My husband's fraternity, founded in 1832, is now two organizations -- a fraternity and a society -- because of coeducation. His campus, where GLOs began in 1840, went coed in 1970. They went through all kinds of agony, said that all organizations had to be coed and that went for frats, some of whom stayed with their nationals and others who went local. Last year they abolished all fraternities, period. (The beautiful century-old houses are now campus housing....heee, heee, selective housing groups. Kinda like fraternities???)
IMO their Greek system would still be viable had they invited NPC groups to colonize. Separate but equal. Beneficial for all.
I think that a critically important element of women's GLO's is that they were founded by women, for women. They provide leadership opportunities for women--as undergraduates and as alumnae. There is an intensity and intimacy about being in an all-women's group that is, I think, very valuable.
I went to a university where Greek life was not only belonging to an organization but also a living experience, since that was (and still is)a "house" campus. When I was 18 I would have been VERY uncomfortable sharing living quarters with men. (To say nothing of what my parents would have said!)
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