Greek life comes alive at UC Merced

If your image of fraternities and sororities involves toga parties and beer can-littered floors, then UC Merced might change that.

The school, which kicked off its first official Greek Week on Thursday, is home to four fraternities and three sororities. Many of the members said their main reason for joining is charity and community.

Jason Gingrich, 19, is a member of Kappa Sigma. He said he was hesitant at first to join because of the stereotypes of fraternity members. However, because UC Merced is so new, there's no precedent set for the Greek system, which appealed to him.

"This has allowed us to define what we wanted our pledges to be," Gingrich said. "I want them to be known as the gentlemen on the campus."

As far as parties go, Gingrich said they're part of being a college student, but his fraternity doesn't revolve around that.

Out of 3,414 students, 225 belong to fraternities and sororities -- 7 percent of students. There are no official fraternity and sorority houses, but members can reserve resident hall suites for group members.

The numbers of pledges are expected to grow this month.

Already, 65 freshmen have signed up for the Greek outreach events, said Heather Doshay, assistant director of student life.

A lot of the students join fraternities and sororities because they function as a one-stop shop for all their campus activities, Doshay said.

Students seeking community service opportunities, leadership training or a chance to play intramural sports can do all of them by joining one of the seven national organizations.

Freshmen are only allowed to join in their second semester at UC Merced, she said. All UCs are different.

"We make scholarship a priority," Doshay said.

On such a small campus, it might seem as if such a social organization is unnecessary, but Delta Delta Delta member Megan Chapdelaine said it can still be hard to make friends at a small school.

"I have other friends," she said, "but these girls -- they are my family."

Reporter Jamie Oppenheim can be reached at (209) 385-2404 or joppenheim@mercedsun-star.com.