities) come back to the prominence they had before?

Also, do you foresee any negative effect on the sororities?

My reference to conditions of "now vs. then" at Iowa are more long term. I remember visiting Iowa City several years ago when there were thirty plus fraternities, most well housed and the majority with 60 or more members. Almost every activity on campus was controlled by Greeks. Compare that to today.

It is not a problem exclusive to University of Iowa. Many of our most prominent public universities are going through the same thing, witness: University of California, U. C. L. A., Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas. While it is critical for fraternities, the ladies have not escaped the problem either. Go look up how many sorority chapters have closed at the above institutions.

Where have we gone wrong? More importantly, what can we do to convince our brightest students who are attending our preeminent universities that they could gain from membership in a fraternity or sorority?

...

oldu, that is funny since I just got off of the phone with a member of Acacia who is in our age range discussing much the same thing.

As far as Iowa, I get reports but do not have links to list so I do not copy/paste and show them'

But, it seems that each of the Fraternities were pulled for various reasons and from the sounds rightly so. Drugs, underaging drinking, and unsanitary conditions being a few. So, it should not be on the Schools shoulders, but the Greeks themselves.

Don't worry, oldu, some people are unpleasant and must always nitpick.

And some people pretend to be what they are not.

Time for a cat macro!
 

I don't mean to nitpick or be rude. I find this thread very interesting. BUT...

Why is this a goal of many Greeks? At my school every activity on campus WAS controlled by Greeks and while I am a Greek and proud, it was not then and it is not now apparent to me that having "every activity on campus" controlled by Greeks is a positive thing. Were you meaning this as a downfall/problem at ISU or just as an example of "how the mighty have fallen"?

In my opinion it's a better goal for Greeks to seek leadership positions and work with non-Greek affiliated individuals for the betterment of the entire campus--FOR EVERYONE, not only for Greeks.

I was just curious because this is a view I see expressed or implied often on Greekchat and I wondered what the rationale behind it was. Is it just nostalgia? "Remember when we controlled everything...."

I would submit that a Greek system can be incredibly strong and dynamic while sharing power and allying with non-Greeks--and probably ultimately gain more public respect in the long run. Thus I don't see Greeks controlling every campus activity as a goal to work towards, nor do I see it as a sign of/necessity to having a strong Greek system...

I agree. The groups that will be successful in the future will adapt their programming to meet the needs and the interests of today's students. That does not mean we have to meet ALL of their needs. But we do have to respect and be aware that not everyone who can be a real asset to our membership is white, beautiful (or handsome), rich, middle class or already accomplished in eighty kazillion activities. If we're helping students to achieve better GPAs, giving them opportunities to serve their community, connecting them with alums that will help them in their future careers and providing a safe, fun social experience, the Greek system will grow and prosper despite changing campus climates.

I am with you breathesgelatin. I hate this us vs them atitude so many of the greeks and GDI's have at my university. As far as fraternities go, so many of the men on my campus will not join one because they don't like the whole immature fratboy thing so many of the fraternity members think is so cool. One told me he did not go through rush because "I am not going to let some idiot hit me with a paddle".