<p>Does American have sororities? I am trying to figure out what type of culture and social life there is on campus.</p>
<p>Yes! 20% of the campus population is apart of greek life. There are 6 sororities: alpha chi omega, chi omega, phi mu, phi sigma sigma, sigma delta tau and delta gamma. They are very noticeable on campus and I personally feel like they carry more of the school spirit then the sports teams here.</p>
<p>There is also Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed fraternity (and I think it had more female members than male) that is geared primarily to providing community service.</p>
<p>Because no fraternity or sorority house is allowed on campus, I don’t think Greek presence is anywhere near what it us at many other colleges. If Greek presence is “noticeable” on campus, I must be pretty oblivious, because it’s somehow escaped my notice completely during many parental visits over the last four years. So I guess it’s something you can either participate in or completely ignore, available to those who are interested, but certainly not a dominant force as it can be elsewhere. I suggested to my D that she look into sororities when she entered AU, and was met with a giant eyeroll, but she joined the co-ed frat I mentioned, which is not stereotypically Greek in its membership or activities, and has been very happy with the organization.</p>
<p>My D is in a sorority. She has made great friends. They do the same activities that all sororities do - just without a house. Lots of mixers, parties, formals, semi-formals, philanthropy projects, study sessions and girly fun! Formal rush is in the Spring semester. There will be plenty of info on campus about the rush process.</p>
<p>My son–a senior-- is in a fraternity. His pledge class included a lot of the students from his UC class freshman year…</p>
<p>He has had a great experience. He has made life long friends among his “brothers” but he also has made several fabulous friends from outside his house.</p>
<p>Question: if sororities and fraternities don’t have houses, where do they hold their parties, mixers, etc (especially on a dry campus)?</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard they have frat houses just outside campus, so technically they don’t come under the “dry campus” rule.</p>
<p>Many of the fraternities have “unofficial” houses off campus where they have parties. Many non-alcoholic events and meetings are held on campus in dorm lounges or rental rooms. Formals and semi-formals are held at hotels or on boats!</p>
<p>Early in her first semester, D attended a frat party at one of the off campus houses. The frat shuttled students from the campus to the house by car, with the promise of a return trip when needed. It was the classic crowded drunkfest, and it wasn’t too long before a boy she knew went reeling out of house, obviously incapacitated. She corralled the kid to keep him from wandering into traffic, then tried to find someone to drive them back to campus. She realized that finding a sober driver at that point was a losing proposition, so she called a cab to take both of them back to AU. She’s been to a lot of parties off campus in the intervening years, but decided the frat party scene wasn’t for her and has avoided them entirely. There’s plenty of other social activity to be had at AU.</p>
<p>It seems like a lot of schools are going to the way of no or very small Greek houses. Wake and TCU have incorporated them into dorms. Vanderbilt has very small sorority houses for officers only. </p>
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