Greek Life at Sewanee

Hey everyone, thanks for joining us tonight. My name is Colin Nelson, Pink Cinema coordinator for fraternity and sorority life.

Um, so before we jump in and give you a little bit of information about myself and how I came to Swanee. I'm originally from Green Bay, WI and went to the University of Iowa, where I majored in Spanish and International Studies and join my fraternity. The first day my freshman year, so a good portion of my life has been involved with fraternity and sorority life, and excited to be here with you. So, after I graduated, I worked for my fraternity for two years and traveled the country and.

Since then, I've worked with fraternities and sororities at 59 different universities across the US, including Swanee, obviously so.

Really love the work that I do and I'm excited to talk to you all about what Sony has to offer in the way of Greek life.

So that's one E Greek life falls under the office of camps activities, so that's within the Dean of students office, so we do a lot of different things across campus from Swanee Union Theater, which is our movie theater on campus swanee adding program which does hundreds of trips on the domain and off the domain as well, doing outdoor activities and a lot of different things on campus that.

You know, really add to that suit experience. Make Swanee as special as it is.

So tonight talking about Greek life, you know, I'm sure those of you that are here have some interest in potentially joining a fraternity or sorority, and so we wanted to provide a little bit more information about how you join it for turning your stories. So at Suwannee, the way that you join a fraternity or sorority's through rush. So we have what's called deferred rush. So that means that freshman students can join a fraternity or restarting in the spring semester. So that's what we call our Easter semester.

Uh, advent semester is what we call our fall semester. So if you hear people talking about those things, you know that's what they beat. So advent is the fall. Easter is the spring, so upper class rush happens during the fall semester, so that's open to students that are returning to Aswani as sophomores, juniors, seniors or also transfer students who are coming to somebody from another college or University. And so we have the dates finalized for that. That's going to be.

Sunday, September 6 until Sunday or Saturday, September 12 and so that will be for you know again those sophomores, juniors, seniors coming into Suwannee. For students that are coming in as freshmen, they're able to rush starting in the Easter semester, so that's again the spring semester so preliminarily.

Excuse me, rush will happen from Sunday, January 17th with shake day, which is what we call bid day at Swanee happening on Saturday, January 23rd of 2021. So again, that's preliminary. Those dates might change for the spring.

But the the process for registering whether you go through as a transfer student or returning student in the fall or in the spring is that you'll register on Swanee engage, so that's a platform that student life runs a lot of their programming through and uses 2 manage student organizations and things like that. So it's a pretty easy to navigate system and you'll apply through there. And so you give us some information about yourself, academic information, and then you also sign a release.

That allows us to do a great check as well as the conduct check. So disciplinary records. So for students to participate and join a fraternity or sorority. They have a 2.35 GPA, which we do a great checkup so the student provides that information, but we also verify to see what their grades are once they come out. And then we also do a conduct check. So looking at disciplinary standing so students on institutional probation above cannot participate in rush and so the definitions for.

What that means is in a QB guide, so I'm not gonna go into that here, but just knowing that you know we have certain academic as well as disciplinary standing requirements in order to join a fraternity and sorority.

So moving on before we kind of jump into the substance here I want to provide some helpful terms that will hopefully.

Make you know the speaking Greek if you will a little bit more accessible for those who aren't as familiar with fraternity and sorority life. So chapter that's each individual for turners for already. So at Swanee we have 22 Greek chapters. Ibusa card given on shake day, so that's what most places called bid day. But a bit is essentially an invitation to join a fraternity or sorority.

Dosar membership fees and so let's Swanee are fraternity dues range from about $300 to $1000 per semester, and that's the base do so that covers things like liability, insurance, programming, different fees that the chapter sets, and so that's per semester, not per year. Industry council. The dues range from about $100 to $700.00 per semester, and so you know each chapter is going to have a different number.

