About a year ago, in a second-floor classroom in Frist Campus Center, there was a meeting that would have been unthinkable only four years earlier.
The Committee on the Freshman Experience, chaired by Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan, had called a meeting with representatives of the campus' fraternities and sororities.
The leaders of Greek life came reluctantly, not seeing much to gain from such a meeting and fearful they could become targets of University action.
Though the University does not recognize fraternities and sororities, about 15 percent of the student body joins them. For several years, a silent conflict had developed between proponents of Greek life and administrators worried about its impact on undergraduate life — from social division early in freshman year to hazing and alcohol abuse.
A chief concern of administrators was the timing of rush, Greek organizations' recruiting and admissions process durimg the first month of school.
At the meeting, the Committee asked fraternities and sororities to delay rush to January or February.
The fraternity and sorority leaders soundly rejected the request. The meeting went nowhere.
After this, the conflict between the groups and the administration became much sharper.
That summer, without consulting students, Deignan and Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson sent a letter to incoming freshmen to discourage them from joining fraternities and sororities. The move incensed Greek leaders, though they said it had a negligible impact on membership. The administration plans to send a similar letter this summer.
"It was like they were saying, 'thanks for coming to the meeting, we're glad we talked — and screw you,' " said Evan Baehr '05, who attended last spring's meeting on behalf of a fraternity he asked not be identified.
The University's interest in minimizing the role of Greek life comes during a major revamping of the undergraduate experience. The appearance of four-year residential colleges in two years and other efforts to divert attention from the Street — some students and administrators see fraternities and sororities as feeders into selective eating clubs — emphasize the administration's desire to make undergraduate life as inclusive as possible and largely based inside the colleges.
While administrators currently do not plan to have an official policy on Greek groups, which were banned from 1855 to 1940, many students believe the University is waging an increasingly overt war against them.
The administration's interest in Greek life became public in October 2000, when Dickerson broke with the University's previous silence by announcing her intention to talk to fraternity and sorority leaders about their role on campus. "When I came to Princeton, they told me there were no Greek organizations," Dickerson said in an interview.
Five years later, it seems that little has been accomplished.
"There was no relationship" between Greek organizations and the University before last year's meeting, said a former fraternity president on the condition of anonymity. "There is still no relationship."
Speaking specifically about the letter, he said, "Typically the kids who are going to rush fraternities are not going to be swayed . . . by any kind of letter from the administration."
When to rush
At last year's meeting, fraternity and sorority leaders adamantly defended early rush, citing their desire to maximize interaction between freshmen and upperclass members. Recently, however, some sorority and fraternity members have relaxed their opposition to delaying rush.
Kerry Willoughby '05, a Pi Beta Phi member and former president of Princeton's Panhellenic Council, suggested late last month moving rush to November as a compromise.
When told about it, Deignan welcomed the idea.
But some students and administrators doubted that Greek organizations would delay rush. Rush is timed, they said, to capitalize on freshmen's social inexperience.
The former fraternity president agreed that the goal of holding it early in the term is to attract as many freshmen as possible.
"I really enjoyed my fraternity experience. But in leadership positions, you formulate strategies where you want to get to kids early and influence their opinions because you want to build your organization," he said. "You could say it's manipulative."
The administration's concern is that freshmen feel pressured to join Greek organizations when they are socially vulnerable. They also worry that early rush restricts exploring social and extracurricular activities.
Dickerson said she'd like "the first hundred days of the freshmen experience [to] be relatively free of hazing and pledging and enticing events that distract students from what we think are some of the more engaging aspects of freshman year campus life."
Greek life on campus
Fraternities and sororities play a unique role in Princeton's social scene. Unlike the frat houses seen on other campuses, Princeton's social scene is dominated by eating clubs, which have 100 to 200 members each. Rather than forming a separate center, fraternities and sororities mainly help students navigate Princeton's larger social life through lunches and dinners with members, off-campus excursions and community service.
Greek organizations vary in size and attitude. The campus's three historically black sororities — Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta — hardly fit into Princeton's model for Greek life. They emphasize community service and delay rush until sophomore year, which makes administrators more positive about their impact on campus life.
In most of the other Greek organizations on campus, alcohol plays a large role in many parts of Greek life. That deeply concerns the University administration.
"[W]hile we recognize that some students join fraternities and sororities primarily for the opportunity to participate in a smaller community of friends," Deignan said, "we know that others join primarily because they perceive a readily available access to alcohol."
Deignan said hazing — banned under New Jersey law and University policy — presents another danger.
"I am aware of many situations where freshman pledges (mostly in fraternities) were put at physical risk or were subjected to humiliating hazing rituals as part of their pledging," Deignan said. "This is very distressing, not only to those of us who are charged with the wellbeing of undergraduates, but also to roommates and others who often worry about their friends."
Fraternities and sororities have tried to get around some University policies that restrict alcohol consumption. Some members said their organizations tend to use hard liquor in response to the ban on kegs in dormitories. Though rush is officially dry, alcohol flows freely at many recruiting events. "Greek life is just one big pre-game," said a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, about the practice of drinking before going out to the eating clubs.
"They always respected whether or not you wanted to drink, but they encouraged drinking a lot," said a freshman who pledged a fraternity and dropped out. "Then again, if you're pledging, you're probably looking for good guys to drink with."
