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The Greek system offers college students unparalleled academic, community, and leadership development experiences. While it is fashionable for the media to highlight negative stereotypes and focus on an occasional misdeed, the reality is Greek life remains a positive influence for our members, colleges, and communities.
Two associations oversee 101 fraternities and sororities with over 750,000 undergraduate members and over 12,000 chapters:
- The North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) represents 75 fraternities with 300,000 undergraduate members and 4.2 million living alumni.
- Collectively we have 9 million members, including 155 members of the House and Senate
We are the most successful leadership development program for college students. Our members manage organizations of up to 200 members, with housing facilities and operating budgets that run into the mid-six figures. Financial management, leadership development, conflict resolution, public relations, effective goal setting, and basic democratic principles are everyday lessons for our members. Our members graduate with the management and interpersonal skills needed to excel in today’s society.
We are the nation’s largest network of young volunteers. Fraternity and sorority members are committed to improving the world in which we live. We provide 10 million hours of volunteer service a year. We mentor at-risk students, raise funds for medical research, offer aid at senior citizen facilities, build homes for the poor, and collect food for the homeless. Our emphasis on service learning prepares members for a lifetime of community involvement.
We are the largest, most visible, and most active values-based organizations on college campuses. We all share a common code of friendship, service, and the pursuit of excellence. Every fraternity and sorority is guided by founding principles and values that serve as a moral beacon for its members. We use educational programming to help members incorporate these principles and values into their daily lives. Our emphasis on values helps college students form the moral foundation for their future actions.
We are the nation’s largest not-for-profit student landlord. Our housing is a classic American melting pot where members from different cultures, religions, and experiences live and work together on a daily basis. We own and manage $3 billion in student housing at no cost to the American taxpayers. We house 250,000 students a year in 8,000 facilities with a replacement cost and capacity that universities cannot afford to bear. Our houses operate almost exclusively on student rents and we do not have the ability to raise tax-deductible funding for important life-safety capital improvements. Our members have a better understanding and appreciation of the diverse cultures, workplaces, and communities that await them after graduation.
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