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Fraternities and Sororities

The terms fraternity and sorority stem from the Latin words frater and soror, meaning “brother” and “sister,” respectively. They may be used to describe any number of social and charitable organizations such as the Lions Club, Rotary International, and the Shriners. However, in common parlance, these words usually denote social organizations for college and university students. This entry looks at the history of such groups in the United States, most of them campus organizations, and how race and ethnicity play a role in their membership and activities.

Overview

With few exceptions, the names of North American fraternities and sororities consist of two or three Greek letters. For this reason, fraternities and sororities are known collectively as the Greek system and its members are known as Greeks. There are various types of Greek organizations: general (sometimes called social), service, professional, and honorary. The most recognizable form is the college general or social Greek organization. Usually, such an organization's chapter is mostly, if not entirely, White. The earliest of these fraternities were dedicated to the principles of sound learning, leadership qualities, and scholastic achievement, although since then many have become almost entirely socially based with only a marginal emphasis on community service and educational achievement. Fraternities have long been associated with the U.S. educational system, and many of their members have gone on to become successful in the various realms of U.S. society. Notably, Delta Kappa Epsilon, founded at Yale University in 1844, counts six members who went on to become president of the United States as well as numerous other prominent political and business figures among its members.

College fraternities and sororities are often organized along racial lines. Although racial and religious restrictions have long since been abolished in all North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations, their memberships nationally remain predominantly White. The next largest Greek system, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), is predominantly African American. The most diverse among all Greek organizations are the NPHC fraternities, which are occasionally referred to as Black Greek letter organizations (BGLOs). Members include a wide array of African Americans from diverse socioeco-nomic backgrounds as well as a growing non-Black presence that is largely inclusive of Latino members as well as Asian and White members. There are also many other race-based forms of fraternities and sororities, not all of which are campus organizations, that have arisen to serve the interests of communities whose numbers in the traditional Greek system are historically small and dispersed.

Traditionally White Fraternities and Sororities

The first U.S. fraternity was Phi Beta Kappa, founded on December 5, 1776, at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was founded as an academic honor society with the mission of “fostering and recognizing excellence” in the undergraduate liberal arts and sciences. The Chi Phi fraternity was founded in 1824 at Princeton University; however, this original group went inactive the following year and the modern organization of that name was not established until the 1850s. As a result, the first general fraternity is considered to be the Kappa Alpha Society, established on November 26, 1825, at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

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