Fraternities, sororities liven up campus life

Some join for the life-long friendships; others come for the parties.

Whatever your motivation, the Greek system is an integral part of the Penn community.

Greeks constitute over 25 percent of the undergraduate student body, and Greek houses are host to various fundraisers and charity events as well as parties.

"Greek Life encompasses some of the most active students on Penn's campus, providing a unique environment to grow both socially and intellectually," College senior and InterFraternity Council President Spencer Scharff said.

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, in cooperation with student-run and -elected councils such as the one that Scharff heads, oversees Greek life at Penn.

The InterFraternity Council incorporates 28 fraternities, the Panhellenic Council oversees eight sororities, and the Bicultural InterGreek Council governs 11 fraternities and sororities traditionally affiliated with specific minority communities.

Formal recruiting for houses run by Panhel and the IFC begins at the beginning of the spring semester.

Prospective members of IFC fraternities can visit any houses they want during the rush process. Fraternities have three open events and three invitation-only events each during the two-week period. If prospective members do not receive an invitation from a house, it is assumed that the fraternity is no longer interested in recruiting those applicants.

Sorority rush is more structured than that of the fraternities. Girls interested in joining a house are assigned to groups and must visit each house. The Panhellenic Council does not allow sorority sisters to recruit or reveal their sorority affiliation to freshmen before rush begins, so for many, rush will mark the first time they meet sorority sisters.

Applicants then pick the houses that they are most interested in joining, while sorority members choose those whom they feel would would make a good addition to their house. After this matching process, applicants are offered only one bid.

Men, however, may receive bids from several houses on bid night. Once applicants accept a bid, a six-week pledge process begins to initiate them into the house.

For prospective members of BIG-C fraternities and sororities, the traditional pledge process is replaced by an individualized membership recruitment process called "intake," which continues throughout the spring semester.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.