[ISUKappa]

University: Iowa State University
Location: Ames, Iowa
Year Founded: 1858
First Greek Chapter: Fraternity: Delta Tau Delta - 1875; Sorority: Pi Beta Phi (then still I.C. Sorosis) - 1877
More commuter or more residential: Residential
Total Enrollment: around 22,000
% Greeks: 11%
# of NIC Fraternities: 27
# of NPC Sororities: 13
# of Locals: 2 (Adelante Fraternity-est. 1907, Phi Beta Chi (which I know is not technically a local, but it's not NPC, either)
# of NPHC groups: 5 (4 fraternities, 1 sorority)
# of Multi cultural groups: 2
Wet or Dry Campus? Wet

What type of housing arrangements does your system have (BE SPECIFIC - none, dorm floors, chapter houses close to/on campus owned by chapters, chapter houses far off campus owned by chapters, normal houses rented by chapters off campus, etc.)
All NIC/NPC chapters have houses that hold 40-70 members. Most houses were built in the 1910s-1940s, with additions in the 70s-80s. A few (AOII, Alpha Chi, Lambda Chi, Pi Kapp) have newer houses built within the last 30-40 years. With the exception of AKL, Pi Kapp and Triangle, the majority of the houses are in "Greekland"-- 5 or so streets a few blocks from campus.

Are there plans for construction of Greek housing soon?
No.

Do those with chapter houses have sleeping dorms, open airs, cold airs, porches, etc.?
Chapters either have cold airs or members sleep in their rooms. A few have a mix of both.

Parties thrown in the fraternity houses?
Yes. Weekly parties are usually in the chapter houses. Date parties and formals are held at third-party vendors. Usually it's only freshman/sophomore girls who attend the weekly fraternity parties.

Your city easy on underage drinking?
Somewhat.

Are bars in your city easy to drink underage in?
If you have a good fake or know the bouncer/bartender it's not too hard.

Type of Fraternity Rush (Open, structured, summer, other):
Most of them do summer rush though there is a formal recruitment option the week before classes begin.

When Sorority recruitment takes place for your system:
The week before classes begin. It's fairly structred and attempts to be no-frills.

Do Greeks run things at your school?
For the most part--Homecoming, Family Weekend, SALC, VEISHEA, Varieties all usually have at least one Greek as a co-chair.

Last Time Greek was Student Body President?
I know the previous President was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, I belive the current one is as well, but I'm not positive on that.

Last Time Greek was Homecoming King?
Last Time Greek was Homecoming Queen?
We haven't had Homecoming King/Queen for many years.

Describe your typical Greek social Semester?(Are they called mixers/parties/exchanges, must they be registered, how many do you have a semester, any other "greek" sponsored social outlets, is having a party with another house a common thing or a rare thing, describe as much as possible)
Each chapter usually has some sort of date party and/or formal at a third-party vendor. Sororities may also have a crush party or similar party at a local bar on a weeknight. When I was in school we'd have an exchange/event with a fraternity maybe 1-2x/month. This could be a non-alc event such as a dinner exchange, bowling or movie night or a theme party at the fraternity where drinking was involved. Fraternities sometimes co-hosted weekly parties (especially if one chapter was dry), sororities occasionally co-hosted crush parties. All events must be registered with CPC/IFC in advance.

Good relationship with the University Administration?
Somewhat. I would say the administration is more pro Greek life, but unless you get the right strings pulled, it can be difficult to meet with some of the higher-ups. Both our previous and current University Presidents were/are fraternity men, but that doesn't seem to have an effect on their dealings with GLOs (neither good nor bad).

Good relationship with Greek Affairs/Greek Life?
I think yes. I know they've had some issues with Greek Advisers not really understanding campus atmosphere, but I think the one that's in place now is good.

Is your director of Greek Affairs Greek? From your Campus?
Yes, Pi Beta Phi

Average dues associated with being in a chapter? More or less than living in Residence Halls?
$2800 average/semester. Depends on the individual chapter, but generally less expensive than residence halls and/or apartments.

Hazing, common or uncommon?
I never experienced it, but I know it happens. To what degree, I couldn't say.

Describe the types of philanthropies chapters do?
Most have a philanthropy each semester. Many are food (pancakes, tacos, spaghetti) and many are sports events (softball, kickball, powder-puff football, mud volleyball, etc...) Derby Days and Dolphin Days (held by Tri-Delta) used to be really big, I don't know how big they are any more.

Any notable traditions for the Greek System?
Lawn displays for Homecoming and floats for VEISHEA; Greek Week; Varieites (which is open to all campus organizations, but usually only GLOs participate). Serenading is big at Iowa State as well.

This is all from my experience as an undergrad from 1997-2001.