By Gavin Guffey, Staff Writer

With recent presentations from various fraternities and sororities, Xavier has officially begun the process of implementing more Greek life opportunities for students.

Different chapters on campus in recent weeks included Phi Delta Theta, Delta Sigma Phi and Beta Theta Pi on the fraternity side, and Alpha Gamma Delta, Theta Phi Alpha and Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta) for sororities. From here the university is planning to move forward with two fraternities and two sororities to begin in the upcoming fall semester.

Presentations from these chapters explained to students who they are, what they plan to bring to campus and how students are able to get involved in the future.

This development has been prioritized by the university as an opportunity to improve student life both on and off campus. However, there are more factors than just student life going into the decision of which chapters to invite.

One of the main motivations for finding Greek life organizations that align with Xavier’s identity are chapters rooted in service, a pillar of the Jesuit values.

“We emphasized that we really wanted organizations that have strong relationships, and that part of what they offer to our students is the ability to more deeply invest in service, relations and philanthropy and raising money for charities,” Senior Associate Director of Student Involvement Dustin Lewis said.

Service was one of four core values in deciding which organizations to choose. The other three were strong alumni engagement and base, scholastic aptitude and high investment at the national level, according to Lewis.

Sophomore business analytics major Owen Howard has been working extensively with multiple fraternities, most notably Beta Theta Pi, about being involved when they reach campus.

“The fraternity that I’ve been most involved with and I’ve kind of built a relationship with is Beta Theta Pi, and I really do believe that they could be a strong fraternity here at Xavier. There’s Beta chapters at other Jesuit schools like Creighton,” Howard said.

Another influence in the University’s decision to pursue additional Greek life came from President Dr. Colleen Hanycz.

“President Hanycz herself is a member of a sorority and joined when she was in college, and that was a very transformative experience for her in Toronto,” Lewis said.

Lewis also noted Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Kimberly Moore’s time with Greek life. “She has had experience on campuses before that have pretty robust Greek life programs,” Lewis said.

The additional Greek life on campus will join pre-existing Greek life, notably the Divine Nine, which are historically black fraternities and sororities founded in the United States. The Divine Nine also belong to the National Pan-Hellenic Council, as do the recently visited organizations.

“There are three sororities that are active and have been active since the mid to early 90s, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and Delta Sigma Theta sorority. On the fraternity side, we currently have Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, as well as Phi Beta Sigma fraternity that will be restarting this fall,” Lewis said.

There is a more recent addition, Gamma Alpha Omega, a historically Latina sorority, and Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity.

While many students also may be wondering if Greek life chapters will live together in houses, as they do at many other schools, Lewis says that will be a much longer development, as it is not the main vision for Xavier’s Greek life.

“It’s very expensive, and it’s also a very high-risk process. But there are lots of campuses that don’t have Greek housing, and they have very successful Greek communities,” Lewis said. 

He also highlighted that down the line, if the demand is there, chapters could be invited to live together either in the form of a themed house or floors on a residential building.

In terms of funding, Lewis compared Greek life to a club sport, where students pay initial dues to join and be inducted, and because of that are held responsible for maintaining their end of the bargain as the year goes on.

“Similar to a club sport, there are regular gatherings, meetings, interactions and events, but there are dues connected to it. You’re part of a national organization,” Lewis said.