The Greek scene is a popular resource for incoming freshmen at Wash U. It is an easy way to make friends, meet guys and girls, and ind a set of ready-made activities and social events. The frats and sororities have mixers, crush parties, and semi-formals throughout the year, as well as other intra-Greek events that make them a tight-knit community on campus. Nearly a quarter of the student body joins a fraternity or a sorority, and among the socially active, that percentage could represent almost half. Most students argue that the Greek scene does not dominate, though. There are plenty of other parties and social groups around, and not joining a fraternity or sorority isn't social suicide.
Freshmen have plenty of time to decide whether or not to join a fraternity or sorority. They get a feel for the different fraternities and sororities in the first semester, attend rush events in the beginning of the second semester, and receive bids about a month later. Another option is to rush sophomore year, but few people actually do so. To give a rough impression of the different groups, here’s a caricature of each fraternity and sorority: Sigma Alpha Mu (Sammy) and ZBT are the off-campus party frats, Sigma Chi has lots of athletes and techno parties, AEPi is sort of a Jewish Sammy-lite, Kappa Sig is a random assortment of outgoing guys, Sig Ep members pay too much attention to their hair, Beta Theta Pi members are laid-back all-American types, Theta Xi is ’80s-rock-loving beer drinkers, Phi Delts are jocks, Sigma Nu is mostly nerds and potheads, and SAE is kind of a mystery. For the sororities: Kappa Gamma is almost all blondes, Pi Phi and AEPhi are Jewish girls and their friends, Alpha Phi is athletic fun-loving girls, Delta Gamma is an unclassifiable mélange, Chi Omega is very Asian, and AOPi is just getting started.