ByChristin L. ColeContributor
The greek system at San Diego State University is in itscentennial year. It has survived the ups and downs of this country’strends and formed a history all its own.
In a system about as old as the country, some may ask howfraternities and sororities could survive the last 100 years.
“Brotherhood and sisterhood,” said Doug Case, coordinator offraternity and sorority life at San Diego State University.
“We have survived wars, declined membership and more,” he said.”We have shown remarkable resilience because of what we have to offer– a sense of belonging, a community, a home away from home and afamily. And a lot of students find that attractive.”
A lot has changed at SDSU, not only the size of the school and itspopulation, but the type of students enrolled and the practiceswithin the institutions, such as in the fraternities and sororities.
“One change is that we have more diverse students than everbefore,” said Danny Oliveira, assistant coordinator of fraternity andsorority life at SDSU.
As the school’s population increased, so did the number of ethnicstudents here.
“These students wanted to form a fraternity and sorority becauseit gave them a sense of holding on to their roots while experiencingnew things,” Oliveira said.
The1950s
During the 1950s, when SDSU was San Diego State College, thecampus was a small institution and greek life was a big deal.
“Fraternities and sororities were central to many student’s livesin the 1950s because we were such a small school,” said BarbaraHartung, executive assistant to the president. “We knew each other,some even went to high school together. It was a very differentworld.”
Hartung graduated from SDSU in 1953 and is an Alpha Phi alumna.
“It was a time when ‘getting pinned’ or going steady was a veryimportant thing,” Hartung said. “The fraternities would come down andserenade the sorority when a boy would give a girl his fraternitypin, it was very exciting.”
Similar to today, they held several events. The “Spring Sing”choral contest between the fraternities and sororities was one ofthem.
“We would practice for months to be the best at the vocalprogram,” Hartung said.
The university also held a “Blue Book Ball” during the 1950s. Itwas a formal dance at the end of each semester after finals.
“The fraternities all nominated a person who was to be theircandidate for belle of the ball,” Hartung said.
The girls wore long, strapless formal gowns to the ball, she said.
It was a popular thing to join fraternities and sororities thenbecause it allowed students to feel more involved with the school andcommunity, Hartung said.
The 1960s
Case said membership reached a peak in the early 1960s with 11percent of the student population joining a fraternity or sorority.
A major change in the system took place at the end of the 1960sbecause colleges started to take control. In 1969 alcohol was notpermitted, curfews were set and mandatory house directors wereinitiated.
Membership declined at the end of the 1960s and early 1970s duringthe anti-war and anti-establishment era, Case said.
The 1970s and 1980s
The 1970s came in with a vengeance. With these”go-against-the-grain” attitudes, fraternities and sororities beganto perish, Case said.
The authority structure within the institution fell apart when thealumni abandoned the chapters because the greek system was consideredan establishment.
Fraternities took advantage of this opportunity and threw “wild”parties. The “animal house” era took over. They had bands, alcoholand drugs at these parties all throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Casesaid.
SDSU then earned a reputation of being a “top-ten” partyschool.
The 1990s
But these attitudes eventually faded and the 1990s arrived with anew set of rules. The authority figures, the alumni, had come back tohelp re-establish the Interfraternity Council, according to Case.
More oversight and control by the alumni and IFC eliminatedalcohol during rush and enforced a risk-management program that setguidelines and workshops for alcohol management. Soon it willimplement a drug and disease awareness program.
Because of the 1970s and 1980s, many fraternities could not getinsurance for their house because many members did not pay their duesand forced the house to go into debt.
So they either closed down or stopped serving alcohol, Case said.Alcohol is still a part of fraternity and sorority life, but now,like it was in the 1960s, some fraternities are going back tosubstance-free housing.
The alumni have financial authority over the fraternities andsororities again, like they did in the 1950s, according to ChrisBordona, vice president of Theta Chi.
“On a whole, they don’t have control, but if they want they couldshut the house down,” Bordona said. “So we try to keep them happy.”
The 2000s and beyond
Fraternities and sororities have evolved, as did SDSU throughoutthe years. But the dawning of a new century means new things forfraternities and sororities. Change is inevitable but the end of anera does not mean the end of this institution.
In fact, they’re not going anywhere, according to severalfraternity and sorority members. But in the upcoming years, life asmembers know it may be over. A new alcohol-free institution may be inthe near future for fraternities and sororities.
Fraternities and sororities will form a new attitude in thefuture, Shepley said.
“I think the future holds alcohol-free housing and people willstart focusing on more important aspects within our collegedevelopment,” he said.
They are also starting a new trend of working together with otherfraternities and sororities.
“The greek system as a whole is starting to become a community,”Shepley said. “In the past, fraternities were suppose to hate eachother, now were starting to realize we have to get along and be agreek community rather than a greek system.”
