ATO's 3.47 tops U AL Greeks

[hoosier]

Greek GPAs, membership higher than year ago
By Nick Beadle
Student Life Editor
July 02, 2003


Alpha Tau Omega fraternity achieved the top grade point average among 46 UA greek organizations during the spring semester, while Phi Beta Sigma had the lowest.

According to average house GPAs and membership totals released by the Office of the Dean of Students, the average GPA among Alpha Tau Omega's 38 members was a 3.47, a hundredth higher than the house-record 3.46 it achieved last fall.

It is the third time the fraternity has had the highest GPA among UA greeks and the ninth consecutive semester it has beaten the Capstone's other fraternities.

With 3.405 Alpha Chi Omega had the top sorority GPA, a 5.52 percent rise from its 3.227 fall GPA. The organization also had the top sorority GPA in spring 2002 and fall 2002.

On the other end of the spectrum, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity had the lowest greek GPA with a 1.925. Kappa Alpha Psi, which had the lowest fall 2002 greek GPA with a 1.874 and the lowest spring 2002 average with a 2.222, had the spring's second-lowest greek GPA with a 2.103.

The University suspended Kappa Alpha Psi for two years last week after the fraternity pleaded guilty to hazing violations. The UA suspension, as well as a suspension levied by the fraternity's national organization, is unrelated to its GPA.

Sigma Gamma Rho's 2.402 was the lowest sorority GPA, a 14.46 percent drop from Gamma Phi Beta's fall 2002 low of 2.808. Gamma Phi Beta had the spring's seventh-highest sorority GPA with 3.191.

As for spring pledge GPAs, Delta Sigma Theta sorority topped the greek organizations listed. Its 26 spring pledges, the only listed among 20 sororities, averaged a 2.743.

Kappa Alpha fraternity's nine spring pledges held the lowest GPA among new greeks with 1.941. Sigma Nu had the highest spring pledge GPA among 26 fraternities with 2.845.

Delta Xi Phi, one of two multicultural sororities founded in 2002-03, had the sixth-highest GPA among 20 sororities with 3.197. The GPA and membership information for the Capstone's other multicultural sorority, Alpha Delta Sigma, is not listed in the Office of the Dean of Students' records.

Independent men had slightly higher GPAs than their fraternity counterparts last semester. The all-independent male GPA of 2.755 was higher than the 2.721 all-fraternity figure.

The all-sorority GPA of 3.131, however, topped the all-independent women (3.008), the all-women (3.041) and the all-University (2.911) figures. Alabama Panhellenic Association President Heather Schacht said the all-sorority GPA has topped the all-University and all-women's GPA since 1927.

Schacht said sorority study hall hours and other factors had contributed to the sorority members' higher GPAs.

"The environment of being in a sorority and the emphasis placed on scholarship is the [reason the GPA] has been high [many] years," she said.

Inter Fraternity Council President Brad Wilson said fraternities' GPAs, which overall are lower than those of sororities, did not look good and had left his organization dissatisfied.

"We're definitely not happy with it," he said. "That's my main goal, as long as I'm in office, raising GPA and diversity."

Wilson said IFC plans on monitoring fraternity study hours and ensure pledge classes keep up with their grades in an effort to raise fraternity GPAs.

Wilson said the 2-to-1 membership advantage sororities hold over fraternities contributes to the disparity between fraternity and sorority averages.

He and Schacht said differences in the classes and majors of fraternity and sorority members might also contribute to the difference, though neither said they had evidence to back up such an argument.

Despite the GPA difference, both the average fraternity and sorority GPAs for spring were up from a year ago.

The overall membership totals for 46 greek organizations last semester was 2,977, down from 3,185 in fall 2003, according to Office of the Dean of Students' greek membership totals. However, there were 75 new pledges or associates in the spring, a dramatic difference from the groups' 975 new or associate members in fall 2002.

Fraternity and sorority membership levels have risen from a year ago. Total fraternity numbers have gone from 1,029 to 1,061, and sorority totals have risen from 1,886 to 1,916.

However, spring pledges appear to be dramatically down. The number of spring pledges and associates last semester accounted for less than half of the 168 the year before.

[Texas_ATOzetamu]

yeah are chapter with 35 members had the highest GPA for the 3rd semester in a row... a 2.98 overall. the all greek average was a 2.35 and the all male average was a 2.30. we also had the highest new member GPA congrats I think your chapter gets a check from nationals too.