Jack McGrath is a member of the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity and the current Interfraternity Council (IFC) President.
Once a proud symbol of Union College’s identity, fraternities and sororities face an uncertain future. As a new administration arrives, fear and frustration are growing across Greek Life.
Greek life has been a part of the Union’s history as well as the world’s for almost two centuries. The first Greek letter social fraternity was founded here in 1825, Kappa Alpha Society, as well as 5 other fraternities, famously known as the Union Triad. Since the founding of 6 Alpha chapters, Greek Life on campus has remained the foundation of social life and networking for students and alumni. But since 2004, the Union’s administration has been divesting Greek Life. With President Kiss’ arrival in the fall, many are asking: what changes will Greeks face under her administration and will she continue this trend?
In an interview with the Associate Director for Greek Leadership, Joshua Radford, he was very optimistic about President Kiss’s arrival. According to Radford, the new administration will face a stall period, where in this first academic year of her arrival, she won’t be able to make any changes in Greek Life policies or structures. This stall period is to prevent any drastic changes between administration as well as allow her to settle in and understand the culture at this institution.
Radford also mentioned that President Kiss plans on visiting the college before the academic year ends. This opportunity allows Greek life to have a positive first impression. During that visit, Radford hopes to give insight into Greek life and present her a gift basket made by the Interfraternity Council, consisting of merchandise from each active fraternity chapter and a brief history of Greeks on campus. The IFC (the governing body for Fraternities) and PC (the governing body for sororities) will also try to meet with President Kiss to welcome her arrival and express excitement about building a strong relationship under her leadership.
President Kiss has stated that she plans to continue what the previous administration has been doing. Although she hasn’t directly mentioned Greek Life specifically, Union is optimistic about her arrival. Looking at her past roles at other institutions, her priorities have been focusing on students and their mental well-being by fostering an open and inclusive community. This can suggest that she’ll be supportive of Greek Life on campus. Although her bubbly priorities seem good, one thing to mention is that her previous institutions only had sororities. When talking about Greek Life, sororities typically are seen as the nice, less risky side. This gives us the security that Greek Life will most likely not be eliminated. Rather there may be new policies that are aimed to reduce risk and open it up to more of the
Union student body.
However, if President Kiss continues to follow the previous administration’s actions, there will be a trend of reducing Greek Life on campus. Completely dismantling Greek Life at the founding place would be difficult and would create controversy. Eliminating the entirety of it would create a backlash from students, alumni, and potentially people who have experienced Greek Life.
For now, students and alumni must wait for newly elected President Kiss to arrive on campus for any clarity on the future of Greek Life. Greek leadership, Joshua Radford, IFC and PC presidents, have expressed enjoyment and eagerness to collaborate with her on this subject. Regardless of what changes the new administration may bring, Greek Life remains a centerstone of the Union’s history with Greek members, past and present, proudly wearing their letters for life.
