Minimum campus enrollment?

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by DannyM

I have a son who's starting to look around at colleges, and he's somewhat interested in one school (I won't say which, at least not right away) that has some numbers that are alarming to me. I was Greek in college, but the school I was at was somewhat larger than this one. Most people would have still considered it a small school. And the presence of a Greek system, in my opinion, had some unhealthy effects; it really tended to overwhelm just about every other aspect of campus social life, isolated Greeks from non-Greeks and vice versa, and pervaded most aspects of personal relationships. That's not to say that the Greek system there didn't have its strong points; it did. But I can easily imagine that a school that's even smaller might be plagued by these problems to an even greater degree, so naturally I'm a little concerned about my son's possible choice of school (it's nowhere near certain).

So, I'd like to get some opinions on this. What do you think is the smallest enrollment a college can have and still have a healthy Greek system -- and by "healthy" I mean for both Greeks and non-Greeks? I'm particularly interested in the opinions of those who have had a few years to put their college experience in perspective, but welcome all responses.

Also, I've looked around the Internet trying to find some opinions from national Greek organizations regarding this issue but haven't seen any. Have any of those organizations developed any opinions about this and stated them publicly?

Thanks,

Danny Martinez

Are you writing a paper on this topic? (real question)

[FSUZeta]

good call latinaalumna. that had crossed my mind, too.

[Kansas City]

If you really want what's best for your son, you will check your bias at the door, don't worry, and let your son make his own decisions and draw his own conclusions. It is his college life and not yours to relive.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Kansas City

If you really want what's best for your son, you will check your bias at the door, don't worry, and let your son make his own decisions and draw his own conclusions. It is his college life and not yours to relive.

Exactly. And is this really that big of a concern?

Visit colleges with him, make sure he applies on time, send him on his way to wherever he wants to go, let him live his life, call him every so often, maybe visit on parents weekend, and show up on graduation day. It's not that hard.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

And is this really that big of a concern?

It is when you're writing a paper and attempting to "research" by posing as a "fraternity dad."