"Best" Colleges and their Greek Systems

[Low C Sharp]

They function pretty much the same as any sorority anywhere else; all recruitment, parties, etc. are done in the dorms or on other common areas on campus.

This is not correct with regard to Harvard -- the sororities are not allowed to use any college facilities to hold rush, meetings, etc. In fact they are not even allowed to put posters up on university bulletin boards to advertise their events. They have all their events either in rented public spaces like restaurants or space in the all-male final clubs (also unrecognized), which have private houses around the campus.

Sometimes a sorority event will happen on campus because a member reserved the space in her own name or the name of a philanthropy project. So it can happen, but it's against the rules.

At Yale, the sororities have their own off-campus meeting spaces (a house or an apartment). Several fraternities do as well. People party there, but it is not seen as a big deal on campus, and no one is impressed because you're an XYZ. The singing group recruitment process, called "Rush," is way more visible and prestigious around campus than the Greek rush.

We've discussed Princeton's Greek life heavily in past threads. Suffice it to say that the administration is hostile, and the eating clubs are way more important to college life than GLOs. 75%+ of Princeton students join an eating club, and many of the non-members still socialize there.

At all these schools, there are more interested women than the chapters can accommodate, but there's also a very strong anti-Greek sentiment among the student body. Sorority membership is sometimes confessed to with embarrassment. Yale and Harvard have residential colleges/houses with strong identity and loyalty that serve the students' social and residential needs. Yale's secret societies and Harvard's final clubs, which involve less than 10% of the eligible students, still retain some old-money cachet.

At all of HYP, it is almost unthinkable to be involved in a GLO and classes and nothing else. Students are near-universally involved in some deep, serious extracurricular commitment, and the GLO is their second, third, or fourth-ranked activity. You would invite ridicule if you said you had to miss a newspaper editorial meeting/play rehearsal/political activity/sports practice for a GLO commitment. You would not advance to the leadership of your organization if you did that...and at HYP, that's an extremely big deal on campus and for your future. Being the president of an ethnic organization, dramatic group, or political/debate group is way more prestigious than being president of Theta. The Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper will generally go directly to the New York Times, etc.

NPHC groups are not very visible on any of these campuses; city-wide chapters are the rule.

It may be surprising at colleges so elite and so selective, but there's a strong egalitarian vibe to the social scene at Harvard and Yale. The dominant ethos holds that everybody's a nerd of some flavor or another, so we should put the competition down when it comes to our social lives. Social exclusion/ranking is seen as very high school. It's also true that at HYP, as with pretty much every campus I've ever seen, you can tell the NPC groups apart by their members' hotness, even if you've been away from campus for four years. That alone is enough reason for the majority of female students to refuse to even consider joining. They think, I made it all the way to Harvard/Yale, just to be judged on my looks? No, thanks.
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[Miriverite]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

This is not correct with regard to Harvard -- the sororities are not allowed to use any college facilities to hold rush, meetings, etc. In fact they are not even allowed to put posters up on university bulletin boards to advertise their events. They have all their events either in rented public spaces like restaurants or space in the all-male final clubs (also unrecognized), which have private houses around the campus.

I stand corrected; I was given the information by an alum of the Delta Gamma chapter there in passing, and I might have interpreted or extrapolated incorrectly.

It's really interesting to hear about the sentiment towards GLOs at the Ivy Trinity. I would have figured it would be slightly more prominent. I suppose the "prestige" that comes with being in some of the more selective clubs (finals, secret societies, etc.) far outweighs the appeal of a GLO.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

In Texas (and the South maybe?) state schools are considered land grant institutions. Something about them being established after the Civil War.

All over the country, many public colleges and universities are land-grant institutions. Being a land grant institution is a legal status; it means the the institution was established pursuant to the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, under which a state was given federal land on the condition that the proceeds of the sale of that land be used to establish institutions that provided an education particularly in agricultural and "mechanical" studies. After the Civil War, a second Land-Grant Act (which granted cash instead of land) was aimed at insuring that former Confederate states would either not discriminate on the basis of race in land-grant institutions or would establish seperate land-grant institutions based on race.

Are all the state schools in Texas land-grant colleges?

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Are all the state schools in Texas land-grant colleges?

Interesting question - the University of Texas and Texas A&M system schools are funded in part by the Permanent University Fund, established in 1876. Other systems - Texas State, Texas Tech, U of Houston, U of North Texas and some A&M and UT system schools - are prohibited by law from being funded by it, and instead since 1984 have received funds from the much less endowed Higher Education Assistance Fund. Not that I'm bitter.

I know for certain that Texas A&M was established because of the 1862 Morrill act (land grant college). Prairie View A & M is the historically black college established in 1876 as a land grant college. I don't think any of the others are land grant colleges.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Interesting question - the University of Texas and Texas A&M system schools are funded in part by the Permanent University Fund, established in 1876. Other systems - Texas State, Texas Tech, U of Houston, U of North Texas and some A&M and UT system schools - are prohibited by law from being funded by it, and instead since 1984 have received funds from the much less endowed Higher Education Assistance Fund. Not that I'm bitter.

I know for certain that Texas A&M was established because of the 1862 Morrill act (land grant college). Prairie View A & M is the historically black college established in 1876 as a land grant college. I don't think any of the others are land grant colleges.

