College, Sports, Activities, Greek life – but at what cost? When entering college, many students are interested in Greek life or some kind of Greek letter organization. These organizations include fraternities and sororities that are value-based and are specifically for undergraduate college students that attend a university. The participants are active members on their college campuses and participate in events such as Homecoming and volunteer service projects. Many students are encouraged to participate, but before the spring rush begins, let’s take a look at the real cost.
At the University of Missouri, there are many Greek associations that live in houses on campus, as well as organizations that have off-campus housing. It is not out of the ordinary for these organizations to participate in a type of formal recruitment process. During the process, the organizations recruit members, typically freshmen or sophomores, into their houses. In theory, the organizations are supposed to inform members of their values, philanthropies, and all of the various costs of being a member. There is, however, a lack of initiative that these organizations take to be completely transparent. Financial transparency is a crucial and necessary component to include when recruiting for Greek letter organizations.
When considering the population at MU, the number of students involved in Greek life is vast. According to MU’s Division of Student Affairs, 26% of undergraduate students participate in fraternity and sorority life. With fifty-eight sororities and fraternities on campus, who wouldn’t want to join? Though it may seem fun and exciting, the lack of financial transparency can put a real damper on the idea of joining one of the many Greek letter-associated organizations on campus. Suppose these organizations lack the ability to communicate the financial need and support required to stay active members, how will members know if that is feasible for their individual financial situation or their families? The percentage of students affected directly is 26%, but this does not include the number of students who could not financially support being in a Greek letter organization. Many students do not participate simply because of the cost.
Despite the severity of the issue, there are multiple solutions that can allow for a positive outcome for all involved. One is when the cost of Greek life dues is presented, they should include a section of estimated “miscellaneous costs.” These costs include expenses such as t-shirts, formal wear, various tickets for events, donation costs for philanthropic events, and even gas money for events needing personally provided transportation. When a university bills an individual, there is a section of miscellaneous costs for books, supplies, and even traveling. If an entire university includes a section of estimated costs in order to remain financially transparent, then an on-campus organization should be able to do the same.
At MU, an anonymous source made a statement about their experience with Greek life and its lack of financial transparency. They claim that many of the economic issues could have been resolved if an area for “miscellaneous” costs” were included. This source was initially reached out to by a Greek organization in the summer of 2021. After touring the house over the summer, they had the opportunity to speak with some of the active members.
The anonymous source stated, “After my second time visiting they offered me a bid, and I got to informally rush.”
A “bid” is to receive an offer from a fraternity or sorority, and the person can choose to accept or decline. Informal rush is the act of joining a Greek organization during the rush “off-season” and formal recruitment/rush, for both fraternities and sororities at MU, takes place at the beginning of an academic year. The source chose to accept their bid from the chapter.
The anonymous member was encouraged to join a fraternity because of a guaranteed group of friends, media attention, social appearance, and because it is a good way to meet new people. These are common appeals that many have while considering Greek life.
When looking at joining the different house the source said it was fairly easy to learn the base price of the organization’s dues, but was unaware of the other fees that would need to pay for. For this specific chapter, it is required to give a minimum of $40 when there were social parties/events hosted by the chapter. The source was reportedly unaware that this would occur before accepting the bid. Another financial cost that the individual was never informed of was the expectation to live in the house. After not being informed of the live-in requirement until after their pledgeship (the period of time between a person accepting a bid and initiation), and the high charges for rent and socials, the source was forced to leave the chapter.
My personal experiences in Greek life have changed my perspective of these organizations, as a whole. For sororities, specifically, but also in some cases of fraternity life, there is a particular charge that is not surfaced enough. While it may sound foolish or idiotic, the cost of formal clothing items is not an inexpensive one. Many sorority and fraternity chapters require their members to own certain formal wear and do not discuss it prior to the acceptance of a bid.
Another instance of costs not commonly discussed is the cost of t-shirts. Again, it may sound foolish, but a lot of events that these houses are involved in require participants to purchase t-shirts to attend. This cost is not included in your dues and typically must come out of your own pocket. Other various charges include fines for situations such as missing chapter meetings or events. Just communicating the possibility of these charges to potential new members can help to ease the financial stress and anxiety of those who may be concerned.
A different solution that could also solve the issue at hand is through the university itself. A statement requiring all Greek letter organizations to present transparent financial outlines and cost breakdowns for their organization prior to member initiations would be incredibly beneficial. Universities typically take pride in campus involvement, so it is assumed that they would want to interject if students are being mistreated in these organizations. For the universities to take initiative, it would only require an altercation of a student organization’s laws. A simple statement could have a large impact on financial transparency in Greek life. If one is issued, then the organization will be required to take a step back and look at what costs are actually necessary for its members.
The Maneater brought light to this issue at the local level. In one of its articles, Zoe Homan interviews Zach Lovelace, a member of the Beta Sigma Psi fraternity. He states, “There’s probably a couple of reasons for [not publicly listing recruitment costs], but [it is] something we haven’t given much thought to.”
Furthermore, proving that if the university were to release a statement requiring Greek organizations to be financially transparent, the fraternities would have no choice but to consider the reasoning behind why they are not publicly listing recruitment costs. This call to action might be exactly what members of Greek life need in order to make a change in the way that finances are presented.
However, some may say there are still redeeming qualities for certain Greek organizations regarding financial transparency. For example, there is a required day during formal recruitment where sororities practice financial transparency with membership-fee sheets shared with the new recruits. Though this day is highly crucial to the process, it should occur on the first day of formal recruitment. There is an online source that relays some costs for sorority dues at MU as of 2022. This is a great step in the right direction, but it still leaves room for improvement. So, while some may say that sororities are transparent because they share this on a later day of formal recruitment, even the numbers shared do not include further estimates of various miscellaneous expenses throughout the course of their membership.
It is saddening to see that this issue is still a prevalent one, even with the close eye universities supposedly have on Greek life. Fraternities and sororities both need to elucidate their financial requirements to potential new members prior to their initiation so they can be fully informed of the financial requirements. Whether you are an active member of Greek life or a potential new member, make sure to dig deep and ask the right questions in order to be fully educated and aware of the financial barriers of your chapter. Because, overall, the conveyance of information is key to creating healthy dynamics within Greek life, and its relative university and members.
If you plan to rush in the spring, make sure to be straightforward. Ask those difficult questions, and make sure you are confident before you make your final decision. Do you have an opinion on financial transparency in Greek life? We would love to hear it, let us know your thoughts on the Her Campus social media pages!