Wabash College - Fraternities

Fraternities

The Greek system has a unique role at Wabash. The first fraternity appeared at Wabash in 1846 and has been on campus continuously since. It was quickly followed by others. Many of the traditions of the college were begun and are maintained by the fraternities, both individually and collectively. On average, 50-60% of students belong to one of the campus's nine national fraternities. Unlike most other colleges and universities, Wabash fraternity members — including pledges — live in the fraternity houses by default. While most Wabash fraternities allow juniors and seniors to live outside the house, the majority of Greek students live in their respective house all four years. This has led to the odd circumstance of a college with fewer than 1,000 students being dotted with Greek houses of a size appropriate to campuses ten times Wabash's size. The fraternity chapters range in size from approximately 40 to 70 members each.

The college and the fraternity system have created a somewhat symbiotic relationship that differs from most other colleges and universities. The college believes that the system largely accomplishes the task of quickly involving new students in the life of the college while also providing leadership opportunities for a larger number of students. All fraternity houses on campus, except one, are owned by the college. In 2009 the college and the fraternity's alumni associations completed a ten year project of rebuilding or renovating the chapter houses. At the same time, the college realized that fraternity life is not right for each student. Therefore the re-building project also included the renovation of most of the dormitories on campus.