I haven't heard of any Texas schools besides A+M and PV being land grant.

And iGiggled at the bolded. Now to go back to the "Texans for Tier One" site

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Interesting question - the University of Texas and Texas A&M system schools are funded in part by the Permanent University Fund, established in 1876. Other systems - Texas State, Texas Tech, U of Houston, U of North Texas and some A&M and UT system schools - are prohibited by law from being funded by it, and instead since 1984 have received funds from the much less endowed Higher Education Assistance Fund. Not that I'm bitter.

The funding sources wouldn't preclude being land-grant institution, I don't think. Land-grant has to do with the establishment of the school.

FWIW, here is the Wiki's list, by state, of land-grant institutions. The list says that the two land-grant schools in Texas are Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M.

[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

The funding sources wouldn't preclude being land-grant institution, I don't think. Land-grant has to do with the establishment of the school.

FWIW, here is the Wiki's list, by state, of land-grant institutions. The list says that the two land-grant schools in Texas are Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M.

Fun fact: Iowa was the first state to accept the Morrill act and Iowa State is considered the "first" land-grant institution as designated by the Morrill act. There's even a building on campus named after Morrill - Morrill Hall.

[/hijack]

[als463]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

All over the country, many public colleges and universities are land-grant institutions. Being a land grant institution is a legal status; it means the the institution was established pursuant to the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, under which a state was given federal land on the condition that the proceeds of the sale of that land be used to establish institutions that provided an education particularly in agricultural and "mechanical" studies. After the Civil War, a second Land-Grant Act (which granted cash instead of land) was aimed at insuring that former Confederate states would either not discriminate on the basis of race in land-grant institutions or would establish seperate land-grant institutions based on race.

Are all the state schools in Texas land-grant colleges?

Both Penn State and Michigan State are land-grant institutions. That is why we play the "Land-Grant Bowl" against each other, every year.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

All over the country, many public colleges and universities are land-grant institutions. Being a land grant institution is a legal status; it means the the institution was established pursuant to the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, under which a state was given federal land on the condition that the proceeds of the sale of that land be used to establish institutions that provided an education particularly in agricultural and "mechanical" studies. After the Civil War, a second Land-Grant Act (which granted cash instead of land) was aimed at insuring that former Confederate states would either not discriminate on the basis of race in land-grant institutions or would establish seperate land-grant institutions based on race.

Are all the state schools in Texas land-grant colleges?

Thanks for the explanation!!! I've heard it before, but I never remember the exact details.

I don't think all state schools in Texas are land grant. One school that comes to mind is Sam Houston State. It started out as a Teacher's College. And, Texas Southern U. It started out as Houston College for Negroes.

But, to keep track on the thread, I know that both schools have really great greek systems!!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

I don't think all state schools in Texas are land grant. One school that comes to mind is Sam Houston State. It started out as a Teacher's College. And, Texas Southern U. It started out as Houston College for Negroes.

See my post above. I checked and there are two land-grant schools in Texas: Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

See my post above. I checked and there are two land-grant schools in Texas: Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M.

Yeah....I replied to your first one before I saw your other one....

[ADqtPiMel]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

This is not correct with regard to Harvard -- the sororities are not allowed to use any college facilities to hold rush, meetings, etc. In fact they are not even allowed to put posters up on university bulletin boards to advertise their events. They have all their events either in rented public spaces like restaurants or space in the all-male final clubs (also unrecognized), which have private houses around the campus.

Yeah, when I toured Harvard, they told us that there were no sororities on campus. We later took an "unofficial tour," and the guide (a Theta) explained that the groups weren't recognized by the university and weren't allowed to use any campus spaces for events. (And our tour guide seemed very weirded out that my mom was so involved in Theta.)

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

It may be surprising at colleges so elite and so selective, but there's a strong egalitarian vibe to the social scene at Harvard and Yale. The dominant ethos holds that everybody's a nerd of some flavor or another, so we should put the competition down when it comes to our social lives. Social exclusion/ranking is seen as very high school. It's also true that at HYP, as with pretty much every campus I've ever seen, you can tell the NPC groups apart by their members' hotness, even if you've been away from campus for four years. That alone is enough reason for the majority of female students to refuse to even consider joining. They think, I made it all the way to Harvard/Yale, just to be judged on my looks? No, thanks.

Yeah, it's a lot better to be judged on how much money your family has for which final club you can get into. That's so much more egalitarian.

I just think that any selective college whose students put down the Greek system (or the final club system, for that matter) because it's "snobby" really needs to rethink their admission standards if the students don't see the ridiculous irony in that attitude.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Yeah, it's a lot better to be judged on how much money your family has for which final club you can get into. That's so much more egalitarian.

I just think that any selective college whose students put down the Greek system (or the final club system, for that matter) because it's "snobby" really needs to rethink their admission standards if the students don't see the ridiculous irony in that attitude.

If I'd gotten into Harvard I wouldn't have any student loans. They actually have some impressive financial aid at the Ivys these days.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

If I'd gotten into Harvard I wouldn't have any student loans. They actually have some impressive financial aid at the Ivys these days.

Which statement are you responding to?