Dynamics of Greek Life on campus
 

I have had this conversation with my sisters as well as other multicultural greeks as well as many IFC and PHA greeks. The dynamics of greek life definitely differ from university, to university. There can be a sense of unity felt, or a great division. At schools that are more heavy populated, and have a diversity of greeks, the experience may be differ greatly from a university who may not have this.

Missouri State by far has the most greek chapters the South West region, but my experience as a multi-cultural greek definitely differs. The dynamic of greek life at MSU has an ayre of disunity. Rarely do the chapters fratenize with others who are not similar to them. To put it simply, it is very elitist, especially amoung the multicultural greek life. So my question is, what is the dynamic of greek like at your respective college or university? Is the unity, or division.

Well I go to Missouri State, so I'm guessing we have similar greek systems ;) Only I'm not in a multicultural sorority.

Well I had never heard of missouri state until this thread much less their greek system so I doubt they have "the most greek chapters in the southwest region" unless the "southwest region" refers to southwestern missouri.

To reply to the previous thread, Im not just refering to multicultural sororities or franternities on MSU campus. I mean the perception of greek life on other colleges and universities as compared to MSU. It is my personal experience and observation as to the dynamic of greek life here.

And to the last post to clarify, it is the southwestern region. We are in the buckle of the bible belt, not very many surrounding universities even allow greek chapters on their campuses. I know for sure that we have the highest multicultural greek population in the region.

But when you say "southwestern region" and leave out "of Missouri," I'm betting most people had a moment of trying to figure out what Missouri State is doing in Arizona or New Mexico. ;)

:p

I'm from MO, and it took me a while to figure out she meant SW region of MO only. Springfield is (I believe) less than 3 hours from Fayetteville AR, and within 4 of Stillwater OK, Columbia MO and Lawrence KS. So it's not crazy isolated within it's 'region', but I guess if the region is SWMO only, then sure. But then there is also only one largish system in Central MO, one in NE MO, one in NW MO, one in SE MO...

:D Yep ... now for your Missouri geography lesson for the day as it relates to the university system:

Central MO - University of Central Missouri (formerly Central Missouri State University) in Warrensberg, MO
NE MO - Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University, changed name to become more "selective", e.i. "we're going to charge more for tuition") in Kirksville, MO
NW MO - Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, MO
SW MO - The OP's school, Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University, changed their name to sound as big as Mizzou, but they aren't) in Springfield, MO
SE MO - Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO

Univeristy of Missouri (Mizzou) in Columbia, MO is a Big 12 school and probably the largest university in the state with regards to students and a Greek system.

Don't forget UM-Rolla. 5000 men and 500 women can't be wrong!

I also forgot Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph which was a "State College" until they changed their name what, 2 or 3 years ago? :)

You mean the Missouri University of Science and Technology, right? :p

ETA - I think the bottom line here is that the state of MO is not devoid of greek systems, nor is the area immediately surrounding Springfield. I guess I don't have anything else to add to the rest of the OP.

Random:

Just finished reading Mizzou's Greek Life page. They definitely keep people informed about what's been going on event and disciplinary action-wise.

To clarify, I was inquring about the dynamic of greek life as a whole at other colleges and universities. I know my experience as being greek at MSU. I wanted to know other peoples experience. Is there unity, an elitist attitude amoung the greek population as a whole?

And yes, MSU is in the Southwestern region of Mo. Just to clear it all up.

And I know that Mo is not DEVOID of greek systems. I was saying that in the region many universities like Evangel, CBC, SBU do not allow greek chapters or do not have many greek chapters in general. MO State has the most compared to institutions surrounding us.

There is also UMSL and SLU both representing Greek Life in the Lou as well. :)

I think the dynamics of Greek Life are the same almost anywhere.

The IFC/NPC groups hang out and associate almost exclusively with themselves, same goes for NPHC and Multicultural orgs. And within the different councils, even more seperations can exist (XYZ and ABC fraternities only hang out with EDF and PQR sororities, etc)

Once in a while there will be a joint philanthropy event between orgs in different councils. On some campuses Homecoming Week may be a joint effort between an IFC and NPC partnered with an NPHC or MGC org, whatever.

Of course the degree of this varies from school to school but it's usually like this.

here is your homework: http://www.missouristate.edu/activities/GreekLife.htm

and from your first posting, you said that you were banned and leaving.
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...&postcount=513
why the change of mind and the return?
and just which one of those four houses are you a member of over in UT?

I would agree with you. IFC/PHA sororities and fraternities tend to associate only with in themselves and the same is true with other councils as you stated. But from what I've seen (at least at MSU) is that there is an ignorance of these organizations on each side. To be honest (from the Multicultural Greek side) my sisters and I cannot relate on the level of being Greek, to lets say an ADPi here, because #1, our process to get into our respective organizations was different (which is a big deal here) #2 how our organizations are precieved as a whole, and #3 it really comes down to how our organizations are run. The every day to day practice. Ive also seen that there has been a move to "unite" on some level. A move for us as Greeks to understand each other on the general level to understand each other as a whole.Because of course, the one thing that does "unite" us all is the fact that we are all Greek. But again, that is just here at MSU.

