Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

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Right: Senior Robert Jamieson gives poit-ters to the contender from Sig¬ ma Nu. Middle: Cooperation. Senior Andy Hopper and his partner work together to win the 3-legged race at Derby Daze. Top right: Greek spirit fl. ' vs high at A M. Fraternity and sorority membership continues to rise More Aggies are going Greek By Sam B. Myers Spirited Aggies for years have bought shorts, shirts, hats, sweats, socks, cups, etc. emblazoned with “Texas A M” in maroon and white. But those items — and many others — started bearing Greek letters, legacy of the growing Greek sys¬ tem at A M. The Greeks arrived in 1976, when a Sigma Phi Epsilon chap¬ ter was founded. Twelve years later, the system included 25 fraternities and 11 sororities. With 3,000 members, the Greeks were A M’s largest student group. The change in numbers reflected a change in attitudes. “No frats” shirts could still be found on campus, and “no frats” was 24 Features

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“Good students want to come to good universities that are tough to get into.” —Frank Vandiver A M President Above: To the dismay of students, increases in enrollment meant longer lines and more waiting. Above right: A larger student population means more bikes and less room. Left: Aggies diligently wait for the opportunity to pick up loans and grants at the Coke Building. Features 23

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the University’s policy for quite some time. In 1985, however, fraternities became recognized student organizations, and the Interfraternity Council began setting guidelines for member frats. Although sororities remained unrecognized by A M, they too had a governing organization, Panhellenic. As Greeks became more accepted, chapter houses began to appear. A M had a well-established sorority row because of the large number of initiates and strong backing from the national offices. 1988 saw the beginning of a fraternity row on Wellborn Road — Alpha Gamma Rho moved into a $711,000 house in the spring and Sigma Chi bought land for a house. IFC’s adviser, Charles Goodman, thought fraternity row was an important development that would succeed. “The future of our fraternity system is a Fraternity Row,” he said. And the future looked bright: More students went through both Fall and Spring rush, which Goodman said made it easier for chapters to finance houses. A M’s Greek system did concern itself with issues other than fraternity row and the traditional parties: Several student lead¬ ership roles were filled by Greeks, indicating their increased prominence. Student Senate Speaker Kevin Buchanan, Fish Camp ’88 Director Jeff Tallas and Aggie fullback Matt Gurley all were members of Kappa Alpha fraternity. Fourth Battalion Commander David Benadof and Aggie Twelfth Man starter Dean Berry were members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. And Greeks saw advantages to growth. Scarlet Roeder, a senior member of Zeta Tau Alpha, said being Greek can help later in life. “You meet people with similar ideas and goals,” Roeder said. “You will work with many of these people later in the business world.” “Being Greek is another facet to life at A M that allows for new opportunities,” said senior Delta Zeta member Holly Gat¬ lin. As they grew, fraternities and sororities worked to fit their -g traditions into those of A M. Phi Delta Theta member Dan | Buchanan thought they had succeeded. “I think people have finally realized that Greeks are as proud f to be at A M as everyone else,” Buchanan said. Features 25