<p>D is interested in Ursinus. According to the most recent "Insider's Guide," 45% of the students at Ursinus belong to frats/sororities - - if true, this more Greek participation than we would like for D, whom we don't think will be interested in a sorority.</p>
<p>Is this figure correct? Are any of the historically black frats/sororities on campus? Are most of the social activities sponsored by the frats for members only? What are the social options for student not involved in Greek life? And to what extend might one's social experience be limited by opting out of a frat/sorority?</p>
<p>I don't go to Ursinus but I am applying and I've visited.</p>
<p>I don't think the frat number is that high -- I think it's more around 25-30%. The woman giving my tour was in a sorority, but she seemed very nice and intelligent. She told me that the frats/sororities have parties that are exclusive for maybe the first 2 hours and then open up to the whole campus. </p>
<p>A heavy frat scene is one thing I'm worried aobut but I don't think that not being in a frat at Ursinus would limit social opportunities.</p>
<p>You should visit Urisnus if you haven't yet, the campus is REALLLLY, surprisingly nice.</p>
<p>Hi! I'm both a student and a sorority girl at Ursinus. That proportion is definitely wrong, although there is a strong Greek presence on campus that is overwhelmingly positive in ways that it wasn't at other schools I looked at. Our sororities, since you indicated you had a daughter, are extremely diverse. While we do have the traditional "sorority" you would expect from the movies, we also have very culturally diverse sororities as well- even a dry "nerd" sorority (as they self-identify as). All of them have very good records with community service and have a presence that stands on par with their status as the party-holders (if they throw any). Also, there is no greek housing. Pledging and rushing is done in a non-intrusive way now that specifically excludes the participation of those who don't actively seek participation in it. It's completely possible to avoid greek life if you so choose, except for that whole "we're always doing community service" bit.</p>
<p>Ursinus is amazing. You're not going to get the kind of relationships you have with faculty anywhere else. I have friends who went everywhere from UT-Austin, Penn State, Rennsalear, Duke, Stanford, Wash-U @ St Louis- you name it. I call my best professors by their first names and have coffee with them at Jazzman's. We have one-of-a-kind study abroad opportunities (especially for Bio majors!), lots of opportunities for leadership on campus, and a receptive administration. Before school let out, my organization had a meeting with Strassburger about our perception of equality on campus and what we could do to rectify it. Don't let stereotypes about the Greek community sway you away from what you can get out of Ursinus. We have problems- the Greek community, in general, isn't one of them.</p>
<p>Thanks - - but can you answere my original questions?</p>
<ul>
<li><p>What IS the percentage of Greek participation?</p></li>
<li><p>Are any of the historically black frats or sororities represented on campus?</p></li>
<li><p>Even though one can avoid Greek life, to what extend are one's social options limited by that choice? Are Greek parties primarily for members only?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>And regarding your post: What are the problems at Ursinus? And what was the equality issue that your sorority discussed w/ Strassburger?</p>
<p>Finally, while I appreciate that you are happy at Ursinus, what you describe regarding faculty access, leadership, etc. is quite the norm at LACs. Indeed, those are often the very reasons students opt for an LAC over a university (I also note that the schools you listed are all universities).</p>
<p>Hi nyc,
I am a student at Ursinus who has just finished going through the rushing process. </p>
<p>1) I would say about 30-40% of students are involved in Greek Life, although as the previous poster mentioned Greeks do not overwhelm the campus and I think it is the perfect balance. </p>
<p>2) There are not any historically black frats or sororities on campus to my knowledge. </p>
<p>3) One social life is not limited if they are not involved in Greek life. If a sorority and a fraternity have a party it is usually closed from 8-10 because they are the ones who are paying for the party and then opens up to the rest of campus (meaning everyone). I find that at Ursinus those involved in Greek life also have friends that are not. So overall, I would say that one's social life is hardly limited if one chooses not to go Greek. </p>
<p>4) I don't know anything about the equality issue, but having gone through rushing, I have found all the sororities to be incredibly friendly and welcoming. In my opinion, only one of the sororities at Ursinus fits the stereotypical sorority but even that sorority is very nice and is not as bad as the stereotype. In regards to the other sororities, it is all about finding which sorority fits you and all of them are different. I also find that most of the other sororities are friendly with each other meaning that one can be in one sorority and yet be good friends with another girl in a different sorority without there being any social stigma. </p>
