Fraternities and sororities

See also Wikipedia's article about "Fraternities and sororities".

Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations of college students. Many of these organizations are located in brownstones in and around frat row.

The Columbia University Greek community is comprised of 11 fraternities in the Interfraternity Council (IFC); six fraternities and six sororities in the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC); and five sororities in the Panhellenic Council (NPC).

The Inter Greek Council (IGC) oversees these 28 fraternities and sororities.

Each chapter holds large-scale philanthropy and service events every semester and requires members to participate in a variety of community service and educational events. The Columbia Greek Life website details information on every chapter's service and philanthropy work.

All chapters must meet the "ALPHA Standards of Excellence” each semester. ALPHA Standards are instituted by the university to uphold and promote community standards of philanthropy, service, and fraternal development. The ongoing recognition of Columbia fraternities and sororities depends on their meeting or exceeding the requirements of these standards. Examples of ALPHA Standards include organizing large-scale philanthropy events, holding educational workshops, and organizing leadership development programs.

Students interested in joining Greek life can refer to the "Go Greek" section of the Inter-Greek Council's website, which lists recruitment information for all 28 Greek organizations.

Greek organizations regularly hold philanthropy and service events that are open to the Columbia community. The IGC lists upcoming Greek events that are open to all Columbia students in the "Announcements and Events" section of the Columbia Greek Life website. The section is updated every Friday with Greek life announcements and upcoming events for the week. The IGC encourages all members of the community to participate in these events.

Greek Community Academic Performance

The average GPA for Greeks is consistently above the average GPA for Columbia students.

In spring 2013, it was announced that the average Greek GPA for the 2012 calendar year was a 3.32. To add context, the average grade given out in an econ class is a 3.18 and the majority of Greek life members are econ majors.

Many of the Greek organizations at Columbia are leading in terms of academic, philanthropy, and community service performance in respect to their national organizations. Delta Gamma, for example, was listed as having the fourth highest fall 2013 GPA out of all DG chapters nationwide.

Greek Community Philanthropy and Community Service Performance

In spring 2012, it was announced that during the 2011 calendar year, Columbia Greek organizations raised a total of $242,400 for philanthropy (average of $251.74 per individual member.)

They also donated a total of 23,996 hours towards community service (average of 24.9 hours per member.)

Greeks raised 58% of the funds for Columbia’s 2012 Relay for Life ($37,349 out of $66,459). In 2013 78% of total funds raised were raised by Greeks (56,275.22 out of $72.632.65).

Growth in Greek Life

A chart of Greek life's growth, published in The Blue and White

Columbia traditionally had a very low-profile frat scene, with Greek life playing relatively little role in student life, with participation hovering around 10%. Since 2006, however, participation has exploded and nearly doubled to closer to 20%.

This has perhaps been the outcome of Columbia's alleged "War on Fun." There is of course a delicious irony here, in that Columbia has consciously killed off its dorm social scene in favor of a fraternity social scene. The increasingly expensive/lame bar scene in Morningside Heights and increased NYPD crackdowns on underage drinking, once rare, might also have something to do with the trend.

Since 2012, the Inter-Greek Council has released annual reports detailing achievements in academics, philanthropy, and charity work.

