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The past few weeks have been a whirlwind at OC, and Greek life has been at the heart of the excitement. The Greek societies on campus have just finished their new member intake process for 2023.
According to Olivet College Assistant Dean of Student Life Jake Schuler, 66 students joined Greek Societies this year. That’s a 32% increase from last year’s 50 new members. Schuler mentioned a couple potential reasons for the jump in new member intake.
“Besides the lack of COVID-19 restrictions, I would accredit this to the resiliency and dedication of the Olivet College Greek life. I look forward to how we will continue to grow and develop the Greek life on campus,” Schuler said.
In addition to the overall number of new members increasing, some of OC’s Greek houses have been revitalized this year. One of those houses is Nu Gamma Xi, a sorority founded in 1997. In the spring of 2022, the house was left without any actives when the last remaining member graduated.
Nadia Tijerina, freshmen, and her sister Isabela Tijerina, junior, joined Nu Gamma Xi this winter, bringing the house back to life on campus. Without active members to run the new member intake process, it was up to Nu Gamma Xi’s alumni to keep the tradition going.
“The pledging process was kind of weird sometimes because I really did not know the girls who were pledging me, so it was awkward at times. Two alumni came back and stayed at Nu Gamma for the two weeks and pledged us in. They left their daily lives and were dedicated for us to cross, which I appreciate so much because they did not need to do that,” Nadia said.
Nadia said she thinks it means a lot for the sorority to have actives because it gives the house a better opportunity to recruit new members. The house plans to host more events to interact with campus and get students familiar with Nu Gamma Xi.
“I think Greek life means forever and having a home you can always come back to, and also having sisters or brothers you can always count on to have your back,” Nadia said.
Another house that has seen a revival on campus this year is fraternity Alpha Phi Kappa, known by most students as “A Phi K”. Like Nu Gamma Xi, A Phi K was established in 1997. The house has not had active members since December 2021, and the last time it admitted new members was 2019. That all changed this semester, when five students completed the new member intake process.
“It felt like our process was different from most others because we were pledged by alumni we never met, whereas everyone else was pledged by their peers,” said Caleb Arthur, senior. Arthur is one of A Phi K’s new active members.
Arthur, who is a part of the media production and communication major at OC, produced a short documentary about his fraternity.
“My documentary will be centered around our comeback after a four-year pledge hiatus, and it will feature Eta Psi Kappa. I made it not only because it would be a really cool personal project to do, but to show everyone what we are about and to show how our contagious energy can make a difference in our environment. Basically, just to show everyone that we are here and our presence will be felt,” Arthur said.
Although keeping a Greek house going is a big undertaking, Arthur said he’s proud of himself and his fellow brothers for being up to the task.
“I think this can be legendary. For the five of us to take on the challenge knowing that the responsibility of running the organization is 100% in our hands is very courageous. I’m happy to show Olivet that A Phi K is back, and I’m ready to make a difference in the community.”
Photos from Olivet College website and Greek society social media pages.