List of College of Wooster fraternities and sororities
Greek letter organizations have had a long history at the College of Wooster, dating to 1871, five years after the founding of the school.
Formed originally as dining groups that shared the cost and responsibility of meals, beginning in 1870 they began to coalesce into a system of nearly a dozen fraternities and sororities by the turn of the century.
During this era, sponsorship by prominent local alumni or professors was a common spark to the establishment of new undergraduate chapters.
But about the time Wooster was established a juncture had been reached where a burst of anti-secret society fervor[6] had trimmed somewhat what until then had been full-throated support of such civic groups at both the adult[7] and collegiate level.
Following the trend at other institutions, and with administrative approval, several of the fraternities at Wooster had bought property and embarked on building their first houses within a decade of formation.
"[10] A crisis for the Wooster Greeks occurred in 1893, where a "large proportion" of the student body left the school, never to return, over a fractious conflict where the faculty wished to deemphasize athletics.
[9] As early as 1899 faculty and administration began to object to fraternities as "excuses for smoking, drinking, and dancing."
Severance was virulently anti-Greek, and asserted he "would give no more to Wooster while fraternities remained because he was convinced that they [were] inimical to the best interests of the college."
"—Thus in spite of the closure of all campus Greek chapters, no donation from Severance for Wooster's capital campaign was ever received.
[9][2][13] College yearbooks, called the Wooster Index, now available online, printed multiple pages for each Greek organization from the 1870s through 1914.
It would be decades before Greek affiliations were once again noted in these books, although many of the now-local chapters survived through this period, continuing to function as fraternities and sororities of sorts, only without letters.
Upon moving into Kenarden Lodge in 1918, the groups began to call themselves by numbers, usually in Roman numeral fashion.
While the fraternal impetus continued into the modern era, student organizers experienced occasional waves of suppression bracketed by other times of a more liberal, hands-off approach.
During other times Greek-related information was suppressed, but apparently the de facto Greek nature of the various Sections remained widely known.
Phi Sigma Alpha formed in 1916 as the Sixth (VI) Section, but it is unclear whether it had a previous affiliation.
Local Pi Kappa is the first direct descendant of this group, at one point called Eighth (VIII) Section, but more commonly a Club.
Finally, six Pi Kappa pledges broke away in 1983 to form Alpha Gamma Phi sorority.
"[2] In 1991, two Wooster chapters were cited for hazing, in decisions that were later reversed by the Judicial Board due to lack of evidence, but heightened scrutiny remained, and some closures were forced.
[2][20] A 1991 Trustees statement reaffirmed the ban on national groups, but offered support for the clubs and sections, officially allowing them to refer to themselves with Greek letters.
The clubs and sections terminology resulted in the adjustment from national affiliation; these groups now use the terms 'fraternity' and 'sorority' interchangeably, as well as Greek letters.
[22] Noted by date of founding, chapters include: (NIC) indicates members of the North American Interfraternity Conference.
Wooster's first honor societies were formed in the early 1920s when in quick succession a chapter of Delta Sigma Rho was placed at the school to recognize top students in debate, followed by the Spanish language and culture honorary, Sigma Delta Pi.
Unlike the general fraternities, an honor society requires a faculty sponsor; those that go dormant are easily re-established with the support of an engaged advisor.