<p>5) Rushing - Rushing is one of the best things to do at Ursinus even if one is not interested in joining a Greek organization. It is a great way to meet a ton of new people. I had so much fun rushing and the sororities do not put any pressure on rushees to join their particular sorority. When I first began to rush, I thought I knew which sorority I wanted to join, but thanks to rushing, I realized that that sorority was not the one for me and I have found the perfect sorority for me. </p>
<p>6) I am also from nyc and I absolutely love Ursinus. I have found that the faculty-student relationship exceeds other LACs. My professors are absolutely amazing and whenever I have had a problem they have always been there to help. There are no TA's at Ursinus. My academic advisor is a former ambassador to the U.N., who even while at the UN responds back to my e-mails promptly. I have found that all the professors at Ursinus are very good and rarely hear students complain about a professor being a poor teacher. </p>
<p>If you have any questions feel free to message me.</p>
<p>College web sites often contain links to the web pages of individual frats or sororities and I check the photos to see the extent to which a frat or sorority is intergrated. The Ursinus cite contains no such links - - maeta and Ilovesoftball, since you are both on campus, how racially intergrated are the frats/sororities? Do black students generally participate in Greek life?</p>
<p>1) none of the sororities at Ursinus college have websites. Also, one thing to also mention about the sororities on campus, is that that they are all local with the exception of two that are national (Sigma Sigma Sigma and Kappa Delta Kappa). This is beneficial because the costs of being in a sorority are significantly less than what it would cost to be in a national sorority. Dues are usually around $100-$200 which is not too expensive in my opinion as some of my friends at other schools have had to pay $500+. </p>
<p>2) I would say that most of the sororities are pretty racially-intergrated, although some more so than others. I have found that the sororities are more racially-integrated than the frats, although there are more sororities than frats which could be a reason why. I have found that black students at Ursinus are generally not interested in greek life. During rushing, the sororities were very friendly to everyone and very non-discriminatory. I think the sororities this year are going to become much more racially-integrated as there are more black females who are interested in greek life this year. </p>
<p>3) I have found that with the most of the sororities on campus, it is very difficult to label them, meaning that most of the sororities have members with a lot of diverse interests. All of the sororities are academic and I cannot think of a single sorority that does not place a huge emphasis on academics. I believe that despite the fact that there are only 7 sororities it is possible for anyone who is interested in greek life to find their niche. Two of the sororities at Ursinus have a lot of athletes in them but there are also a lot of non-athletes in those two sororities. </p>
<p>4) Overall, I would recommend Greek life to any student at Ursinus. What is great about Ursinus is that there is not really any pressure to join greek life. I have many friends that did not have any interest in greek life and they still have great social lives. Basically the campus, is not overwhelmingly one or the other so there is a nice balance between greeks and non-greeks. </p>
<p>5) One last thing I forgot to mention, there is sorority housing on campus. Three sororities have their own houses, as well as suites in Reimert (one of the upper classman dorms). The sorority houses are located on Main st. which is right across from the campus. The other sororities have suites in Reimert as well and I believe that one sorority has a suite in north (another upper classman dorm). The larger the sorority the sorority is, the more suites they get. Also, I would like to mention that if one is in a sorority they are not required to live in their sorority's housing. I know of one person who is in one sorority yet currently lives in another sorority's suite. A friend of mine, whose sister was in a sorority at ursinus lived in another sorority's actual house while being a student at Ursinus. This illustrates the openness of greek life at Ursinus.</p>
<p>S'ball, thanks for answering questions I didn't even think of!</p>
<p>One final question: I think of sororities as being fairly conservative, in a traditional, girly feminine way; are any of the Ursinus sororities popular among edgy, hippies-ish students (you know - - piercings, purple hair, combat boots, etc.)?</p>
