It's All Greek to Me

Considering the uproar this week caused by restrictions on Penn State Greek life, let us delve into the history of Fraternity and Sorority life at Penn State, and see how we could have gotten to the point we are now.

According to the PSU Student Affairs website, our Greek community can be traced way back into the 19th century, the 1870's to be exact. Penn State itself only came into being in 1855, with the first fraternity being born in 1872. Delta Tau Delta has the honor of being the very first frat on campus, and ironically enough considering this week's proceedings, was quickly closed. Faculty felt that frats were generally up to no good and did not imbue the values and atmosphere the university was trying to encourage.

The arrival of university president George Atherton (the one buried outside of Schwab Auditorium) brought about a change in perspective. George and many of the faculty members had belonged to fraternities as undergrads themselves at other institutions, and believed that frats could help create new opportunities for friendship and brotherhood while also solving the housing situation which was becoming a bit tight on campus.

Little did they know that there were already secret fraternities going by Greek, German, or Latin letter combinations right under their noses. Well, they probably knew (college students aren't sneaky)  but refused to officially recognize them or allow gatherings for socialization because most students were living crammed in the OG Old Main. Students lived, breathed, ate, slept, and worked in that building.

The most prominent secret frat was the Latin letter society QTV, which was a national organization at one point, but had since dissolved with its chapters affiliating with other national organizations. During this process, President Atherton lifted the frat ban and the first fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta was recognized.  QTV, which was falling apart and not recognized, ended up splitting and affiliating with two national Greek frats, Beta Theta Pi (not even joking), and Phi Kappa Sigma.

The first "off campus" frat house was bought by Phi Gamma Delta, on the corner of present day Beaver Ave and Allen St. In the 1920's to the 1930's, Greek life experienced a colossal boom leading to the building of the mansion-esque houses we know and love today, and the arrival of sororities.

In the 1960's, student uprisings on campuses all over the nation declared that frats were part of the 'administration-establishment', leading to record low numbers of Greek life students. However, in 1968 the still annual event Greek Sings was created as a way for frats and sororities to display musical talents. Profits and proceeds from the event go to the Gayle Beyers scholarship fund which was named after an advisor at the university that was a proponent and supporter of the Greek community.

While still in the slums of public favor, IFC President Bill Lear devised our now infamous dance marathon in order to garner some more respect in the public relations front. They raised almost $2,000 dollars for the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children; the humble beginning to the now multimillion endeavor that is THON.

Then, in 2004, the Greek Pride: A Return to Glory initiative was created, culminating in the Dream Statement, or  the values and ideas for creating a positive Greek community and ensuring its presence in the future.

Greek life has a hugely intertwined history with our university, and hopefully in the face of the current restrictions, the community and the Greek community as well will remember the values and goals to which Greek life embodies.