I don't think that it has anything to do with ignorance, recruitment/intake process, or how the organizations operate.

I think it is easier for organizations of a similar size to associate with each other regardless of affiliation. You mention in another thread about your chapter having 4 members I believe? When you are dealing with five different PHA/NPC sororities on the MSU campus of 50-100 girls each, it can lead to quite a discrepancy and (unfortunately) it is easy for your members to become "lost in the crowd" so to speak. I don't think that the other organizations want to purposely exclude your group (nor does your group intend to exclude other organizations) but it just doesn't seem to work well, logistically speaking.

Yes for some of the snobs on G C, there are a lot of schools not mentioned!

One that many forget is Culver-Stockton in N E Mo. Mo. Southern is also another. These are some in the MIAA, but, there are many others that were not included.

They may not be as big as some in the South or say Pen, Cal,, N Y or some other states, you will find the Greek Community still strong in Mo.

Some other schools include William-Jewell, William Woods, Drury Un.
Mo. Valley, UMKC, Rockhurst Un. to name a few.

SWMo was just tha until a big legislative battle to make it MSU!

It was much easier for UM. Rolla to go to UM S & T! That one made sense!

Well actually so did SWMo to Mo S Un!;)

But Springrield Mo is the third largest City in Mo.

I think they have @ 4-7 Colleges there!

Many do not have GLOs there as they are religious affiliated. Non GLO allowed!:o

And lest we from the Western Side of the State there are a lot of Collges in St. Louis the Eaatern side of Mo.

WTF are you talking about? Who was being snobby? Holy cow man...back away from the keyboard.:rolleyes:

Although it may not have much to do with how organizations operate internally, it does have a significant impact on how we relate to each other and interact.

I would say that 4 members against the significantly larger sororities on campus does put us at a disadvantage numerically, that is the only disadvantage. As small as we are, I think that we work very hard to promote, represent, and make of presence known on campus. Has it been easy, no, but we are making it, with much success.

Tom. As politely as I am able, I would like to point out that Kansas City and I (and others) were making a tounge-in-cheek commentary to illustrate that the OP's use of 'southwestern region' wasn't the best terminology. Given that the original intent of this thread had absolutely nothing to do with Missouri schools, none of us found it necessary to list every single college or university in MO with a greek system. That would be silly, not snobbish.

If you are intersted in discussing the multitude of greek systems in this fine state, you might consider starting a thread entitled 'Missouri Greeks', rather than listing the schools ad nauseum in a thread called 'Dynamics of Greek Life on campus'.

Coquiporvida - you have my apologies for the huge hijack. One thought - are the NPHC groups on your campus large? SGRho at Truman had I think 4 members when I was undergrad, but they had an uncanny knack for making their presence known, and for interacting with other GLOs. I will always have a ton of respect for that organization because of how those ladies presented themselves. If you have a similar group at MSU, it might be a good group to reach out to for ideas.

If you kept up with the thread, there were many from Mo. who were posting and I just tried to fill in some of the blanks!


Now, if you will remove your head out of a part of my body maybe it can move on!

Have you ever had your self to this part of the country? Do you know anything about of this part of the country?

Why don't you get off of your rear and check Schools sites as I do or even fellow GLOs?


You must not get out much do you?

Why don't you come to Ks, Mo, Ne, Ok and see what is going on!;)

Oh, FYI, you never have been on Site enough to see the rivalry?:o:D

Cool, I will be more than happy to turn this task over to you!;)

Huh? Perhaps I need more of an explanation on how the internal operations of any organization impacts their external interactions with any other organization at MSU. I don't want to be mean but it seems that you are making up a lot of superficial excuses as to why your organizations do not participate with one another.

No. These are not superficial excuses and the reasons arent as cut in dry. The supposed differences in the Greek comm. here at MSU, are not related to organizations internal interactions. I think that the problem that arises is that we have gotten comfortable within our own organizations occasionally branching out to others who are like minded. Years of disassociation and of course the mentality is engrained in the membership and they continue to perpetuate this. At the heart, can this be looked past, yes. But when you get to where we are now, years of this "two way ignorance" it is hard to "come together". Although significant strides are being made to correct with in our current Greek community. (at MSU)

I guess that I'm a bit confused as to what exactly you are hoping to achieve at MSU (or any other college camups) then. As much as I would like to see world peace happen and everybody live harmoniously in a community together, it just isn't going to happen. Now if you can better explain the exact problems that you are looking for a solution to, I'm sure that GC would like to opportunity to assist you.

Well, I am not looking for the entire Greek community here to hold hands and sing coombya, that wont be happening any time soon. What I and others hope to achieve is a basic understanding of each other, which could potential build into an advantegous relationship. I hope that explains it.