And that may fluctuate year to year. Um, so if you there's a fraternity or sorority you're interested in, you know either reaching out to them or to my office to get more information about what the costs are associated with membership, and one of the things that's really cool about Swanee is that last year 12 of our organizations. So 12 are fraternities and sororities. They provided internal financial aid, So what that means is that you know they had members who, you know. Let's say the base dudes were $500 a semester, so.

Let's say that I may be needed some assistance. You know, there were fraternities and sororities who would you know subsidized part of those two so there were students who were paying sometimes as little as $0.00 a semester to be in a fraternity or sorority. So there are opportunities if finances aren't issue a lot of chapters are willing to work with you to figure out a way to.

Make joining a fraternity or sorority a reality which is really cool that you know these.

These organizations, these people really value the experience that they offer, and they're going to make sure that it's accessible to anybody.

Moving on the IFC, that's our Interfraternity Council. Which overseas are 12 fraternities in our inner sorority council. Is the group of women that oversee R Tensor Ortiz, so we'll talk a little bit more about them in a few slides.

Are the next one is pleasure, associate member or even new member, which is just someone that is a new member to a different fraternity or sorority. Each organization is going to have their own terminology, so that may differ depending on where you are.

Rush or recruitment is the process of joining a fraternity or sorority. And like we talked about, shake day is the day where new members join a fraternity or sorority and so for other colleges or universities, often called at midday. So shake days swannies, midday, and it's a really cool tradition where the students that are accepting a bid they run out and shake the hand of the chapter that they're going to join, and so it's a really cool experience and hopefully.

Uh, some of you will get a chance to experience that.

So moving on to some numbers, folks on Greek life. So last semester there 1134 students in Greek life and that was just about 2/3 of the student body. So it's a big percentage of campus and really shows you know how prevalent it is and this one experience. But it also shows that there are quite a few students that Greek life membership in a fraternity or sorority isn't necessarily one of the things that they are involved with, so.

Looking at our fraternities, on average fraternity size is 40. Three members with our largest last message from being 86 members and the smallest being 13 members, and so that smallest group is also the newest group on campus, so they've.

Been here about a little over a year and you know, made some good headway and so recruited 13 members that have been really contributing.

As well as with larger organizations so you know there are chances to get involved regardless of which organization you join, then are on our sorority side are average chapter sizes 65 women with our largest authority being 159 women in our smallest being 6. So there's a big range between chapter sizes. So if you're looking for a larger fraternity and sorority experience, we have that. If you're looking for something that's a little bit smaller, we also have that and then looking more in the academic side, so.

Um last year, so 2019. Throughout the whole year, 85% in just a little bit. Above 85% of students in fraternities and sororities had above a 2.5 GPA. So academics are really a strong point for Greek students and you look at the.

GPS listed down below. You know our fraternities and sororities really do a great job of making sure that their members exceed or succeed. Excuse me in the classroom and really make sure that academics is a part of.

The focus, because really you're here. It's Hawaii to get an education. You know, being in a fraternity or sorority is just an added bonus of being on the domain. So and then you'll see at the bottom 20 has the most fraternities and sororities out of any institution in the associated colleges in the South. So that's a group of colleges that are similar to Suwanee, and so the next closest is Washington and Lee with 21 fraternities and sororities so.

That's kind of where we're at right now, but I want to take a pause in, you know, take some questions. If you have any questions so far.

So if you have questions, feel free to add those in the chat box.

OK, I'm not seeing any questions yet, so that's OK. Let's keep moving on to the next section.

So and will have time for questions at the end too. So if you want to throw those in the chat box, do that and will have a chance to ask or answer those at the end.

So next we have our alumni Greek council. So this is one thing that's kind of unique about. Swaney St life is we have this group of alumni. There are four officers listed here, but they're just alumni and alumni from every fraternity and sorority represented. So this group comes together throughout the year to talk about, you know, what are ways that alumni can support the student experience of being in a fraternity or sorority. And so you know with how much affinity alumni have for Swanee and how much love they have for this place and the experience in there.

