In this month’s Tiktok news, the Alabama sororities have been the frontrunner. Hundreds of videos of southern girls dressing up have captured our hearts and likes. While the University of Alabama continues to be at the forefront of our minds when discussing Greek life, they are not the only school that offers this. At small private colleges like the one here in McMinnville, Oregon, we boast four sororities and three fraternities, a large number for the small size of Linfield University.  

Some small liberal arts schools are too small of a population to support greek life. Here at Linfield, almost 30 percent of our student population participates in Greek life. For sororities, this includes three national chapters, Alpha Phi, Zeta Tau Alpha and Phi Sigma  Sigma and one local chapter Sigma Kappa Phi. While fraternities include national chapters like Pi Kappa Alpha and Theta Chi and a local chapter Delta  Psi Delta.  This percentage is a large number for our small school. The University of Alabama, one of the largest Greek life populations in the US contains 11,000 students, which is only 35% of the total undergrad population. However, in recent years the membership numbers have started to drop at Linfield.

“I knew I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. I knew if I joined a sorority it would allow me to meet like-minded people, who could have a positive impact on my four years here at Linfield,” Caitlin Hilman, a junior in Alpha Phi, said.

While each fraternity and sorority has its specific philanthropy, Alpha Phi’s philanthropy had a special connection to Hillman. During recruitment, some of the members of the chapter take a stand at the front of the room and share their own experiences with women’s heart health, the official philanthropy of Alpha Phi. Although Hillman does not have a personal connection to the philanthropy cause, she was inspired by the passion for the cause of the current members.

Hillman shared that over the past few years especially, the chapter size has continued to drop with each year. While in the spring of 2020 it was at a high of 82 members, it has continually dropped. As of right now, there are currently only 48 members of Alpha Phi. In 2019, the graduating class had a high of 30 members, the highest number Alpha Phi has seen in a long time. Along with Alpha Phi, the remainder of sororities have had their numbers drop, resulting in a significant push for new members each spring. Other sororities on campus are seeing similar phenomena.

One of the possible reasons for the decline in enrollment in sororities and FSL life may be COVID-related. 

“I think that COVID has made the idea of ‘paying for friends’ [more common among non-members] and that joining a sorority or fraternity was simply a waste of time,” Hillman said.

While the numbers have continued to drop over the past few years, sororities and fraternities here at Linfield hope to increase their membership every semester. Recruitment for freshmen opens in the spring, but continuous open bidding is currently open for all sophomores, juniors, or seniors who are interested in joining Greek life.