Gonzaga University’s position on Greek Letter Organization (Fraternities and Sororities)

By: Judi Biggs Garbuio, Vice President, Student Development

One of the many aspects that Gonzaga University celebrates is its vibrant and engaging student activity offerings, which encourage greater participation by students in the life of our campus.  Our Center for Student Involvement works diligently to create and provide programs presented and sponsored by the university, as well as supporting our 130 recognized student clubs and organizations. These recognized student groups offer a variety of opportunities for leadership development, community engagement, and social involvement – which are major elements of what it means to “Be a Zag!”

One of the questions I am often asked is, “What opportunities exist for Greek letter organizations (Fraternities and Sororities) at Gonzaga? The simple response to this question is, Gonzaga University does not itself support or recognize any national Greek letter organization. We have intentionally and strategically made decisions, over a long period of time, to not support the formation of these groups, for a number of reasons.  By their very design, fraternities and sororities are restrictive as to membership and constitute themselves as exclusive in nature.  As such, they are not aligned with our inclusive interpretation of community.

Students and alumni boast of the supportive and tight-knit community they experience on campus and the friendships they develop during their time at GU.  We have made a commitment to continually enhance this community through our policies and programs. Some examples of this are the two-year residency requirement, New Student Orientation that leads into the “First Year Experience”, “SpikeNights” (a non-alcoholic alternative during the weekend) and of course the student-run clubs that encompass student government, culture clubs, as well as club sports. We have consistently heard from incoming students that a major reason why they chose Gonzaga was because of the strong inclusive healthy community that is created here.  And numerous students have told us that they intentionally chose Gonzaga because it does not sponsor Greek Life.

Some of you may have heard that there are social fraternities at Gonzaga.  That information is incorrect and misleading. Over the last two years, two national fraternities, Kappa Sigma and Theta Chi have both established local Spokane-area Chapters. It is important to understand that these chapters are not affiliated with Gonzaga University, but were established even after discussing their formation with university officials. Upon learning that Gonzaga would not support their charter, the national organization made the decision to move forward anyway. This of course was their right, but it speaks to a concerning disregard to our history and community. Overwhelmingly our students continue to voice their displeasure in the dynamic this has caused.

As parents, it is important for you to know that as Spokane-area chapters, not Gonzaga affiliated chapters, neither of these organizations are able to access the privileges of our recognized groups (i.e., they can’t host meetings or events on campus,  they are restricted from recruiting on campus, and they do not have access to university funds, etc.). More importantly, these  Spokane area chapters are not overseen by the university and therefore, as independent organizations, have constituted themselves so that they cannot be held to the same standards of academics, student conduct behaviors, hazing, risk management, or safety, as the organizations recognized and supported by Gonzaga. When we become aware of a potential violation of University policy we respond appropriately to each individual student involved, however we are unable to hold the chapter accountable for any policy violations – as we would with a recognized club or organizations.

You may be wondering what Gonzaga has done in reaction to the non-recognized fraternities. This letter to parents is a part of our response.  We will continue to educate students about our concerns, and are working to ensure that Ambassadors, Campus Hosts, Orientation Leaders, Residence Life staff and other student leaders understand the University’s stance on social Greek organizations.  Both national organizations are aware that the University has no intent to recognize the Spokane-area chapters as student organizations.  Additionally, when these Spokane area chapters have publically attempted to portray themselves as Gonzaga affiliated, we have sent cease and desist letters to the national and local organizations.

We do, however, have academic and other honor societies with Greek letter names, which can cause some level of confusion, but they are NOT social fraternities. The following is a list of our recognized academic and honor societies.

1. Phi Alpha Theta, history fraternity
2. Nu Delta Alpha Honors Society
3. Mu Phi Epsilon, music fraternity
4. Kappa Delta Pi, education fraternity
5. Iota Rho, communication fraternity
6. Eta Sigma Phi, classics society
7. Beta Alpha Psi, accounting fraternity
8. Alpha Kappa Psi, business fraternity
9. Alpha Sigma Nu, honor society
10. Plus, there are 12 clubs dedicated to service

With all this being said, it is important to note that Gonzaga students are free to join local chapters of organizations. We have students who are active in many local groups like the Boy Scouts, Toastmasters, and Rotary. We will not prevent students from joining external Spokane-area groups as long as they do not conflict with the Gonzaga student code of conduct.

If you have any further questions or would like to hear about additional involvement opportunities, please contact, Colleen Vandenboom at vandenboom@gonzaga.edu, Assistant Dean, Student Involvement and Leadership.

Judi Biggs Garbuio

Vice President for Student Development