By Rachel Zabinski

Interested in becoming more involved here at the University? It is not a secret how much extra-curricular activities add to students’ college experience and resume. The University offers a variety of ways to get involved. Entertainment Unlimited takes students on trips to see New York’s hottest Broadway shows or to see a Yankee game. Join Hofstra Concerts and help book some of the best musicians in the country to play, on campus. Become involved with the radio station WHRU 88.7, and be a part of the first college station to go onto satellite radio. With this enormous variety of clubs and organizations to participate in, what other ways can students get involved?

In addition to the many clubs on campus, the fraternities and sororities offer a lot to college students. They provide great opportunities for people interested in broadening their own horizons and becoming more involved on campus. Fraternities and sororities provide community service and friendship for all their members. The friends made through their organizations can truly be considered brothers or sisters. With the University’s student body population escalating, so are the number of sororities and fraternities. The University has four new sororities and one new fraternity that will add a variety of life to our campus. The addition of these five new organizations is a milestone for the University. They are all high profile organizations that bring diversity and freshness to our Greek Life.

“Delta Gamma is a nationally recognized sorority,” Dennis Camacho, the assistant director of student activities, said.

This sorority was a local sorority known as KDA, and it was recently voted to go national and matched with Delta Gamma. Delta Gamma started in 1873 in Oxford, Miss. Delta Gamma offers its sisters rich heritage, continuity based on principles of personal integrity, personal responsibility and intellectual honesty. The KDA sisters have been a big part of the University community, and now that they have joined the national Delta Gamma, they will be able to contribute even more.

Delta Chi is a brand new fraternity on campus.

“We had a group of students here that have been trying to start a fraternity at Hofstra. They mailed in to national fraternities and teamed up with Delta Chi,” Camacho said.

Delta Chi was founded in 1929 at the Cornell Law School in Ithaca, N.Y. There are currently 121 chapters between the United States and Canada of the Delta Chi fraternity. Delta Chi also has their own education foundation in which they give out scholarships and advisement to their brothers. Fraternities and sororities also liven up campuses everywhere, because the parties they have provide opportunities for the student body to mingle and meet each other.

Alpha Kappa Alpha is a sorority that has been chartered at the University before.

“Alpha Kappa Alpha was a well known sorority in the 1970s. It has recently been reactivated in 2003 and is now here at Hofstra in the spring of 2005,” Camacho said.

Alpha Kappa Alpha started in 1908 and was the first Greek letter organization founded by black women. This sorority truly is revolutionary. The goals of this organization are to break down international, racial, physical and social barriers and to help individuals prosper. They focus on providing opportunities for strong and intelligent black women everywhere.

Sigma Iota Alpha is a sorority that had been deactivated in 2003 and is now being reactivated in 2005. This is another national sorority. Sigma Iota Alpha is a Latina based sorority. Sigma Iota Alpha started in the mid-1980s in four SUNY schools. Their purpose is to meet needs, help the community, unite all women and uphold goals. This national organization will bring more attention to the Latina population on the University campus.

Zeta Phi Beta is a brand new African-American based sorority. Zeta Phi Beta started at Howard University in Washington D.C. it is the first Greek Letter organization to spread to Africa, which occurred in 1948. Zeta Phi Beta will bring a new way for African-American women at the University to express themselves. Zeta Phi Beta will bring a new cultural group here as well.

“The attention that these organizations will bring to the University is huge. We have two brand new organizations; we have taken three local sororities and made them national. Before this semester we only had one national organization. They are all high profile organizations,” Camacho said.

Bringing in these high profile sororities and fraternities will bring more attention to the University. National sororities provide scholarship opportunities for their sisters. These new and important organizations offer a new way of expressing and representing the diverse culture the University has to offer. These new sororities and fraternities may attract a whole new and different group of people to come here. Our student body may now become more diverse because of these new sororities and fraternities.

University students’ interest in Greek life is expanding, especially with Pan-Hellenic Council (Panhel) having 170 new girls during the past four years. Prior to the addition of these groups there were 10 fraternities and 14 sororities. The University now has almost 30 Greek letter organizations.

Rushes are available to all undergraduate students who have completed at least 12 credits. Rush will occur in the next few weeks, to find out when a particular group is holding Rushes check the posters hanging in the student center. If you are interested in joining one of the University’s new organizations, or would like to know more information, please visit or call the office of Student Activities in room 260 on the second floor of the Student Center. Anyone can call (516) 463-6090 to speak with someone from the Student Activities Office.