by Lydia Berzsenyi
A
iilpha, Beta,
Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta,
Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa,
Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron,
Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon,
Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega.
With these bright letters
splashed across T-shirts,
sweatsuits, car windows and
hats, a new breed of college
students has made their
presence known.
They are the Greeks. They
come not from the sun-bathed
islands of the Mediterranean,
but rather from the sun-
bleached sidewalks of Texas
A&M University.
The Greek system has taken
its place as the newest addition
to the overflowing cup of
traditions at A&M. The Greeks
are bringing a new sense of
fashion, belonging,
brotherhood and socializing to
life at this University.
Today A&M’s Greek system
has over 2,100 members,
outnumbering even the highly
visible Corps of Cadets.
Although the number may
seem large, keep in mind that
with A&M’s 36,000 students,
the Greek system still only
represents approximately 6
percent of the total student
body. Compared to other state
universitities (e.g. Baylor
University which is 25 percent
Greek), A&M is not exactly
crawling with fraternity and
sorority members.
The small size of the Greek
system here may be partially
due to the youth of A&M’s
Greek system. Although the first
American fraternity was
founded in 1776 in
Williamsburg, Va., A&M did not
foster its first Greek organization
until 1896, when a group of
students formed a fraternity
they called Alpha Phi.
However, this fraternity was
short-lived. In 1900 Alpha Phi
merged with the Alumni
Association.
T
1 he Greek voice
then remained silent on the
A&M campus for the next half a
century. Finally, in 1965, five
students from Hart Hall decided
they wanted to form an
organization which suited their
needs for friendship and
brotherhood. They called this
organization Phi Delta Sigma.
In 1973, it became nationally
recognized under the name of
Sigma Phi Epsilon. Other
fraternities soon followed, and
A&M became home to the
Greeks as well as the military.
Early in the history of the
Greek movement at A&M, a
chapter of the National
Interfratemity Council was
founded to be the governing
body of the fraternities. The
IFC, now in charge of 21
fraternities, serves as a forum
for discussion and for common
action among the different
fraternities, and between the
fraternities and the community.
The IFC was not active at
A&M until 1985 when John
Koldus, vice president for
student services, granted
University recognition to social
organizations. The IFC, along
with several individual
fraternities, obtained
recognition and the privileges it
entailed.
In September 1986 the IFC,
in conjunction with the
University, redefined the
recognition policy concerning
individual fraternities. They
decided that fraternities would
no longer be recognized
individually. Instead, through
membership in the IFC, a
fraternity becomes affiliatd with
A&M.
University recognition
entitles fraternities to the use of
the A&M name to identify
institutional affiliation, the right
to hold meetings and functions
on campus, access to free
publicity, such as University
calenders, the Student
Organizations Guide and
‘Inroll’, and publication on
campus bulletin boards.
But what about the
flip side of the Greek system?
What about the women? The
female part of the Greek system
at A&M is represented today by
11 sororities. They have not
been a force at A&M as long as
their male counterparts, due in
part to the fact that women
were not admitted until 1963.
Sororities descended on
A&M in one fell swoop. In