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The Brothers of Phi
Gamma Delta with the Condon Cup.
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Over the last 30 years, the percentage of Hampden-Sydney students who belong to social fraternities has dropped from about 70% to 30%.
There are still 10 houses, although Lambda Chi Alpha has closed and Beta Theta Pi has been established.
Although the percentage of students in social fraternities has declined sharply, the number of student members is
about the same. It is not so much that social fraternities have declined in membership as that they have failed to
grow at the same pace as the enrollment. This should not be surprising. If fraternity membership represented 70% of
the current student body, it would be nearly 800 men. Such numbers would overwhelm the fraternity’s physical
facilities and organizational structures. There is, however, room for growth. Financially and socially the
desirable size of a social fraternity at Hampden-Sydney College is about 40. Adding those additional 100 men
was one of the many topics discussed at an Interfraternity Council workshop August 22-25.
The ten IFC-affiliated houses (Alpha Chi Sigma, a professional fraternity, is not affiliated with the IFC) were
briefed on such diverse topics as fire safety, community service, career development, alcohol education, pandemic
flu preparedness, housing contracts, damage reports, party forms, finances, and rush. Whether a fraternity’s
membership is seven or seventy, the fraternity president has significant responsibilities not only for the
management of his house and its present well being but also for the future of the fraternity though the planning
and execution of Rush.
The basis of the recruitment process is Rush. The College is in the third year of a faculty-approved experimental
change in the timing of Rush. For many years prior to 2004, Rush began and ended in the second semester.
Freshmen may not visit fraternity houses until Opening Day during the second week of classes, at which time
freshmen may go to houses and sign up to participate in Rush. These lists provide fraternities with the names
of those who are considering fraternity membership. After Opening Day until Pledge Day, this academic year
January 27, 2007, various rush activities take place on and off campus including one weeknight Formal Rush
Party at the house, otherwise freshmen are not allowed to attend weeknight fraternity parties.
Since recruitment is the life-blood of the fraternities, this was a recurring topic at the IFC Workshop.
According to Assistant Dean of Students for Greek Life Wes Lawson ’04, the three primary reason students
choose not to join a fraternity are: cost, fraternity dues can run between $500 and $1,000 per semester;
participation in varsity athletics, the time demands on Division III athletes have increased considerably
with off-season practice schedules and conditioning; these added to a demanding academic schedule give
athletes little time for fraternities; the Animal House image. It is a testament of sorts to the power
of the popular media that a movie released in 1978, a decade before current freshmen were born, still
has such a powerful impact on the popular image of social fraternities.A program was begun last year to evaluate fraternities in several areas by means of self- reported information
and institutional records and to provide fraternities with a measure of the success of their activities in such
areas as facility management, academic standing, community involvement, alumni relations, finances, and recruitment.
This year it is a particular goal of the IFC to combat that Animal House stereotype by stressing the true
values of social fraternities: close friendship, service to the community, and academic excellence.
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