Fraternity and sorority. There really passionate about giving back and so you know there are a couple of times each year we meet in person, but we also have remote engagement throughout the year with these alumni to get ideas about how to strengthen the Greek experience at Swanee, how to be mentors for the students that are in these fraternities and sororities and so our four officers were lucky to have three of four that are local to Swanee so they're able to be engaged pretty regularly.

With the Greek experience, and so you know, this is a group that I really enjoy working with, and there are great source of ideas and you know they're really passionate about the Greek experience at Suwannee, so I think we're really lucky to have folks like you know the people involved with you on my Greek Council who care so much about the experience and you know, give back with their time and their talents in advising and serving as a resource.

Moving on next, we have our Interfraternity Council and inner sorority council, so these are the student leaders that really play a large part in shaping the experience of what it means to be in a fraternity or sorority at Swanee.

So these students.

Do lots of different things. I plan events. They work with University Administration on things like policies. So whether that's like event policies or you know different things with planning out things like mental health initiatives like let's talk, which is something that the Interfraternity Council on interest. Auriti council presidents have been involved with for a few years now and really adding some contributions there to talking about mental health and being a resource for other students and chapters and so.

Just some examples of things that you know the Interfraternity Council dinner. Sorry council had put on our, for example, this past semester we had a T Shirt fundraiser where we had a student design a Greek life T shirt and we sold those online and raise money for do scholarships. So with the amount of money we can raise, we were able to give out three scholarships to students in fraternities and sororities at Swan and so we had them apply an we looked at.

What was their need for financial assistance? And we?

You know, decided on three people that we were able to give those two, and so you know, this was something that was completely student LED. So our student leaders they saw this need for more support for students in fraternities and sororities. And they did something about it. So that's a big thing that we've been blessed to have a group of students who really take initiative and take ownership of their experience and leaving a positive positive legacy behind them so we have a great group of officers.

Listed on the left coming in this year, the the folks on the right are officers for last year who did a great job and actually just transitioned off. So yeah, those are a great group of folks to reach out to as well.

Let's move on. So let's talk about what chapters we have at Swanee. So, on our fraternity side, we have 12. Fraternities are first fraternity founded at Suwannee was Alpha tall, mega or Ato? They were founded in 1877 in our newest fraternities, Alpha Psi Lambda. So they were founded in 2019 and they are are Coed fraternity and so they've been getting started. But you look at here at the rest of our fraternities, you know they've had a long storied history, and so you see two that are.

Have the word local next to them. So what that means is that Gamma Sigma Phi and the File Society of 1883 are local organizations, so they are unique to Suwannee. So these organizations the other organizations have chapters at different campuses by Gamma, Sigma Phi and Phi Society of 1883. They're only found its villani so that adds unique layer to the experience of being in those organizations is that they really drive the culture of what it means to be a member of that fraternity.

Um, the way fraternity houses work. With the exception of one fraternity house that is University owned, the rest of fraternity houses are privately owned, so a group of typically fraternity alumni owned the House and the students live there and, you know, they are a part of campus. Just like anywhere else, or just like any residence Hall that they would live in at Swanee. But those are privately owned and so they are not quite what you would see at other institutions where.

You know a large portion of the chapter lives in the fraternity house, so the most we have in any fraternity house at Swannies five students living there anywhere from one to five students. So it is a smaller facility in terms of residential living space, but it's used more for gathering and hosting events. You know, some fraternities will have bands that come and play at their house, so it'll have philanthropy events like a crawfish boil or grill out, or things like that.

And so those are mostly privately owned except for one that is University owned.

Moving on to our sorority's so we have 10 sororities, eight of which are local meaning again they're just at Swanee and nowhere else, and then two national sororities. So our first priority was Theta Kappa Phi and they were founded in 1977 and then our most recent story was Alpha Delta ? and they were founded in 2017, so these organizations.

Their housing is University owned, so the fraternities are mostly privately owned, but the sororities are entirely University owned. So what that means is that you know it's maintained by the office of residential life and the University. Make sure that those are maintained and staffed and everything like that so.

Um?

