What makes Greek life "hot" in the south?

[PhiGam]

Originally Posted by VandalSquirrel

I guess my Fraternity Founder Emily Helen Butterfield, my family members, my bff/college roommate, and my sister Dee, as well as the founders of Theta Phi Alpha (all from or in Michigan) didn't get the don't go Greek memo. My grandmother told me about Alpha Gam and how I was going to college and joining a sorority before I entered elementary school, and trust our roots left Michigan and came west and none of us have lived below the Mason Dixon line. Was Alpha Gam her first choice for me? Obviously but I had attended a school without a chapter and I still had an interest in Greek Life. I have plenty of ambition as do all the people I mentioned above.

I said nothing of ambition and I have no idea what Theta Phi Alpha is.

[als463]

Theta Phi Alpha is another NPC organization with great and strong values...I say this because I have love for EVERY NPC and NPHC...and believe they all deserve respect....

In regards to "GO GREEK" while in college...I came from a high school where my graduating class had 180 students. Of all the 180 students I can name maybe one other person I know who went Greek. He joined Alpha Gamma Rho at Penn State...Every other person from my high school who went Greek was either in a class or two below me or maybe a class or so ahead of me...

I was happy to see the one girl in school I always looked up to (she was involved in EVERYTHING) joined Delta Phi Epsilon. That is the only reason I'm a little jealous of my younger cousin (She's a DPhiE too) because she can call this girl a "sister"....

A few guys from my high school (younger than me) joined FIJI at Penn State. My cousin's friend from high school (also younger than me) joined Tri-Sig at Penn State, while her other friend joined Chi Omega at Bucknell. That's about all the Greeks I know...It's not pushed in the North the way it is in the South.

I once wore my letter shirt into a store when the guy who was ringing me out (an aquaintance from high school years before) looked at me and asked, "What does I-Ome mean?" I had no clue what he meant and I thought it was a joike so I said, "I don't know-what does it mean?" He pointed to my shirt and said...."You're the one who has it on your shirt." I looked down and said, "That means Phi Mu-those are Greek Letters." Had I been in the South-this conversation probably never would have taken place.

[SthrnZeta]

Originally Posted by als463

Theta Phi Alpha is another NPC organization with great and strong values...I say this because I have love for EVERY NPC and NPHC...and believe they all deserve respect....

In regards to "GO GREEK" while in college...I came from a high school where my graduating class had 180 students. Of all the 180 students I can name maybe one other person I know who went Greek. He joined Alpha Gamma Rho at Penn State...Every other person from my high school who went Greek was either in a class or two below me or maybe a class or so ahead of me...

I was happy to see the one girl in school I always looked up to (she was involved in EVERYTHING) joined Delta Phi Epsilon. That is the only reason I'm a little jealous of my younger cousin (She's a DPhiE too) because she can call this girl a "sister"....

A few guys from my high school (younger than me) joined FIJI at Penn State. My cousin's friend from high school (also younger than me) joined Tri-Sig at Penn State, while her other friend joined Chi Omega at Bucknell. That's about all the Greeks I know...It's not pushed in the North the way it is in the South.

I once wore my letter shirt into a store when the guy who was ringing me out (an aquaintance from high school years before) looked at me and asked, "What does I-Ome mean?" I had no clue what he meant and I thought it was a joike so I said, "I don't know-what does it mean?" He pointed to my shirt and said...."You're the one who has it on your shirt." I looked down and said, "That means Phi Mu-those are Greek Letters." Had I been in the South-this conversation probably never would have taken place.

LOL, no, I assure you everyone knows Phi Mu in the South. There seems to be a handful of groups that have more chapters down here and Phi Mu seems to be one of them (along with Zeta )

[OWTLAW63]

In my experiance and I am well traveled and also well rooted in the south, It seems to me that in the "southern" states education is to be expected its not as if We attend college with the hopes of graduating. Our parents have allready instilled in us great determination and a high level of expectation, so we allready know what we are there for. Where the greek thing comes into play in most southern schools either HBCU or otheris its seem that "greeks" Have more of an impact on the student body at their particular universities. The are usually in the "know" of whats going on on campus. The more popular and generally accepted amongst most students in college. With saying that most freshman and sophmores in college in school are looking to be in those type of arena, or looked at in that type of manner. Well at least in the south. Or maybe its just attitude, in my travels to the north Ie. Baltimore, NY, NJ, The whole greek attitude was just so unbarable That my communication with my OWn fraternity was brief.

