Parents or guardians and other family members are key partners in a student's commitment to higher education. As such, the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life values their interest in better understanding the organizations that their student chooses to join while in college. The fraternity and sorority experience may be something completely new to the families of Gettysburg students, or something very different from an older family member's own experience. We hope the information on our website helps to shed some light on the fraternity and sorority community at Gettysburg, but if there are any additional questions or concerns, feel free to e-mail greeklife@gettysburg.edu or call 717.337.6304 at any time.
Our Fraternities and Sororities
The Office of Student Activities & Greek Life oversees the 18 social fraternal organizations at Gettysburg College and the Order of Omega Greek Leadership Honors Society. Our chapters include:
Fraternities
Alpha Chi Rho, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Tau Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Nu
Sororities
Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Delta Sigma Theta, Gamma Phi Beta, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta
We encourage you to learn more about individual chapters by visiting out Reports and Statistics page. There you can view the GPA and conduct history of the chapters as well as their results from our annual evaluation process. Other great resources to learn about the organizations at Gettysburg College include www.gburggreeks.com, local chapter websites, and national organizational websites.
Unrecognized Organizations
The following organizations do not have recognized chapters on campus but are suspected of having "underground" groups still operating in the area. These "underground" groups are not affiliated with any national organization nor the College, but may still be using their names illegally.
Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE)
Phi Sigma Kappa (ΦΣK)
Greek Letter Honors Societies
The Office of Student Activities & Greek Life does not oversee any Greek letter academic honor societies except Order of Omega. Find out more about these organizations.
Recruitment Webinars
This summer, the Office of Student Activities & Greek Life will host several webinars to review both the fraternity and sorority recruitment processes. The dates and times are listed below. Webinars are generally about 1 hour. If you are interested in attending, please click on the selected date to register for the webinar. If you are unable to participate in one of these webinars, the recordings will be posted shortly after the webinar has occurred. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact our office.
Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment Webinars:
Fraternity Recruitment Webinars:
New Member Education Webinars
Additional information on fraternities and sororities.
INTRODUCTION
Perceptions of fraternities and sororities differ widely among parents/guardians and students. This information seeks to explain many of the areas of Greek Life, specifically concerning parents/guardians. Social fraternities and sororities have enjoyed a long tradition at Gettysburg College.
- Since 1852, social fraternities have thrived on this campus and were joined by sororities in 1904.
- Students at Gettysburg College cannot join a social fraternity or sorority until their sophomore year.
- Today, 47% of the upper-class students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) are members of fraternities and sororities.
WHAT ARE FRATERNITIES & SORORITIES?
Although almost everyone has heard about what fraternities and sororities are and what they do, what are the actual reasons that they exist? Many stereotypes exist about fraternities and sororities, but when one inquires into their fundamental intent, action, and purpose one will see a very different representation.
- Fraternities and sororities are organizations made up of groups of students that have bonded together and agreed to live out the values espoused by their founders, their creed, and the national organization.
- The fraternities and sororities are values based social organizations; meaning, that the organizations subscribe to a specific set of core values and beliefs that incorporate the concepts of brotherhood, service, tradition, scholarship, leadership and building relationships into their ideals and traditions.
FREQUENT TOPICS OF INTEREST FOR PARENTS AND GUARDIANS
Financial Responsibility
- Greek letter organizations have been self-sufficient since their inception, and continue that tradition today.
- Upon joining a Greek organization, your son or daughter will be billed both a candidate and initiation fee by the national organization.
- These are one time only fees that will help cover the cost of the materials your son or daughter used during the pledging process (manuals, leadership retreats, etc.). Every semester thereafter, your student will be expected to financially commit to local dues assessed by the chapter, which cover annual educational programs, social activities, and insurance fees from the national organization. Due to the financial burden of maintaining a chapter house, Fraternities have traditionally higher per semester dues. Generally, dues range from $250-$650 per semester.
- For more information on the financial responsibilities in a specific organization, please encourage the interested student to ask about dues during the rush process.
New Member Education
With the common stereotypes of Greek organizations predicated through examples such as “Animal House,” many parents and guardians have concerns regarding the procedure of joining a Greek organization on campus.
- The Greeks here at Gettysburg College are a progressive community that has taken a strong stance against any type of hazing.
- Our new member education process will vary in length by organization, but is not permitted to last more than eight weeks. During the new member education period the College conducts a core new member curriculum to help students understand key topics related to the Greek community.
- Every fraternity and sorority must submit their schedule and plan for new member education by the beginning of the semester. If there are concerns about the activities in which a new member is participating, please contact the Office of Student Activities & Greek Life or the Department of Public Safety.
- For more information on hazing in general, as well as the College policy, please feel free to refer to the Student Handbook website. Any student that feels they are being hazed is encouraged to report the hazing to the authorities and College administration. If you, as a parent or guardian are made aware of any hazing that your student experienced while at the college, please report this to the Office of Student Activities & Greek Life.
Housing
- Due to the fact that there are no sorority houses on campus, sorority membership is not a factor within the housing selection process. Seven of the nine active fraternities on campus do have chapter houses; three are owned by an Alumni Housing Corporation, and need occupants to cover expenses related to maintaining the property including regular maintenance and mortgage.
- Your son will be eligible to live in the house as early as spring semester of his sophomore year, provided that he has maintained a 2.5 GPA. Otherwise he will move into the fraternity house for his junior year.
- Your son will more than likely be asked to live in the fraternity house through his senior year. Please be aware that if your son does not to live in the fraternity house, he will be assessed a non-residence fee every semester in order to offset the expenses of services that the house provides during brotherhood activities. These non-residence fees generally range from $100-$500 per semester.
- Please be aware that the individual fraternities’ Alumni Corporation, and not the college, determine both the housing and non-residence fee for non-College owned housing. Billing for fraternity housing is done by the College’s Financial Services Department as a support service for the fraternities. Housing fees paid to the College are forwarded to the Alumni Housing Corporation for each non-college owned fraternity's operations.
Academics
The academic life of any student during his or her college years is of the utmost importance for someone looking to succeed during his or her career. The Greek organizations of Gettysburg College understand this, and strive to provide their members with the best opportunities to succeed while being active in the organization.
- Fraternities and sororities include within their education program for new members, study sessions, as well as library hours.
- Many organizations require a minimum GPA in order to live within the house, remain a member, and even higher GPA requirements to become an executive board member.
- Each individual chapter has an elected scholarship chair that is responsible for keeping track of members and their academic performance. The scholarship chair helps not only those who are struggling, but also develops programs to assist the entire chapter in excelling academically. The scholarship chair offers scholarships, awards, and programs for individual members and the chapter in order to realize the entire organizations academic success to its full potential.
Secrecy
Although some parents or guardians who have knowledge about the system may not consider this aspect of Greek life to be of high concern, many of the stereotypes that exist around Greek Life cause the issue of secret societies to be concerning for those who are unfamiliar with it. For those parents or guardians who have had no previous involvement or experience with Greek organizations, several aspects of the organizations' membership knowledge and traditions are unknown to the uninitiated.
- Fraternity and sorority rituals and secrets exist not to separate members of the Greek community but instead are designed to bring together common bonds and shared values. In no way are the ritual and secrets of fraternities and sororities designed to be an elitist dogma that seeks to separate people along the basis of membership in an organization.
Fraternities and sororities at Gettysburg College offer great opportunities for students to experience leadership, scholarship, service, and life long friendships.