EditorialUnofficial Greeks

By Editorial

Greeks add a spice of life to the Santa Clara social scene and a pinch of pizzazz to an otherwise dull neighborhood. But official university sponsorship and funding of Greek life just goes too far.

Before the era of Residential Learning Communities, now a system touted at many universities, there were the Greeks. Many off-campus sororities and fraternities around Santa Clara have had national organization for decades, many pre-dating the 20th century.

The university's rescinding of official sponsorship of the Greeks in 2001 was, without a doubt, pushed forward by the school's adoption of an expanded RLC system and disciplinary issues. The RLCs, designed in the mid-1990s, are to house three-fourths of the student body living on campus in more than 11 learning communities within the next decade. Some current undergraduates can remember a formalized Greek presence with backing from the university, under the arm of the Inter-Greek Council, then a chartered organization.

But let's face reality. The real crux behind the university's decision to cut Greek sponsorship stems from the misappropriation of funds for a select few. Chartered Student Organizations (such as The Santa Clara) are formed to "meet a need not currently met" by another CSO. A new Greek council and university sponsorship would offer selective benefits that only help a select few.

This is not to say, however, that Greeks serve no purpose in the Santa Clara community. It is inarguable that Greek life is the backbone of the Wednesday and weekend social scenes. For many students, sororities and fraternities are welcome alternatives to the university's RLC system, which some students see as irritating and an overzealous attempt to build community. "I've become closer to the guys in my pledge class in 48 hours than I ever have to anyone in an RLC," one pledge said.

Ray Esquivel, president of the non-Greek Nu Alpha Kappa, said it best in 1994 when the IGC was undergoing rechartering: "IGC doesn't meet everyone's needs to be chartered; it's only a small population, and to give a significant amount of money to them, they need to cater to more people."

The recent addition of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority may be in indication that the Greek system will be facing a resurgence. But in 1989, 19 percent of undergraduates were fraternity brothers and 17 percent were in sororities. By 1999, two years before the university decided to axe affiliation, the numbers dropped to 14 and 12 percent, respectively. Maybe the new sorority will inspire a rise in the numbers of students interested in Greek life, but it is ridiculous to offer CSO-level funding to groups that only directly benefit a little over one-tenth of the student body.

Greeks are more than just about partying â€" they give a sense of purpose and community to undergraduates and do commendable social work within the community. CSO status and funding, however, is inappropriate.

The Greeks can obviously flourish off-campus without official backing from Walsh. Out of fairness, it should stay that way.