Emerald
Vol 83, No 34
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Wednesday, Oct. 21,1981
I
Photo by Bob Baker
Greek renaissance sweeps
the University and country
By CAROLINE PETRICH
Of m« EnwriM
Two students were sharing a pitcher of beer
Several times, a noisy group in the next booth
interrupted their discussion
The group next door quaffed beer enthusiastically,
telling jokes between gulps
"We have a bunch of frat men next door," said one
of the students
Her friend got up to look "Yeah, you're right One
guy's drinking his beer — without using his hands "
That represents one example of what could be an
ongoing prejudice against Greeks — men and
women on campus who affiliate themselves with
fraternities and sororities
For most people, the Greek system produces a gut
reaction
Ask anyone what they think of Greeks If they
belong, they will advocate it as a great learning
experience and a great way to make friends If they
don't belong, they will grumble about conformity and
the "preppie" look
"The misconception is that all we do is go to
school and drink beer," complains Mark Hallquist,
member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and president
of the Interfraternity Council on campus
"We don't necessarily party within ourselves," he
says "We do social interaction with community
groups
"It's easier to criticize than go through rush," he
says
"Rush" is a semi-annual event where interested
students examine the Greek system and vice versa
At the end of “Rush Week," each house chooses its
new members
Sororities also get their share of discrimination
"Airheads" is a common reference to Greek
women Says one anonymous man, "All they worry
about is being preppie and getting husbands"
Alison Hodge, Kappa Alpha Theta delegate to the
Panhellenic, the sororities' equivalent to the Inter
fraternity Council, disagrees
"It's not true," she says, although she does admit
that "there could be a few here and there
"The preppie look — it's a fashion " Hodge claims
that people will follow the style worn by their friends,
Greek or not
Hallquists adds, "Yeah, it's not like we pull out GQ
(Gentlemen's Quarterly magazine) and say uh, you
don’t look rights "
As for the "Afctoead" reference, Hallquist uses
grade point averages for each sorority from Spring
Term, '81 as a defense According to Panhellenic
statistics, the Sigma Kappa and Delta Delta Delta
girls maintained 2 9 GPAs, The Alpha Phis were not
far behind with a 2 8 GPA
"That's pretty good." Hallquist says
Robert Bowlin, dean of students, says rivalry
between Greeks and the rest of campus will never
disappear
"People get a certain amount of distaste from
(groups) that are selective," he says
"It's not necessarily unhealthy,” he adds
Bowlin puts down the common view that every
body in the Greek system is rich
"If we really take a look at our houses, we ll find a
lot of students that are self-supportive. "
"People have to look beyond stereotypes," Bowlin
says. "Too much is based on stereotypes and that I
regret."
Despite the rivalry, a Greek renaissance is sweep
ing the nation’s colleges and universities
According to the National Interfraternity Council,
national enlistment has gone from 139,838 in 1971 to
250,000 in 1981 Sororities have experienced the
same boom
Perhaps the most ironic example of the Greek
system resurrection is at the University of California
at Berkeley, the hot seat of the sixties radical
movement Rolling Stone magazine reports that 630
girls went through rush
Here at the University, the trend is no different
Currently, 1800 to 2,000 fraternity and sorority
members roam the campus, 12 percent of the
student body
Hallquist estimates that 389 men went through
fraternity rush this year Debbie Hughes, Panhellenic
Rush Chairman, says 390 women rushed this fall
In 1971, only 188 women went through rush
Hallquist is unsure about what caused the Greek
revival.
"It looks like there's a cycle," he says
"There's no simple answer If we knew there was a
simple answer, we would emphasize it in our rush
programs
"A lot of people here are the generation after
Vietnam," when fraternities and sororities were an
endangered species In the early 1960s, 21 fraterni
ties existed on campus After 1967, the number
dropped to 10
The Greek system gives students another "small
group living option," Bowlin says, especially at a
university where "some can get lost" without an
identifiable support group
-r
GPA performs
decisive role
in admissions
By PHIL LEMMAN
Of lit* Emerald
A long-standing University institution — the grade
point average — is back in the limelight
As entrance into departments and schools — and even
the University itself — becomes more competitive, the GPA
is taking over as a standard for admissions
"Grades will become increasingly important as
crowded programs seek ways to reduce numbers of
students,” says Marliss Strange, associate director for
academic advising and student services
In addition to providing entrance into professional
schools, a student s GPA is used to determine eligibility for
scholarships, honor societies, and entry into post-bac
calaureate studies such as law or medical school.
Studying harder is a way to possibly raise one’s GPA
Taking easy courses is another
"There are relatively few required courses for a major,
so students can get out of the ones they can't handle,"
says Clarethel Kahananui, acting vice-chancellor for
academic affairs.
Whichever method students choose, their GPA will be
a deciding factor in what school, program or honor society
they can enter and what scholarships they can receive
Merit scholarships are awarded using several criteria,
including GPA, says Herbert Wisner, a scholarship com
mittee member Committee members evaluate each ap
plicant using GPA, written recommendations and a
personal statement by the applicant.
A student's GPA is "the best single measure, although
not infallible," Wisner says Any weighting mechanism
used to distinguish grades from different academic pro
grams — that is, programs that award a higher percentage
of As and Bs — is up to the individual committee member,
he says
Honor societies vary the importance given GPAs as
entry standards For some — like freshman honor societies
Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma — GPA is the sole
criteria for eligibility
Others use GPA as a starting point, considering
community service, leadership and other factors as well.
Admissions officers for the University law school and
the Oregon Health Sciences University both say GPA is a
major consideration for entry
The law school uses the GPA along with LSAT test
scores as primary criteria for admissions, according to
Marilyn Bradetich, law school admissions officer Brade
tich says admissions officers don’t look at individual
courses on a transcript
Merit scholarships and honor societies generally are
not significant factors in determining entry, except in close
decisions between applicants, she says
Dick Speight, admissions director at the Oregon
Health Sciences University, says GPA is the only criteria
for admission There is no weighting mechanism used, he
says — "an A is an A "
At the University, deans and faculty in the arts and
sciences college are moving to start or raise GPA admis
sion requirements in an attempt to slow the influx of
students into their programs
Two programs in the college, computer science and
telecommunications, have started GPA entrance requir
ements effective this fall.
Joseph Hynes, the associate dean for undergraduate
studies in the college, says no department wants to limit
entry, but a lack of money to expand the popular programs
has led to an emphasis on quality over quantity
"We are not going to give up quality for numbers We
are going to teach the best students first,” Hynes said.
The business school started with a 2.5 minimum GPA
requirement in 1978, but raised it this year to 2.75. Don
Lytle, undergraduate program director, says
administrators already are considering further increases
to limit steady enrollment increases in business classes
A similar situation exists in the journalism school.
Journalism Prof Ken Metzler says the school’s enrollment
is increasing beyond the faculty's ability to handle it.
As a result the journalism school is considering ways
to reduce enrollment, including raising the present 2 5
GPA entry requirement, be says.