Who knows?
Just my 63 cents

[oldu]

Until after World War II, almost every fraternity and sorority (including those founded in the south) was dominated by chapters and alumni from the north. The chapter houses in the south were pathetic compared to those at the large universities and private colleges in the north. Following the "melt-down" of the late 1960s that role began to reverse. Today those nice houses in the north are deteriorating and the grand new homes are being built in the south. My question, which has yet to be answered, is why? Surely a fraternity or sorority can fill the same need in the north that such a higher percentage of students in the south deem to be a benefit.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by oldu

Following the "melt-down" of the late 1960s that role began to reverse.

You call it a meltdown, we call it the civil rights movement.

[MysticCat]

It's the humidity. It makes everything hot here. You don't think Tennessee Williams had all those women sittin' on the front porch drinking tea in their slips as a fashion statement, do you?

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by 33girl

You call it a meltdown, we call it the civil rights movement.

I think he was talking about the war or something. He has referenced the late 1960s before and wasn't talking about the Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Movement obviously didn't have an impact on anyone or anything.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

It's the humidity. It makes everything hot here. You don't think Tennessee Williams had all those women sittin' on the front porch drinking tea in their slips as a fashion statement, do you?

LOL--This is what I thought about posting early on and decided not to since I didn't think folx would appreciate the joke.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

I think he was talking about the war or something. He has referenced the late 1960s before and wasn't talking about the Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Movement obviously didn't have an impact on anyone or anything.

LOL.

I think there were more than a few chapters at private colleges in the North that either turned in their charters or went local over white clauses.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

LOL.

I think there were more than a few chapters at private colleges in the North that either turned in their charters or went local over white clauses.

True, but given his other posts, I assume he was talking about the Vietnam War and the accompanying Question Authority/Down With Tradition/Never Trust Anyone Over 30 sentiments that caused a significant decline in Greekdom in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

True, but given his other posts, I assume he was talking about the Vietnam War and the accompanying Question Authority/Down With Tradition/Never Trust Anyone Over 30 sentiments that caused a significant decline in Greekdom in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Ehh. Overrated. There were still people joining fraternities and sororities, fraternities and sororities just became a different thing for different people (i.e. there were hippies in them). Plus, this really depends what schools you're talking about. Look at some of the smaller state schools in the late 60s and early 70s and you'll see fairly large chapters - because the people going there, for the first time, had the funds to afford it. My school chartered 4 Greek chapters in 1966-1967 (3 of which are still there) so obviously our system wasn't declining.

I just don't think "big membership and big new house" instantly equals "awesome Greek experience," so IMO, the whole discussion is flawed.

[banditone]

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Ehh. Overrated.

The point is that based on his other posts in other threads, I think when he said "meltdown," he was referring to anti-tradition student movement/mentality in general rather than to the civil rights movement. Whether you think he has correctly identified the effects that late 60s-early 70s student movement/mentality is a different discussion.

Originally Posted by 33girl

I just don't think "big membership and big new house" instantly equals "awesome Greek experience," so IMO, the whole discussion is flawed.

I agree completely.

[bejazd]

Originally Posted by oldu

Today those nice houses in the north are deteriorating and the grand new homes are being built in the south. My question, which has yet to be answered, is why? .

Is it because colleges in the South (public and private) are willing to provide land for GLOs to build on? They obviously see that social orgs are a draw for students. I see a lot of articles out here about growing campuses that want to add Greek life because they know that it is a draw for some students, but I doubt we'll ever see another public campus in Calif providing land for building Greek housing. (The newest on campus Greek housing I know of is at UC Irvine. and that's unusual because most Greek housing in CA is privately owned. off campus.) The cost of the land is astronomical compared to the cost of building a house. So I don't know if we'll ever see any new Greek housing here, despite rising enrollments and growth in membership, esp at schools like CSULB, SDSU, UCSB etc.