Why Are Fraternities and Sororities on College Campuses?
Fraternal organizations have had a presence on college campuses since the founding of the first fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, at the College of William and Mary in 1776. Fraternal groups were founded to provide students opportunities outside the classroom related to social development, literature discussion, and debates related to issues of the day. Currently, over 800 colleges/universities across the country have Greek communities. Fraternities and Sororities are intended to enhance the collegiate experience. Therefore, the inter/national organizations (and most others) which have founded chapters at NMSU all hold requirements that individuals have to be collegiate students in order to be offered and bid and initiated. Across the nation, however, local organizations (groups with no national “parent” group) which may be considered “fraternal” in nature have been seen in other areas such as high schools.