Have this discussion placed on the agenda for the next Greek Office (however you all do the meetings where each GLO sends a rep) meeting. Then you all can discuss suggestions for how to foster more understanding and get more positive social and service interactions.

Like a few people have already said, unity across councils is about the same at most campuses that have more than one council. Even Greek Week at some campuses doesn't get equal participation across councils for reasons such as numbers and organizational protocol. Outside of Greek Week, organizations that do joint programs across councils are usually doing so because individuals get along very well. It often has less to do with Greek unity and more to do with people liking the social and service efforts of particular groups. Sometimes these are people who take classes together or live around each other--they get along and have extended this to certain aspects of Greekdom. I definitely have seen this happen with tiny NPHC sorority chapters and large IFC chapters.

Thanks for the suggestion. That actually sounds doable, I think I will try that.

I feel like the OP is seeing a lot of ...stuff...here at good ole MSU that I'm just not seeing.

That's possible and that's why I recommended bringing this discussion to the next Greek council meeting. Those of who were unaware can be made aware and those who were aware can express their concerns.

What people see is often based on their frame of reference that shapes their reality and what they think is important. I know of campuses where the IFC and NPC Greeks thought everything was wonderful from where they were standing. They had no idea what the NPHC and other non-IFC/non-NPC Greeks were talking about when they expressed certain concerns and initiated these types of discussions.

Although your explanation is not as clear as I was hoping for, I can guess at what you are getting at. I would like to know what you want each group to understand about the other. For example, knowing how they conduct meetings, use for t-shirt vendors and where they are holding formals (all of those "internal operations") are not going to provide you with the depth that I believe that you are looking for and the rest is private "secret society" information that again, won’t give you what I think you are wanting.

As DSTCHAOS explained, you need to get involved with the Greek Life meetings and I would add Order of Omega. Only by making friends and contacts outside of your organization will you ever feel unity in the Greek system. But then you have to ask yourself why stop there and why not strive for unity among all student organizations at MSU regardless of Greek affiliation? Referring to sjsoffer's post, I wonder if maybe you are trying so hard to create an ideal situation (world peace) that you cannot sit back and appreciate the positives of the current situation.

I most definitely agree. I think that it is important, as DSTCHAOS suggested, to recommend the discussion. If there is a general consensus that there is "nothing to be seen", then we can continue to live our lives.

Don't give up just because of the "general consensus." You already said that you're outnumbered. Imagine what would happen if every small chapter at every college or university just gave up because no one else seemed to care.

If the general thinks there's nothing to see then you say "well we're telling you that there is" and be prepared to give them examples. Better examples than you typed in this thread. If you seem the least bit wishywashy or unable to explain then no one will bother. You and those who agree with you also need to be prepared to initiate the discussion of ways to educate the councils about each other and encourage people to choose to support each other, not for everything but for at least one program or event per semester.

And leave the "Greek unity" jargon at the door. It really is just a surface level concept that can be reduced to seeing each other at Greek Week. It also makes people cringe if they think the Greek Life office is going to force Greeks to hang out with each other.

What I am wanting to get out of this has nothing to do with t-shirt vendors, and socials. And I am not naive to believe that well will all be singing in harmony and holding hands as a result. To start off with, I hope that as I have stated before, that an advantagous relationship can be started as a base, which can eventually build. I do realize that essentially Rome was not built in a day, I may not see this "relationship" come to be in my stint as a member of the Greek community, but what I can do is help to build a foundation for not necessarily unity amoung all Greeks, for now, but a co-hesiveness.

As far as this idea of "unity" amoung ALL organizations, that has actually beginning to be addressed. The Missouri State Unity Council was formed out of our SGA to address the same issues that have been seen in the Greek community. All student organizations (there are well over 250, including Greek Chapters) are welcome to be represented to address, discuss, and take initiative for action.

And there are indeed positives. We are moving towards positive progression. But I am sorry that I am not content to rest on my laurels.

Whoooo ... calm down!

I was merely wanting to get a more concrete goal out of you than create, "an advantagous relationship can be started as a base, which can eventually build." You have to admit that your mission statement is very broad without providing any goals. I simply want to know what is so wrong at MSU that you feel the need to solicit advice from this message board to solve the problems. All joking around by me about the wolrd peace ... I don't mean any harm, I just want some specific information as I am sure that you do too.

My issue with the Greek community (in my opinion) here at MSU, is that there is this disassociation and ignorance. And it is possibly that I could be content with that, if there werent hollow initiatives to "bring us all together" i.e. Greek Week, around this idea that we are all "united" in the fact that we are all Greek. Its a bit like trying to nurse a relationship that you know has not been the best to begin with, and yet any attempts to resolve any issues are tainted because there a big pink elephant in the middle of the room that no one is talking about......in the metaphorical sense of course.