Fraternity and Sorority Life

After The Northern Light interviewed many sorority and fraternity presidents, there were some big questions left unanswered regarding fraternity and sorority life at UAA. 

The Northern Light interviewed Student Organization Services’ student organization coordinator Shelby Kreigh for more information on official campus policies regarding fraternity and sorority life — or FSL — housing, the Living Learning Community, and policies regarding LGBTQ+ students interested in joining.

Kreigh has worked with a multitude of other campuses, as well as for an international and national organization that oversaw a variety of chapters. She has traveled to universities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois and across the Midwest offering chapter support. She is a former member of a sorority in Idaho that had more than 100 sisters. 

Kreigh shared the Student Organizations Handbook, which explains the complex hierarchy of FSL systems. 

Fraternities across the country report to the Interfraternity Council, the governing body on campus that reports to the university, and the North American Interfraternity Conference, known as NIC. 

Sororities report to the Panhellenic Council, which reports to the university and the National Panhellenic Conference — known as the NPC. Each fraternity or sorority on a respective campus is just one chapter, or one section, of a national or international fraternity or sorority. FSL also reports to international organizations who help fund FSL, who in turn also report to NIC and NPC.

Kreigh said some branches of FSL are not allowed to have their own chapter house because of international or national affiliation. Occasionally, there is a third party that their international or national organization can outsource to.

The Board of Regents oversees each University of Alaska campus and oversees the Student Affairs Policy of Fraternity and Sorority Life. 

Kreigh elaborated on the regents' policy regarding FSL. 

“It essentially says we’re allowed to have fraternities and sororities and it’s up to each individual campus how they want to govern those. And that includes things like housing, advisors, etc,” she said. 

She explained the only policy for UAA regarding housing is that it has to be approved by the chancellor. 

UAA plans to introduce the Living Learning Community, which would provide FSL with their own MAC apartments. 

Kreigh is working with the Department of Residence Life to provide designated MAC apartments specific to fraternities and sororities as a chapter house. Nothing is solidified yet, but paperwork is being processed to potentially introduce a pilot program in the fall semester, according to Kreigh. 

The Living Learning Community could be beneficial to Resident Assistants, or RA’s. According to Kreigh, RA’s are required to host social or educational events every semester. Since many FSL members already live on campus, Residence Coordinators suggested the idea of putting them together in the same MAC to create tailored events for the chapters.

Finally, Kreigh said no organizations across campus would discriminate against students interested in FSL who identify as homosexual, transgender, nonbinary or anyone falling under the LGBTQ+ spectrum. 

Kreigh said house placement regarding transgender students is determined by the international or national organizations individually. Each organization has different rules; however, the majority do not discriminate. Largely, if a student’s identity aligns with the FSL organization, they are accepted. However, some only accept students based on their legal sex — male or female — to determine their membership criteria.

“Fraternities and sororities do federally have protection to be single-sex organizations, so that makes it even more complicated,” Kreigh said.

Kreigh said that locally, UAA chapters are more inclusive due to their size. “I think that they’re small enough that they just want people to join, so it’s less about the gender identity for our local organizations.”

Kreigh wanted to express the distinction between Fraternity and Sorority Life and Greek life. Although FSL is socially referred to as Greek life, the media often portrays the title negatively. 

She said the term “Greek life” can also be misleading since — aside from the letters naming the organizations — there is nothing Greek about them. 

At UAA, Kreigh said the stereotypes are acknowledged but also challenged. “I do truly believe that at UAA things are different. It is a much more inclusive community than what I’ve seen,” she said.