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Types of Greek Organizations
Take a walk around campus and you will see Greek letters everywhere. This is due to the fact that many different types of organizations adopt greek letters. It can be confusing, so below is a description of each kind of organization that you may encounter on campus.
General Organizations
General fraternities and sororities accept members from all academic backgrounds and came into existence primarily for social purposes. (For organizations that select members from only specific academic backgrounds see "Professional Organizations" and "Honor Societies" below). By social purposes we mean it was originally thought that young men and women needed directed social development to be ready for future responsibilities in society. While this includes social gatherings, it also includes community service projects and charity work to name a few. Membership in these organizations is by invitation only. Examples of these Greek organizations at SUNY Geneseo are the organizations under the jurisdiction of the Inter-Greek Council and the Multicultural Greek Council. While most of the fraternities and sororities at Geneseo are recognized by the College there are some that have lost their recognition or have never received recognition to begin with. These organizations have no affiliation with or supervision by the College.
There are also professional fraternities and sororities that induct students and faculty who are part of a specific profession or vocational field. One example of a professional fraternity at Geneseo is Mu Phi Epsilon, a professional music fraternity.
These Coed fraternities exist to provide service to the community. The largest of these types is Alpha Phi Omega, a national, coeducational, service fraternity with a chapter here at SUNY Geneseo.
Honor societies are the last type of Greek Organizations to mention. These societies exist to recognize students who have demonstrated exemplary academic achievement. Membership in these organizations is also by invitation only. Generally, the student has to fill out an application and then be chosen. An example of an honor society at SUNY Geneseo is Psi Chi, the psychology honor society.
These societies also recognize institutions and faculty. Phi Beta Kappa is the best known, oldest and most significant honor society in the United States. Phi Beta Kappa recently granted a chapter to SUNY Geneseo among only 270 other colleges in the entire country.
© 2006 Inter Greek
Council - IGC
State University of New York at Geneseo
Originally created by Stephanie Brown & Maintained by Tim Szczerba and Ryan
Lang '07
Redesigned by Sunny Lecce '08