The brothers of Sigma Chi

List of Fraternities and Sororities

Organization	Type	Chapter Designation	Year Founded	Governing Board	National Association	Location	Notes
Alpha Epsilon Pi	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Beta Theta Pi	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Delta Sigma Phi	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Kappa Delta Rho	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Phi Gamma Delta	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Pi Kappa Alpha	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Psi Upsilon	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Sigma Alpha Epsilon	Fraternity	New York Mu	1895	Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference	None	Active 1895-1961 Reformed as a colony in 2012
Sigma Chi	Fraternity	Nu Nu	1894	Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference	523 West 113th Street	Active 1894-1964; 1984-present
Sigma Nu	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Sigma Phi Epsilon	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Zeta Beta Tau	Fraternity			Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Alpha Phi Alpha	Fraternity			Multicultural Greek Council	National Pan-Hellenic Council Organizations
Lambda Phi Epsilon	Fraternity			Multicultural Greek Council	National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association Organizations
Phi Iota Alpha	Fraternity			Multicultural Greek Council	National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations
Pi Delta Psi	Fraternity			Multicultural Greek Council	National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association Organizations/North-American Interfraternity Conference
Sigma Lambda Beta	Fraternity			Multicultural Greek Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference
Delta Sigma Theta	Sorority			Multicultural Greek Council	National Pan-Hellenic Council Organizations
Kappa Phi Lambda	Sorority			Multicultural Greek Council	National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association Organizations
Lambda Pi Chi	Sorority			Multicultural Greek Council	National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations
Sigma Iota Alpha	Sorority			Multicultural Greek Council	National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations
Sigma Lambda Gamma	Sorority			Multicultural Greek Council	National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations
Omega Phi Beta	Sorority			Multicultural Greek Council	National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations
Alpha Chi Omega	Sorority			Panhellenic Council	Panhellenic Conference
Alpha Omicron Pi	Sorority			Panhellenic Council	Panhellenic Conference
Delta Gamma	Sorority			Panhellenic Council	Panhellenic Conference
Kappa Alpha Theta	Sorority			Panhellenic Council	Panhellenic Conference
Sigma Delta Tau	Sorority			Panhellenic Council	Panhellenic Conference
Gamma Phi Beta	Sorority			Panhellenic Council	Panhellenic Conference		Approved for opening in 2015.
Alpha Delta Phi	Co-Ed Society	N/A	1836	Interfraternity Council	North-American Interfraternity Conference	526 West 114th Street	Active 1836-1840; 1881-present. No longer affiliated with Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity as of 1992

List of Inactive and Unrecognized Greek Organizations

Organization	Type	Chapter Designation	Year Founded	Governing Board	National Association	Location	Notes
Alpha Chi Rho	Fraternity						Inactive
Beta Sigma Rho	Fraternity						Inactive
Delta Kappa Epsilon	Fraternity						Inactive
Kappa Alpha Psi	Fraternity				National Pan-Hellenic Council Organizations		Inactive
Omega Psi Phi	Fraternity				National Pan-Hellenic Council Organizations		Inactive
Tau Epsilon Phi	Fraternity						Inactive
Delta Phi	Fraternity						Inactive
Alpha Phi Delta	Fraternity						Inactive
Alpha Sigma Phi	Fraternity						Inactive
Delta Upsilon	Fraternity						Inactive
Delta Chi	Fraternity						Inactive
Phi Kappa Psi	Fraternity	New York Gamma	1872	N/A	N/A		Inactive. Active 1872-1876; 1892-1991
Phi Delta Theta	Fraternity	N/A	1884	N/A	N/A	565 West 113th Street	Inactive
Theta Nu Xi	Sorority	Chi	2004				Inactive
Zeta Psi	Fraternity	Alpha	1879				Inactive since 2009
Alpha Kappa Psi	Co-Ed Professional Fraternity						Unrecognized by the University
St. Anthony Hall/Delta Psi	Fraternity						Unrecognized by the University
Theta Tau	Co-Ed Professional Fraternity						Unrecognized by the University
Alpha Kappa Alpha	Sorority				National Pan-Hellenic Council Organizations		Inactive/Unrecognized by the University

Columbia-Barnard Arrangements

Barnard did not formally recognize any Greek organizations, with the SGA claiming that the "discriminatory" admissions policies and membership dues requirements place Greek organizations at odd with Barnard's student government charter, until 2010

Barnard students have historically joined Columbia chapters of sororities. As a result of the boom in Greek life popularity, the Intergreek Council approached SGA to seek formal recognition. When SGA demurred, CCSC, ESC, and GSSC pressured Barnard's SGA to repeal their decision. In the end, a compromise was reached wherein SGA would fund a lump sum to Greek life (roughly $1000, which represents about 10% of the IGC budget). However, this situation is still considered unsatisfactory by many in CC and SEAS, since a disproportionate amount of their student life fees are going to support Barnard students in sororities.

External links

• Columbia Greek Life Website
• New alcohol policy pleases Columbia’s Greeks, Columbia Spectator, 9 December 2009
• Greek life interest booms, Columbia Spectator, 1 March 2010
• No new recognition for Greek life at BC, Columbia Spectator, 6 April 2010
• Greek life considers BC participation cap, Columbia Spectator, 26 April 2010
• Barnard funding for sororities, but not recognition, Columbia Spectator, 27 April 2010
• F@CU Makes It Rain, Bwog, 20 June 2010 - See especially discussion in comments about the politicking between the Columbia student councils and Barnard SGA over funding and student participation in Greek Life.