<p>1) Yes, even girls with piercings and purple hair, combat boots are in sororities at ursinus. I know one girl who is exactly like what you described but with blue hair, who is in a sorority and absolutely loves it. Some of the sororities at Ursinus are the traditional, girly feminine, I say that out of the 7 sororities on campus only about 3 are like that. Most of the sororities on campus are pretty diverse so it's hard to label them as "traditional girly" or "athletic", etc. </p>
<p>I myself am very liberal and would consider myself to be somewhat of a hippy and somewhat edgy and I was able to see myself in four out of the seven sororities. Greek life at Ursinus is very "un-stereotypical" in most cases.</p>
<p>Hi. I am a prospective transfer student and looking at Ursinus. What is the student life like on the floors in the dorms, on campus, and in the surrounding area? I personally don't choose to drink so I just want to be sure that there is enough things going to help me stay happy? I currently go to F&M, and there is definitely not enough happening. :) </p>
<p>Also, I want to major in theater, or possibly do a double major with communications, or a comm. major and theater minor. Do any current students know what the theater program is like at ursinus? Are there enough opportunities to really explore and learn within the classroom and out of the classroom? Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>Laura, you might want to start your own thread since posters with info on dorm life, but uninterested frats/sororities, are unlikely to check out this thread.</p>
<p>Actually, KDK is not national. It's a local. UPD was "historically black" in past, and had a historically black brother frat that's not extinct. They still have "diversity" as one of their core values, but it's not as visible as it used to be. KDK looks more like a historically black sorority, but they're very diverse also. But all of the sororities are diverse, not just culturally but personality-wise too. Also, dues tend to fall in the $60-100 range, with a few sororities being the exception. I say this because I know the dues for four out of the seven sororities, and they're all in that range. </p>
<p>Not being Greek does not limit your social options. Greeks hold the parties, but they let the general campus as a rule, rather than an exception. </p>
<p>The equality issue I discussed with Strassburger is separate from my sorority. It deals with the previously limited definition of "diversity." There was a perception among some groups on campus that the college only appreciated diversity that would help raise the U.S. News ratings (ie, the exclusion of the Arab student organization and GSA from diversity week, among other cultural organizations). This issue was addressed immediately where possible, and solutions were proposed for the long term. By the time your daughter gets to the college, she may be shocked that there every was an issue (I hope). At any rate, the administration is responsive when you approach them like the adults we are with solutions. That's not a guarantee you can get too many other places.</p>
<p>It should be mentioned that sorority housing, like frat housing, and athlete housing is NOT OFFICIAL and is RA'd by a member of another organization, is perpetuated by squatting and subject to dissolution. Also, not all sororities participate in this.</p>
<p>I think what maeta is trying to say is that greek housing is not guaranteed, meaning that a Greek house could easily become a non-greek house the next semester depending on the decisions of the administration. I am pretty sure that three out of the seven sororities have houses as I have been to them and I know that one of the sororities who does not have a house, has a suite in reimert (Tri-Sig).</p>
<p>The Greek Life at Ursinus is pretty great. I’m a student there and have been Greek for 3 years. Rushing is a great way to meet people and the events are all usually fun. The main problem with the whole operation is the Local organizations haze all of their new members every year. All of New Member Education (also known as pledging) was shut down by the administration during the 07-08 school year because there was so much hazing. The local organizations actually put a pretty bad stigma on UC’s Greek Life. Their main reason for existing is to party every weekend (or day, which if you live in Reimert will notice quite quickly) and to haze the incoming freshman just as they were hazed. Also, several of the local organizations are cheap ripoffs of more prominent National ones (ie Local Sorority Omega Chi - National Soroity Chi Omega; Coincidence?) If you want to be a greek at Ursinus, I suggest looking into joining a national organization. These will not only provide you with a better New Member Education experience, but can provide scholarships, will get you involved in community service, will provide you with valuable networking opportunities for the rest of your life. The national Fraternities include Sigma Pi and Phi Kappa Sigma and the national sorority is Sigma Sigma Sigma</p>