The Greek Frats, sororities display in membership increase By DAVID VAN HORN Daily Collegian Staff Writer Fraternity and sorority membership is on the upswing, and will continue to rise, according to the presidents of. the Inter-fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council. Panhellenic Council President Janet Plavetich Said sorority membership is slowly but steadily increasing. The Bring TRAINING: Vicksburg Elementary School (One Room); Mifflinburg High School; Bucknell University, Duke Univer . sity Law School; Pennsylvania State University; U.S. Army Signal Corps School (CSCS). RESPONSIBILITY: Public Interest foremost; Greater Care than in Own Affairs; Decisions on Fairness to all Parties. UNDERSTANDING: Inadequate Tax Base, parking, overburdened Council, Allen Street Mall, Trans portation. ) EXPERIENCE . w University- Instructor to Emeritus Professor, teaching business law, accounting, economics, public utilities; approximately forty-five publications; under Old Senate, Educational Policy, and Military Affairs Com mittees. Business - Cost accountant, farm manager, public utility consultarit, trustee. Military - • Radio repairman, legal assistance officer. Religious - University Baptist Church, trustee, deacon, church school superintendent, board member; President, State College Council of Churches. Community - Pres. Mt. Nittany Park; Pres., Friends of Library; Chairman, State College Zoning Hearing Board; Chairman and Co-Chairman, County Cancer Crusade. General - House painter, Liw clerk. to State College Municipal Council number of pledges over last year is minimal, she said, but "definitely moving up." Plavetich said there were 835 sorority members, including pledges, by the end of 1976. So far this year, there are about 850 members - and pledges. However, Plavetich said, chapters do not make a distinct cutoff between what determines a member versus a pledge. Often, a Paid for by the family of Franklin H. Cook Paid Political Announcement SN IF pledge has the same social privleges as any member in a specific chapter. Plavetich said the decline in sororities from the '6os was caused by the rule change which allowed girls to live off campus. The 19 chapters located in South, Pollock and Centre Halls provide a "good base of friends," Plavetich said, because the dormitory floor is not full of strangers, but sisters. "A sorority is a good starting base," she said. The feeling of togetherness grows through participation in various activities, she said, thus the atmosphere is different yet better. Pam Downs, (10th-home economics education), a pledge at Delta. Gamma sorority, said she "wanted to try the Greek way" so she could experience a different side of college life. She said long-lasting friendships and the chance to be involved and have responsibility are the biggest advantages to the sorority system. Downs said she is concerned about the "unfair," inac curate ."big party" image that her sorority has, and pointed out the chapter's high academic standing. "We don't get as much credit as we deserve," she said. Elect FRANKLIN H. COOK November 8, 1977 IFC President Steve DiOrio said that a trend, started in the fall of 1975 at Penn State, indicated an increase in the number of people who are signing up to be fraternity members. "The Penn State fraternity system felt the initial shock waves of membership decline about three years after it started on the West Coast," DiOrio said. This trend has now reversed itself, he said, and Penn State is "starting to feel the rejuvenation of fraternities," although the University is two to three years behind this rejuvenation cycle compared to the West Coast. The cause of the decline, DiOrio said, was a general movement away from the status quo groups to a "more indepen dent sphere of influence." Norm groups in the '6os and early '7os were out be cause people wanted a different style, he said, but now the atmosphere has changed. "There is not so much a feeling on the part of students that society is bad," ,DiOrio said, "and there is not as much distrust." However, he said, now that people are "looking to fraternities as a viable alternative," the decline was a blessing in disguise, a time when fraternities had pOriginal New York Style Pizza. Made Fresh on the premises. Store Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8 p.m. - 2 a. m. Sat. 4 p.m. - 2 a. m. 434 E. College Ave. to modernize their philosophy to fit into the changing society. "Fraternities were forced to reevaluate their programs to answer a lot of questions for the good of the system," he said. So now, almost any student can be satisfied by this organization, to "be an individual in an organization," he said. Don Shanta (sth-political science), a pledge at Alpha Epsilon Pi, said he enjoys the brothership offered by a fraternity, while Bob Douglas (4th-civil engineering), at Kappa Sigma, said he likes the social activities available. Douglas said he liked the idea of having people around to help him with his studies, 'but I like to drink beer too." Shanta, however, put scholastics on the top of his list, and de-emphasized parties as a means to "introduce people to the house" and not "to go overboard," he said. "They are a crazy bunch of people to live with," Shanta said, "and when people do something, it's together." Shanta said he stills feels he has retained his individualism, and Douglas "was interested in an alternate lifestyle" which many have found by joining a fraternity. •, ..•.: .•. - 0 • •- 0 , ) . •• • •. • „.„. . .• •• . . • :• ..• • .•. • • . . --- w ., . • ...„,-. 1 c s i , ( - ... , ~ v ..,-\ft........ ~1---c...—'1'.1:::(.,;. During finals we deliver Between Bp.m. - la.m. Every day of the week Sun. 8 p.m. -1 a.m. The Daily Collegian Monday, November 7,1977- ! °I AM AS ( C Across from McDonald's A person who is actively interested in fraternities is called a rush, DiOrio said, and is invited to fraternities from the general rush list to meet members and see how he "fits in with their style." After this, a rush may sign a preference card, and when his bid for membership is accepted, he becomes a pledge. A pledge, DiOrio said, is considered an associate member of a fraternity. The time period from pledge status to full membership depends upon how the 'individual familiarizes himself with the organization, to know the members so they "can become good brothers." "The most appealing aspect is the concept of brothership," DiOrio said, "but fraternities must attempt to appeal on a concrete level" pertaining to academics, social activities and athletics. "Fraternities are criticized solely on these levels," DiOrio said, because people outside fraternities "don't know( what it means to be a brother." "Good parts of an organization don't always come out," he said. DiOrio said he wants the public to respect the lifestyle of fraternities because fraternities respect the lifestyles of others. ei:th 4 iN 0
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