Community and connection.
Those two things are what makes living in Greek life special at the University of Idaho. According to Ethan Moore, a senior who is a part of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, when he was touring the school before becoming a student here, he saw the opportunity and sense of belonging that came with Greek life.
“I saw how tight-knit it is, and I decided I wanted to be part of that,” Moore said.
For Moore, the best part about being in a fraternity is that there’s never a dull moment. Moore says that there is always someone doing something and that the spontaneous fun makes the experience great. But with that he also had to learn time management and then organizational skills.
“Prepare to have good time management,” Moore said, “I think it’s important to have a balance between Greek life and the rest of school and to set priorities early on.”
Natalie Wargi, a senior in Alpha Gamma Delta, says that the best part of being in a sorority is that there are always people there. Growing up in a family of six, Wargi says she is used to being around people and having to share a space.
“Usually somebody is everywhere,” Wargi said, “You can always go visit and talk to people.”
Despite being from a large family, Wargi says that she was very shy and reserved as a kid, and that she has learnt a lot more about socializing from being in a sorority.
“Over the course of being in a sorority, surrounded by people, I got better about that and improved significantly. And of course, I want to work more on it, but it’s helped me actually be more aware,” Wargi said.
Wargi encouraged students who are thinking about joining Greek housing to prepare that for the fact that all of the houses have their differences. Her advice was to not get stuck on one idea of where you want to live but be open minded during the entire process.
“You don’t know which place you’ll end up, and if you try to go in wanting to live in one spot, in one spot only, you kind of lose the opportunity to like meet and enjoy your experiences where you’ll actually find it,” Wargi said.
There are 28 Greek housing options at the University of Idaho, with 10 Panhellenic sororities and 18 IFC fraternities. While each Greek house has different designs, most of them typically include living quarters for members, a common area that can be used for both academic and social activities, dining facilities with meals provided and study spaces.
The 18 fraternities are Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Kappa Lambda, Alpha Sigma Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Sigma Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), Phi Kappa Tau, Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Theta Chi.
The options for the 10 sororities are Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi.
The price to live in Greek housing depends on the house, but the average costs per semester for sororities can range from $3,900 to $5,300 while the average range for fraternities range from $2,800 to $4,900.
There are two key ways to join Greek life, primary recruitment or continuous open bidding. Primary recruitment happens each fall before the new semester begins. Students will live on campus for around a week and they get to visit the houses. The decision of what Greek house you are put into is a mix of them picking you and you picking them. While continuous open bidding is for if you miss formal recruitment, several chapters will welcome new members throughout the semester so students can find the right house for them.
Reagan Jones can be reached at [email protected].