Go Greek!
Joining an Organization
Being Greek means more than just wearing Greek letters, attending meetings, and going to parties. Being in a fraternity/sorority is about making friendships that will last far beyond your college years while enhancing your personal development by committing to ideals of scholarship, leadership, and service. It is being respected for your individuality while being part of a brotherhood/sisterhood with individuals who share the same goals and values. Your brothers/sisters are there to support you, making your transition to college easy and fun.
Being Greek may also mean choosing to live with your closest friends in the Chapter Residence. While not all groups have housing, thirteen fraternities and four sororities have some form of housing on campus. The live-in experience is a great personal development opportunity where you can learn important skills such as shared responsibility, positive communication and compromise. Living in your chapter residence also helps you to establish closer friendships and stronger bonds with other chapter members and provides you with opportunities for academic improvement and social activities.
InterFraternity Council Recruitment
The NIC fraternities host individual recruitment/rush events. If you are interested in joining a fraternity visit the chapter website for contact information and a calendar of events.
A man is eligible to participate in recruitment and join a fraternity if he is enrolled at Columbia University as a full-time student. A full-time student is defined as taking twelve credit hours per semester, excluding correspondence courses and courses at other universities.
Multicultural Greek Council Intake/Rush
The MGC fraternities & sororities host individual intake/rush events. If you are interested in joining a fraternity or sorority visit the chapter website for contact information and a calendar of events.
Panhellenic Recruitment
Formal Recruitment is a five day process for women interested in joining a Panhellenic Sorority to meet members of each group. You are invited to visit each chapter and learn what each group has to offer. You narrow down your choices in a mutual selection process as the week of activities progresses. This process is meant to provide a fair and equal opportunity for potential new members and chapters to learn about each other. Thus, Silence is practiced during Formal Recruitment. Silence means no conversation or contact between potential new members and sorority members, alumnae or chapter representatives except at specified Panhellenic recruitment events. Potential new members may not discuss sorority membership with other potential new members. This included electronic communication such as Facebook, MySpace, Email, etc.
A woman is eligible to participate in Formal Recruitment and join a sorority if she is enrolled at Columbia University as a full-time student and has completed one full academic semester of coursework. First semester freshmen are ineligible.
Alcohol & Recruitment
The purpose of recruitment is to spend time getting to know each other. Therefore, all fraternity and sorority recruitment/intake/rush events and education processes at Columbia University are DRY. This means that no alcohol will be used or present during any recruitment function whether it is one-on-one or in a large group. Therefore, if alcohol is present while you are at an event, the organization is breaking the rules that have been established the North-American Interfraternity Conference, National Panhellenic Conference, National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and Columbia University. If this happens, you should seriously consider whether or not you want to join a chapter with such low integrity.
Anti-Hazing Policy
Hazing is commonly defined as any action taken or situation created, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule. The State of New York, Columbia University, and all national fraternities and sororities on campus have adopted anti-hazing legislation or policies. If you are hazed you must report it to the Assistant Director for Fraternity & Sorority Life or the Office of Judicial Affairs. Hazing has no place in the fraternity and sorority world and should not be tolerated. Chapters that haze are not worth your time and are dangerous.
Some examples of hazing situations may include any type of physical brutality; any activity involving consumption of food, liquid, alcoholic beverage, liquor, drug, or other substance which subjects the student to an unreasonable risk of harm; any activity that intimidates or threatens the student with ostracism, that subjects the student to extreme mental stress, shame, or humiliation; or any activity that induces, causes, or requires the student to perform a duty or task which involves a violation of the law.
Hazing is prohibited by Columbia University and New York State Law. Groups engaged in hazing may be subject to consequences imposed by the Dean’s Discipline Process and New York Stat Law as follows:
120.16. Hazing in the first degree
A person is guilty of hazing in the first degree when, in the course of another person's initiation into or affiliation with any organization, he or she intentionally or recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death to such other person or a third person and thereby causes such serious injury or death to such person or to a third person.
Hazing in the first degree is a class D felony.
120.17. Hazing in the second degree
A person is guilty of hazing in the second degree when, in the course of another person's initiation or affiliation with any organization, he or she intentionally or recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of physical injury to such other person or a third person and thereby causes such injury.
Hazing in the second degree is a class E felony.
120.28. Hazing in the third degree
A person is guilty of hazing in the third degree when, in the course of another person's initiation or affiliation with any organization, he or she intentionally or recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of physical injury to such other person or a third person.
Hazing in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor