It’s Greek Week here at MSU. So it seems only appropriate to discuss a large issue within the Greek system.
The average overall GPA of fraternities and sororities for the fall semester is 2.38.
This is not exactly impressive, as Greeks are supposedly held to a higher expectation of academic performance than the average student.
Instead of striving to better their overall GPAs, all but three organizations had GPAs that dropped from the Spring 2011 to the Fall 2011 semester.
The largest GPA drop, by Omega Delta Phi, was 0.75.
The MSU administration isn’t holding these fraternities and sororities to any sort of standard.
At other universities in Texas there are minimum requirements for the Greeks to keep their eligibility. At SMU the chapters are asked to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher. If not, they face probation.
If the same rule was applied at MSU, there would be no Greek system.
Instead fraternities and sororities are put on membership quotas. Recently, Alpha Phi Alpha was deemed unrecognizable as a Greek organization due to low membership.
It was disbanded last spring. Their chapter GPA as of Spring 2011 was 2.43.
Currently, six Greek organizations have that same 2.43 GPA or below. Yet they stand strong in their membership numbers so they are not disbanded by the university.
The national chapters and MSU don’t seem concerned so long as each member forks over the dues per semester it takes to be a member of the Greek system.
The coordinator of Greek life at MSU stated that he believes sorority and fraternity life is about improving and advancing.
But the focus of Greek life is academics. That’s what they preach, anyway. Obviously Greeks are all but improving in this aspect.
The academic success of Greek life is being swept under the rug, ignored by the administration and national chapters so they can keep their chapter status on campus.
The “no comment” received from Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority is a clear sign of this neglect.
Priorities need to change. And soon.
Other half of the story • Apr 22, 2012 at 10:20 PM
I love how it is appropriate to discuss issues of the MSU Greek system during the week that Greeks give and do so much. I guess it isn’t appropriate to instead recognize the service they give during this week.
MSU Greek Life as a whole participated in both the Great Day of Service and Relay for Life. Out of the small percentage of student organizations that committed to Relay for Life, the Greek organizations were a large part that helped raise money to fight cancer and walk all night this past Friday.
Actually the front cover of The Wichitan published a photo of students picking up trash at Sikes Lake and they were all Greek.
Also the Greek system raised thousands of dollars during Greek Week for SEEK Camp which provides an opportunity for children with physical or mental disabilities to attend camp.
On top of that, several donations were made to our local Humane Society in the form of dog food.
I know for a fact that many of the national chapters will put a chapter on probation when their GPA average drops. Maybe you don’t feel that MSU doesn’t hold their chapters accountable but their national chapters certainly do. Just because it’s not broadcast to the student community, it doesn’t mean Greeks don’t get consequences from their national chapter.
Yet again The Wichitan chooses to highlight the areas of Greek Life that needs improvement. Maybe if you took the time to speak to your fellow students on campus that participate in MSU Greek life instead of always comparing it to “other universities” you would realize that Greeks are taking the steps to improve these statistics by taking advantage of chapter academic advisors, requiring more study hours, and making consequences for members with low grade point averages.
Anonymous • Apr 19, 2012 at 4:18 PM
They aren’t given anything by the school and operate independently of the university. They don’t receive any special privileges and thus aren’t held to a standard, such as a university sanctioned organization. I am in agreement that standards should change, but that’s from the perspective that all students should strive for higher academic standards. However, if an organization doesn’t benefit from the university from which it operates on, they shouldn’t be required to adhere to any standards, and I can promise you that the university feels the same way.