Yeah, so those are chapters at Swanee and so.

That's the information that I have, but I really wanted to give time for your questions and for you to ask about what it's like to be Greek it Suwannee or any other questions you might have. So feel free to add those questions into the chat box and we'll talk a little bit more about those.

OK, so someone asked how many people live in sorority houses, so it kind of varies. There some are as small as two and some hold up to about 11, so it is smaller than you know. Other schools might have, but there are still good size and again, it's more. There's more gathering space there than residential space typically, and so.

There everywhere from you know, the central campus. There's one right near the football field. There's some new year like Morgan Steep, which is an overlook on campus that is beautiful, especially at sunset. You'll see a lot of pictures there. That's want to use it. So about.

One or two up to 11 women living in the sorority house.

How does rush week typically function of what should be expected going into it? Yeah, it's a great question. So for upper class rush in the fall, that is typically a little bit shorter process so it'll go. It will go the same amount of days, but there might be fewer events and then spring rush. So an Easter semester that will typically have one or two days of house visits where students will go around and meet the different fraternities and sororities and get a chance to know them.

In addition to getting to know them during the fall semester, where you could get a chance to see where you might want to join, and then during rush week you know it's a little bit more formalized of you expressing interest in which return your sorority you want to join as well as them expressing interest through you so.

Broadly, that's what that experience looks like, but the events may change a little bit each semester, but you know, in the past we've had like a communitywide potluck where the chapters, the fraternities, the sororities they brought in, different types of food, and you know we got together and just kind of had to pick. Nick had a chance to talk to each other and.

So that's a really cool opportunity to get to know each other, but you know, I think if if I was giving advice to a student that we're looking to join a fraternity or sorority, I would say don't wait until rush week to get to know the fraternities or sororities that you're looking at joining. Get a chance to build relationships with them throughout the year, whether it's in classes or at different events. You know getting a chance to know where you're going to fit is going to be the best way to go about it and then rush. Weekends will shake day, which is again, you know that experience where people.

Run out, shake the hand of the returning your story that they plan on joining an. You know really get a chance to get started on their membership.

Other questions.

Yes, or the fraternity houses near each other, or they spread around campus. Yeah, so, and that's a great question for sorority houses as well. So the fraternity houses are fairly close to each other. A lot of them border University Ave, which is kind of the Main Street on campus. But there are a few that are just off of that road, so they're all pretty close. And the great thing about swannies that everything on campus is pretty close. You know. I've worked at campuses where it's, you know, a mile and a half, two Miles, 3 miles to get across campus. And you know there might be parts of swannies domain that are a little bit further apart, but Luckily

the residential facilities including fraternity and sorority houses are pretty close to Central campus. Everything is pretty pretty easy to navigate, and once you get the hang of it, it's easy to find out where you're going to be, where you're living, where your friends live. So that is one of the benefits of Sony's campus.

Can athletes returning your Shorty absolutely so? Actually are Interfraternity Council President and Interfraternity Council, vice president for community service both play baseball so?

There are some sports that allow you to join any semester. There are some that ask you to wait until a certain semester based on your athletic schedule. But yeah, a lot of our students Excel in both.

Athletics and academics. I know that several fraternity and sorority leaders were.

Athletic award winners. You know the athletes are at excuse me athletics Instagram account posted a couple of our returning 3 liters of returning 3 presidents that were, so there's a chance to do both in Excel in both different coaches might have different rules or expectations as it relates to joining a fraternity or sorority. So if you have questions about what that might look like, talk to your coach and just see you know what their thoughts are on it so.

Yeah, it's definitely doable. There might be some different requirements, but yeah, it's it's possible to succeed in both.

What makes one is Greek life staying out from other universities? Yeah, this is a great question, so I think that you know when I look at it and I see that the number of local fraternities and sororities that's one it has.

