Though some of the greek houses at Baker University have been fixtures on campus for 100 years or more, the greek system seems to be going through troubled times.
Director of Greek Life Bryan VanOsdale said in the last five years the amount of students joining greek houses on a national scale has gone down.
“I’ve worked in the Midwest for 10 years, and the economy has been hard on the Midwest. Students don’t have the money to go greek anymore,” VanOsdale said. “Students are beginning to think that a frat is not a good way to spend the little money they have.”
At many schools, being greek is much more expensive than living in a residence hall, but at Baker it costs less to live in any of the fraternity or sorority houses on campus than in a residence hall.
“Even though it is cheaper to live in a greek house at Baker, you don’t join because it’s cheaper. It’s not about the house or the structure, it is about something much deeper than that,” VanOsdale said.
VanOsdale said in the ’90s the number of freshmen looking to go greek was 60 percent to 70 percent, but in the last three to five years the number has shrunk to the 15 percent to 18 percent range. VanOsdale attributed the decrease in numbers to students taking school more seriously and not wanting to be distracted by social organizations.
He said another reason the numbers have gone down is because fraternities and sororities have failed to show students how the life skills obtained through greek life participation can be very valuable.
“Greek houses are important to any school because they provide a group of students with a way to interact and form bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood that have been around for 100 years,” VanOsdale said. “Greek houses give students a sense of tradition and belonging to something.”
Not all greek houses on campus have been doing poorly, though. VanOsdale said the sororities on campus have been doing well, especially with a new addition.
Michelle Burton is a recently initiated member of the newest campus sorority, Zeta Phi Beta. She said other than having to be a sophomore to join and not having a house on campus, the sorority will be no different from any other greek organization on campus.
“I never wanted to join a sorority, but my best friend joined a sorority on a different campus and said she liked it,” Burton said, “so during rush I rushed Zeta Tau Alpha, but it wasn’t right for me – I wanted something different. I did not want to live in a house; I feel like that is too many girls in one area.”
Freshman Allie Lewis said she thinks the traditional houses at Baker are the best.
“I look forward to moving in because I will get to see my friends all the time, so whenever I have a problem I can talk to them, and I will get to know my sisters better,” Lewis said.
She said a reason she thinks sororities are doing well at Baker is because of smaller numbers.
“Since the Baker chapters are small, more of the girls in the house get involved with the activities. Girls don’t get left out because of having too big of numbers,” Lewis said.
Interfraternity Council President Dave McCain said although recruitment numbers are down, IFC members are working on ways of improving fraternity life at Baker.
IFC created new offices such as a vice president of recruitment and vice president of public relations. These offices will help freshmen learn more about the fraternity system at Baker,” McCain said.