University of North Carolina Greensboro - Pine Needles Yearbook (Greensboro, NC)

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Greek Tradition Grows by DANNY DANIEL i s early as February, 1974, the Chancellor of UNC-G, James S. Ferguson, recognized the desire of a small minority of students to form social fraternities and sororities at UNC-G and took actions in that direction. Students interest in clari- fying the university policy concerning Greek-letter organizations prompted Chancellor Ferguson to appoint a committee to advise him on two basic questions; (1) Should the university adopt a policy recognizing frater- nities and sororities?, and (2) Can such organizations meet the needs of various students and contribute to the welfare of the university community? The committee on fraternities and sororities met for ten months to discuss the various aspects of these questions. The committee talked with students interested in these groups and met with administrators from other schools where Greek- letter groups were active. The com- mittee also prepared a survey to try to discover the feelings of the student body towards Greek organizations. In the fall of 1974 the committee chose not to recommend the recognition of such organizations. Lack of support from the students was cited as the chief reason as well as a lack of quali- ty supervision by the administration and faculty. In the spring of 1977 Vice Chancellor James Allen appointed an Ad Hoc committee on fraternities and sororities to once again examine the question of establishing the Greek system at UNC-G. This com- mittee took into consideration changes which had taken place on campus and priority consideration was given to the current requests by students and other organizational activities. The Student Government held open hearings to debate the merits of university recognition of fraternities and sororities. A resolu- tion was forwarded to the chancellor on September 20 calling for the Board of Trustees of UNC-G to allow the establishment of social frater- nities and sororities on campus. A student petition calling for the university to recognize Greek-letter social organizations was signed by 1176 students and presented to Stu- dent Government. A committee rep ort submitted to Vice Chancellor Allen on December 18, 1978, recommended the recogni- tion of fraternities and sororities on campus for a trial period of five years. A second Ad Hoc Committee was formed in March of 1979. This com- mittee presented Chancellor William E. Moran with a set of conclusions and guidelines to direct the establish- ment of fraternities and sororities. These guidelines included policies on housing, academic requirements, membership, and hazing. The report called for the formation of a screen- ing and review committee to screen the recognition to be given any such organization. Once in place the com- mittee would be expected to provide an annual review and evaluation of existing fraternities and sororities. About the time that the second Ad Hoc committee was busy with its task, Sigma Tau Gamma, a national fraternity, was asked to form a colony at UNC-G by several students who were based in Hinshaw Dormitory. Sigma Tau Gamma granted colony status to this group and petitioned the university for official recognition. The university denied them recogni- tion saying it was not prepared for colonization by fraternities or sororities. The members of Sigma Tau Gamma decided, however, to continue to function as a Greensboro colony and held numerous social and rush events. Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity also petitioned the university for recognition in 1979 and were turned down. Like Sigma Tau Gamma, they, too, continued to function as an unrecognized fraternity. The first meeting of the screening and review committee resulted in the invitation of all national fraternities and sororities to apply for official recognition at UNC-G. Over fifty organizations asked to be considered and nearly forty of these groups sent representatives to LINC-G to meet with the committee. By April 24, 1980, the committee had selected five national fraternities and nine na- tional sororities to receive approval for colonization at LINC-G. In the in- vitations were a set of guidelines which each group would be expected to follow. Earlier that spring Sigma Phi Ep- silon Fraternity was denied universi- ty recognition. Upon release of the committee ' s official list of recognized fraternities the three which had peti- tioned and been rejected strongly contested not being on the list. The committee stated that these three had not ranked as high as was re- quired to receive recognition. The committee set the fall of 1980 as the date for the selected frater- nities and sororities to colonize. Four national fraternities and seven na- tional sororities actively recruited members in the fall of 1980. Since that time UNC-G has increased its Greek community to include seven chartered fraternities and six chartered sororities. 10 — Opening

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