There really there are other places that have local fraternities and stories, but not to the level that's what he does, at least from what I've seen. So when I when I look at that, you know that certainly impacts the experience of the students that are in these local fraternities and sororities really get a chance to play into, you know what direction the future of their organization looks like, and so that's the same with our national or international fraternities or sororities as well, where they get a chance to really drive the direction of the organization. So I would say that is one thing.

But the other thing that I would really say is how much how much Suwannee has a lasting impact on its alumni and students. You know I've been like I said, I've worked with fraternities and sororities at 59 different institutions and know where have I seen alumni that have a stronger identity in Titus 1E or to their institutions wanting so I think that the pride that people have in their institution, like for example I lived in Dallas before I took this job and it was working at a University out there.

And there were some Swanee Greek Alumni who took me out to dinner and wanted to share some stories about their time in a fraternity at Swanee. And it was really cool, you know, it was a chance for them to catch up, but also to for me to get an insight into what really makes whining special for them. And as someone who visits one, you know, I work for my fraternity. I cannot saw that there was something special going on, and so it was.

You know, really, really good luck that you know this job opened up and they thought I was the best person for the role and so it's been an awesome experience. I started in October 2018 and it's it's been a role in I loved every second of it and I've learned so much by being a part of the community. But Long story short, I would say that the ties that alumni have to this place are pretty special.

What are the different benefits of local and national chapters? Yeah, so I mean, I think you know broadly when you look at for turning 3 membership, you know you're going to get a chance to develop your own leadership skills. You're going to get a chance to, you know, build a network of connections that you're going to have forever. You're going to keep contact with your brothers, your sisters for a long time to come. and I think when you look at the benefits, I think it really depends on what you're looking for.

In a fraternity or sorority, you know. So there are some organizations you know that their focus is, you know, community service. So going and giving their time to A cause in the community. There's chapters that have philanthropy is a big focus where they focus on raising money or giving donations to organizations. Or, you know, there are others that they're going to really focus on academics to help you get to that. And there's a lot of different focuses in each chapter, so every fraternity and sorority has its.

Own unique kind of personality, and so I think that you know when you look at what you're looking for in a fraternity or sorority. You have finding out that is going to be what you want it to be, and what you needed to be. You know, I think when you approach it and look at, you know, say you're looking at one or two fraternities and your friends are looking at two different fraternities, or two different sword.

Have an open mind. Don't just go where your friends go because sometimes your friends want a different experience so you know there's going to be a lot of benefits and you can't really go wrong with any organization you choose, but I think that just going into it and looking at what's going to be the best fit for you and where you feel most valued. That's going to be the best thing that you could do.

Just worries have community service requirements. Yeah, great questions. So all of our fraternities and sororities. They're going to have different requirements of their members in terms of you know how many community service hours they need to have.

You know it kind of varies between different fraternities and sororities, so if you have specific questions, I'd recommend reaching out to them on social media or through email and just getting in touch with them. But it's not overly restrictive. You know it's not something where we have students having an issue, completing requirements, and so one really good thing too is like our Interfraternity Council on inner City Council. Both the vice presidents for community service meet regularly with the office of civic engagement and so they deal with a lot of community.

Partnerships and really finding opportunities for students to get involved in giving back to them. So this semester actually.

The Office of civic engagement in my office work together to set up some ongoing community partnership, so that way. We have a chance to really maximize the impact or students are making in the community and have ongoing relationships that last longer than a semester or two so it really just kind of varies based on each fraternity or sorority, but there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.

Other questions.

OK.

Well, that looks to be about it, but as you can see on here, you can find us on Instagram at Suwannee Greek life. We also have a Swanee Greek life Facebook page that you're welcome to follow as well. My email is right there, it's CD Nelson dot CDNEL.

On@suwannee.edu and I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have weather tonight or in the future and also reaching out to the admissions office at admissaddsuwannee.edu. Either of us can answer questions that you might have and we really look forward to seeing you on the domain, whether it's in the fall or in future years.

We're here to support you, and we're here to make sure that you have a great college experience.

So if there any last questions, feel free to add those in now. Otherwise will rap it up.

OK, so I don't see.