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Area universities are not without this similarity. St. Thomas has no sororities and one fraternity, while The College of St. Catherine boasts two sororities. These smaller private schools, like our own, maintain students with less expendable income.

In contrast, University of Minnesota students who pay significantly less money for their education may tend to see more opportunity in joining an organization. On the other hand, the U of M campus is nearly twenty times as populous as Hamline’s.

The reduction of Greek organizations is being looked upon with increasing alarm because there has never been a strong Greek influence in Minnesota. When asked for his view on the declining Greek population at Hamline and the surrounding area, Dean of Students Alan Sickbert said, “A lot of this depends on the culture and history of the campus.” Greek organizations are not embedded into the society we Minnesotans have built. If one were to attend university in the South, he might find more options for a fraternity, with that fraternity serving a larger purpose in the community.

At Hamline, Greek organizations are portrayed as “a place to meet new people and hang out,” Grossinger said. They do not merely serve as a place to live. Because of this fact, some students do not even think about membership to a Greek group as an option.

Could it be that students have lost the need for this type of social group? In the seventies, more than half of the student population belonged to a Greek organization. It served as a place to get to know fellow students with whom you were to spend the next four years. Organizations are a place for “young women and men [to] improve social standards,” said former AGE President Jackie Johnson.

Today, students have become tremendously independent. There are more people commuting, and many more things to distract from the sense of community which is so strongly promoted at Hamline. The primary means to this sense of community is through the concept of home.

To AGE, the stark reality of the importance of a home has “hit home.” Founded in 1981, AGE lost their house on Englewood Ave. two years ago. As university-provided housing, they were evicted from their settlement because the faculty was in need of more office space.

The sorority sisters applied for a new house this past fall, but as they are only eight members, they did not meet the membership requirements. They have put in an application and other paperwork to attain a new house, and hope to have positive results in the fall.

Even without a physical location, AGE members are still thriving. Junior Sarah Swanson looks at membership to AGE as “a sense of home.” It is a context within which she “tests her limits.” “Belonging to a Greek organization not only strengthens leadership and organizational skills, but teaches teamwork.”

Affiliates gain a mutual respect for one another when they spend the majority of their time together. “Classes can teach you numbers, but not all of the interpersonal skills you get from living in a house with eight women,” Johnson said. The organizations provide students with the opportunity to work closely among people they would not normally choose to work with. Melinda Birchem, a sophomore from Delta Tau who is studying law, rooms with a theater major. She has the chance to “view school from a different perspective, more so than with a dorm roommate.”

It is safe to say that the current members of Greek organizations are pleased with the benefits they are gaining from the experience. What is important is that others are provided these same opportunities. Recruiting season has begun, with rush events taking place recently. There are countless activities happening around campus. Despite the diminishing number of Greek organizations on campus, the general feeling is that students are not concerned about the extinction of Greek organizations.