History of Greek Life

Greek Life originated in the late 1700s when Phi Beta Kappa was established as the first Greek-letter student society in North America. They were founded on the motto “Philosophy is the guide of life” (A General History of Greek Life) and Greek was chosen as the language of the motto due to its classical education at the time. As one of the first fraternities on a college campus, wearing the Greek letters became the most prideful way to communicate to members inside and outside the society.

Back then, there wasn’t much technology that Greek societies on campus could utilize; they relied much on their letters to speak for them. In a way, I liked the old way of communication. It spoke the truth, plainly and bluntly, without anyone to modify it. Bystanders would read the letters on someone’s prideful chest, and they would say as they walked by “Wow, that person is in Phi Beta Kappa or Kappa Alpha…” Your reputation is associated with your letters, and you represent these letters; therefore your actions, throughout history communicated, will continue to communicate how your Greek society will be seen in the social and philanthropic community.    

When World War I and World War II came along, however, the Greek system ran into trouble. Most men were deported to fight in the war and women were forced into the workforce. They began to serve the needs of society and most of the Greek houses on college campuses became of use to house troops and so charters and groups died out; “many smaller organizations merged with larger ones in order to keep from disappearing entirely” (4). However, after the GI Bill was distributed, more men than ever before returned to college and pretty soon, almost forty Greek organizations, “with at least fifty members each” (4), became to form the sad tradition of hazing that is still evident in all PHA, PFC, PHC, and UGC organizations.

Technology began to play a dominate role in Greek life when the next generation became involved. After the World Wide Web was introduced, and advertising became accessible through the web, Greek organizations used other programs on computers to help them create appealing images for the upcoming rushees. Lately, lots of organizations are into designing templates and videos and using Facebook as the primary way of communicating with potential new members. Even before the freshman get to college, Greek organizations will randomly go and message these individuals on Facebook, introducing their Greek organization, their affiliations, and their philanthropic ideas. Another way to enhance their appearances is by making rush videos each semester. A rush video encompasses their colony’s history, their brothers or sisters, their principles, and even a theme to show their creativity among other organizations. Rush videos target a youthful audience who are naïve, easily manipulated, to come and join a brotherhood and sisterhood founded on blissful blessings and true character. New members just have to recognize what is truth and what is lie. Some things may not be the way they seem to be.  


Source: http://www.gmu.edu/org/ifc/faq_generalhist.htm