With more than 20,000 students, the University can be an intimidating place for newcomers. Sam Peterson, a pre-business freshman, thought the Greek system would be a good way to ease his way into University life.
“I was always on the fence about (joining a fraternity),” he said. “But as soon as I got here, I realized I liked it a lot.”
After participating in last week’s recruitment, Peterson is currently pledging Sigma Chi, one of the University’s 15 fraternities.
“I never wanted to join a Greek house just to join a Greek house,” Peterson said. “I wanted to join Sigma Chi because those are the guys I relate to the most.”
Come December, he will be a full-fledged member of the University’s relatively small Greek system. Roughly 9 percent of University students are Greek, said Greek Leadership Adviser Amy Long.
Long is not entirely sure why Greek students account for such a small percentage of the population, though she said location could be a factor.
“There are certain regions in the country where Greek life is very popular – the Midwest, the Northeast, the South,” she said. “In the Northwest, it’s not nearly that large.”
Between 60 and 70 percent of the undergraduates at the University of Mississippi are in fraternities or sororities. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has 96 Greek organizations.
Long said that while the University’s Greek system may be comparatively small, it is growing.
“What I can say about the community is that it’s healthier than it’s been, so we’re in a good position to keep growing,” she said.
Erin Soule, a senior majoring in business, works to make that happen.
Soule joined one of the University’s 11 sororities her freshman year, though she can’t say which one. As one of 40 Rho Gammas – sorority members who temporarily disaffiliate from their chapters to guide potential new members through the recruitment process – Soule doesn’t reveal her affiliation to stay unbiased.

“I was really involved in high school, so I knew I wanted to continue to be. I felt that the Greek community would be a good place to continue to develop my leadership skills,” she said. Like Peterson, she added that being part of a community made it easy to meet people, while also making college less intimidating.
Many students may steer clear of the Greek system because they see fraternities and sororities as cliques, expensive and excuses to party.
“The thought of having more rules after I moved out of my parents’ house didn’t appeal to me,” said Emily Foster, a senior business major. She added that she didn’t like the idea that joining a sorority involved being judged by a large group of people.
Justin Ertle, a junior biochemistry major, thought about going Greek during his

freshman year. He attended a few Delta Sigma Phi rush events, but ultimately decided it was too big of a commitment.
“They were good guys, but I just didn’t really have the time to commit with it,” he said.
Long said the excessive drinking is the most common misconception of the system.
“There is the social part of it, but we have such a relationship with (national) chapters that hold (the University’s chapters) accountable to a minimum set of standards that are all values-based,” she said.
Greek endorsement standards mandate that fraternity and sorority members do community service, maintain certain grade point averages, and keep their chapter facilities substance-free, among others.
“I think people don’t understand what (a Greek organization) is about,” Long said. “It’s the responsibility of the fraternity and sorority community to educate people on that, and I think we do a good job.”
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