Frats at Princeton? They're not discussed in the admissions literature. In fact, no Greek organization is officially recognized by the University. But the campus plays host to at least 15 fraternities and sororities, which have grown in influence over the past decade since returning to Princeton in the 1980s.
Like most American universities, Princeton found itself the site of a burgeoning underground Greek movement in the mid-nineteenth century. But, unlike many other schools, it took active steps to ban them, afraid of social stratification and concerned about the health of the undergraduate debating organizations, Whig and Clio Hall. In 1855 President Maclean even required all incoming freshman to sign a pledge against joining any kind of secret society other than Whig and Clio.
Fraternities and sororities fill a number of roles on campus, from their traditional claims to fostering brotheror sisterhood to organizing social events and network building.
The existence of the eating clubs, which concurrently fill many of the same roles in a larger and coeducational environment, makes the frat scene at Princeton a singular one. Many of the groups exist in their own right but, because of the nature of Bicker, also serve as informal to one or more of the clubs. The most of the Greek organizations have their own culture, which often overlaps with one of the clubs. In other words, an SAE is recognizable as SAE not only at Princeton but around the country.
The selection process for most fraternities and sororities takes place in the fall, over several weeks for the frats and over a oneweek period for the sororities, which are all rushed at once; a male student can rush as many fraternities as he wishes to. Pledge classes range from six to 16 men for the fraternities and tend to average around 30 per sorority.
For girls, pledging is typically short and informal, while the pledge period lasts well into second semester for the men and often involves more hazing. Besides the rampant parties and selectivity, first semester rush has been a major bone contention with the University administration in recent years. The University maintains a hands-off and loose, unofficial relationship with the fraternities, and so has not taken any direct action to change the rush process.
A number of the fraternities are well-established and popular, while several still struggle to fill their membership. Here is a very brief run-through of most of the fraternities and sororities on campus:
Fraternities:
Beta Theta Pi: "Beta" Something of a meathead frat, with a heavy football-player contingent. Prevalent in Cottage and Cap and Gown clubs.
Delta Kappa Epsilon: "Deke" A smaller and less well-known fraternity. Has held spring rush to fill its numbers in past years.
Zeta Beta Tau: "ZBT"; Traditionally a Jewish fraternity but is ecumenical at Princeton. Has held spring rush in the past to fill its roster.
Zeta Psi: "Zete"; An interesting mixture of California-surfer types and prepsters. Members frequent gyms and the Ivy Club.
Kappa Alpha Order: "KA"; True to their founder Robert E. Lee, KA's maintain a Southern identity. Or at least try to. Often paired with the Thetas, often in Cottage.
Pi Kappa Alpha: "Pike"; An interesting and diverse group scattered among several clubs.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon: "SAE"; An institution. Some very solid guys.
Some guys who give the group its oft-deserved reputation. Look for the pastels and popped collars, in TI and Ivy specifically, and chances are you've spotted one.
Phi Kappa Sigma: "Phi Kap" Nationally, a service fraternity. Don't worry,they still drink at Princeton. A growing fraternity with a sizable Cap and Gown presence.
Chi Phi: Our resident Animal House. They had a Rhodes scholar a few years back, but many of them seem to major in Chi Phi. Not surprisingly, most members are also in TI.
Coed fraternity:
Delta Psi: "Saint Anthony Hall, St. A's" Sssshhh. A coed, literary fraternity, which functions as a secret society at Princeton. Only offers spring rush, which tends to be heavily attended sometimes 10 rushees for each spot. Members heavily attend Ivy and sometimes Terrace.
Sororities:
Delta Delta Delta: "Tri-Delt" The newest sorority on campus, still struggling to fill its quota. Members are scattered through several clubs.
Kappa Alpha Theta: "Theta" Tend to be blond and Southern. Also tend toward Cottage and KA's, which is unfortunate.
Kappa Kappa Gamma: "Kappa" Like the Pike's, Kappa's have a diverse identity and frequent several clubs. Wholesome and on the rise . . . in the . . . sorority world.
Pi Beta Phi: "Pi Phi" Lots of preppy Northeastern types and squash girls. Notorious formal events. Many split between TI and Ivy.
Black nationals:
Different from other Greek organizations in several ways. Most importantly, only African-Americans can join. Smaller, with a total of around 20 girls total in all three sororities. Some share chapters with Westminster Choir College, and rush is only offered sophomore year for the girls:
Alpha Kappa Alpha. Delta Sigma Theta. Zeta Phi Beta.
Read More
Mahya Fazel-Zarandi ’25 awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Devon RudolphMahya Fazel-Zarandi ’25 was awarded an international Gates Cambridge scholarship. She will pursue a Masters in Philosophy in Medical Science at Cambridge focusing on a project using AI to detect ovarian cancer early.
Mahya Fazel-Zarandi ’25 was awarded an international Gates Cambridge scholarship. She will pursue a Masters in Philosophy in Medical Science at Cambridge focusing on a project using AI to detect ovarian cancer early.
Reunions, Commencement see isolated demonstrations as U. tightens protest warnings
Calvin Kenjiro Grover and Luke GrippoAt this year’s Reunions and Commencement, the University sought to get ahead of any potential demonstrations by exhaustively emphasizing its policies around protests and interruptions, including that those who disrupted an event could face arrest. However, there were only a few Pro-Palestine protest actions, all of them sparsely attended.
At this year’s Reunions and Commencement, the University sought to get ahead of any potential demonstrations by exhaustively emphasizing its policies around protests and interruptions, including that those who disrupted an event could face arrest. However, there were only a few Pro-Palestine protest actions, all of them sparsely attended.
Princeton awards 1,293 degrees to the Class of 2025 as speakers reference political headwinds
Maya MukherjeeReunions and graduation speakers referenced the tense political climate around higher education, adding urgent undertones — and sometimes overtones — to otherwise standard ceremonial speech fare.
Reunions and graduation speakers referenced the tense political climate around higher education, adding urgent undertones — and sometimes overtones — to otherwise standard ceremonial speech fare.