greek life at whitman

Colleges and Universities A-Z Whitman College
1

<p>Whitman is high on my list, and I will definitely apply. But I'm a bit concerned that there are frats and sororities.</p>

<p>My concerns are the usual ones: I'm uneasy with the idea of groups that exclude other members of the college community, and I worry about a community as small as Whitman (or any LAC) being divided socially into "greeks" and "non-greeks". I'm not saying that frats are "good" or "bad", and in fact I'm sure that they can be a great experience for some people. But it's really important to me to feel "fraternal" with everyone I go to school with, particularly if it's a very small school. I have friends who go to colleges with big greek scenes, and one thing they dislike is the constant, shrill, and divisive arguments among the student body over all things greek. Regardless of the merits, these are the types of arguments I would be happy to leave in high school.</p>

<p>Having said all that, when I visited Whitman the vibe was incredible -full of community spiriit, lack of pretention, love of learning and the arts. And the students I met - greek and non-greek- were great. Just wondering if any of that, and a feeling of campus unity and inclusiveness, gets undercut by Whitman's greek system.</p>

2

<p>I think what you see is what you get there, i.e., the unity and inclusiveness pervades and the greek system does not undermine it. I am a parent, not a student there, but I know several students beyond the one I am related to and some graduates, and they all express this same sense. Frats are there for those who want that housing/club option as part of college but they do not end up dividing or dominating the social/common good and most kids have many friends in both categories. I went to another LAC with a similar greek presence and would have missed an incredible education if I had ruled the school out because greeks were there so I definitely would not let that be a deciding factor.</p>

3

<p>I have a very good friend who goes to Whitman. Sometimes she goes to frat and sorority parties, but mostly she does not. She says it has no negative effects on her life at all. They’re there, but they don’t own the scene.</p>

4

<p>My son finally made his decision to attend Whitman :slight_smile: We are very excited for him. You seem to think exactly as he does about the whole Greek life question. I am hoping he makes lots of friends that aren’t going to let themselves be divided by going Greek or not.</p>