The pledging process varies widely. One visible example is the sight of new fraternity members standing outside McCosh Hall all day dressed like Secret Service agents. Some pledging activities are more strenuous — Dickerson said she heard reports of pledges having to walk home from Lawrenceville or go as far as Buffalo, N.Y., for a scavenger hunt.
But some observers don't agree that Greek life is as problematic as the administration suggests.
Nitesh Paryani '05, an RCA in Wilson Collge, oversaw a group of fraternity members who lived in a large suite in Dodge-Osborne Hall last year. He said the group was respectful of its neighbors and of University policy.
"They make an honest effort to integrate themselves into University life and obey all the rules of the University," Paryani said.
Recognition and concern
About 700 students are in fraternities or sororities at any given time. This year, 138 students rushed sororities. Each of the three sororities that participated in rush this fall — Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi — offered 36 bids, so that 98 percent of those who completed rush received a bid. Delta Delta Delta, whose charter was revoked this year, did not participate in formal rush. About 200 students rushed fraternities, with a little more than half receiving bids. Sororities all generally have more than 100 members, but fraternities range in size from 10 members to 50.
With that kind of membership — and the funding that comes from dues — fraternities and sororities don't have much interest in University recognition.
"It's pretty clear to me that these organizations don't want full recognition as a student organization," said Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne. "With recognition comes a whole host of responsibilities, such as registering all events, and maintaining all financial records in the dean's office."
Dues vary from organization to organization, but most charge around $500 per year.
"It's difficult for me to resolve the relationships the students have to their national organizations, in which they are charged what I see as very high membership dues, that go off-campus to support the national organization," Dunne said.
Administrators still point to public incidents where they think the problems with Greek life are evident. Pi Beta Phi recently had to pay $4,155 to compensate the Nottingham fire company for damages the sorority caused to the firehouse during an event last month.
"This behavior was clearly disrespectful of the property and sensibilities of others," Deignan said. "We have had complaints before from other establishments and bus companies who called to report vandalism and disorderly and disrespectful conduct displayed by fraternity and sorority members toward their property and employees ... It does not surprise me that colleges and universities with recognized Greek systems are frequently required to impose disciplinary sanctions or periodically take steps to remove them from their campuses."
Deeper questions
Underlying the debate over the place of Greek groups is a deeper question: Are fraternities and sororities antithetical to the residential atmosphere Princeton wants to support?
Other Ivy League institutions' attitudes toward Greek life vary widely. Cornell has an official Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, whose website reports that 30 percent of the student population belongs to a Greek organization. The University of Pennsylvania also has over a quarter of students participating in Greek life.
Harvard, however, does not recognize Greek organizations. Fraternities at Harvard are largely seen as alternatives to the exclusive, all-male finals clubs.
At Princeton, administrators recognize that fraternity and sorority members believe their organizations offer a chance for underclassmen to form unique bonds with upperclassmen.
"Many students have told me that their sororities and fraternities have provided smaller communities of friends that helped them quickly feel 'at home' within the larger University," Deignan said.
But she questioned whether Greek groups, with their focus on alcohol and exclusivity, are the best way to accomplish this.
"At a time when the colleges are working hard to create a welcoming environment for all students and a sense of unity among the newest members of our community, these organizations are rushing and selecting some students and not others," she said.
Dunne worried about the effect of rush on students who don't get in. "[It] is different from not getting a bid for an a capella or dance group," he said. "It's different to be told, 'you're just not a good enough singer,' from a more amorphous, 'we just don't want to hang out with you.' "
Frances Schendle '06, a member of both a sorority and the freshman experience committee, said membership in a Greek group doesn't dominate a member's life. Greek members, she said, are involved in many other activities.
"Students at Princeton aren't going to be defined by three Greek letters," she said. "They know when they join that this is just one part of who they are, and rush isn't going to change that."
Some students and administrators also expressed concern that Greek life could compound the exclusivity of Bicker, the selective process used to gain admission to some eating clubs.
"I don't think its any secret to students that certain frats and sororities are feeders to certain eating clubs," said Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06, current USG president and a member of the freshman experience committee. "It funnels you into a social clique for perhaps the rest of your four years on campus."
But Baehr, the fraternity member, disagreed with that view.
"It's just like if you're a member of a sports team," Baehr said. "The more people you know, the more who can support you."
Read More
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.
Joseph ’25 next Young Alumni Trustee in 21 percent turnout election
Vitus LarrieuGil Joseph ’25 won the Young Alumni Trustee election, which saw 21 percent turnout. Joseph, Stephen Padlo ’25 and Ben Wachspress ’25 competed in the final round of elections after advancing from a notably large primary in April.
Gil Joseph ’25 won the Young Alumni Trustee election, which saw 21 percent turnout. Joseph, Stephen Padlo ’25 and Ben Wachspress ’25 competed in the final round of elections after advancing from a notably large primary in April.
‘A brilliant young contemporary writer and a beautiful human being’: Remembering Lauren Blackburn ’26
Victoria Davies and Caitlyn TabladaBlackburn was found deceased by authorities on April 25, several days after he was reported missing. He was 23 years old at the time of his death and is remembered by friends and mentors as a brilliant writer, voracious learner, and loving friend. A family obituary said he passed away after a “courageous battle with bipolar disorder.”
Blackburn was found deceased by authorities on April 25, several days after he was reported missing. He was 23 years old at the time of his death and is remembered by friends and mentors as a brilliant writer, voracious learner, and loving friend. A family obituary said he passed away after a “courageous battle with bipolar disorder.”