The University has hosted a range of Greek organizations throughout its history, although only four remain: Eclectic, Psi Upsilon (Psi U), Alpha Delta Phi (ADPhi), and Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE). The University has required all Greek societies to be co-ed since 2014, although DKE remains a fraternity. Rho Epsilon was the only sorority before it disaffiliated from Greek life in 2022. This raises the eternal question yet again: What do women think about frats?

Historian Kirsten Delegard’s thesis notes, which live in Olin Memorial Library Special Collections & Archives, attempt to answer this question. Her thesis looks at approximately 900 anonymous responses to a survey from female graduates between 1970 to 1990. A study of these documents reveals how female students’ views on fraternities on campus have changed at the University over the years.

The survey asked respondents to mark the influence they believed fraternities had on campus, picking an answer from five options: “small role,” “medium role,” “large role,” “small role in social life but large role in residential life,” and “large role in social life but small role in residential life.” Women who graduated in the ’70s were equally split between viewing fraternities’ role on campus as small and as medium to large.

Greek organizations on campus in the present day do not raise as many eyebrows, partly because they are now co-ed and do not dominate the cultural scene. However, views on fraternities were much more divided in the ’70s. A portion of responses were very discontented with fraternities, calling them “sexist, regressive organizations promoting irresponsible behavior.” The terms “meat market,” “dinosaurs,” and exclusive “male bonding” came up time and time again.

Emphasizing the importance of providing opportunities for female students to bond, about a dozen responses called for the University to instate sororities. Respondents also noted that fraternities come with access to more convenient and safe housing, and that women are excluded from this privilege. According to some responses, fraternities also reinforced racial exclusion.

“Of all the social institutions on campus, frat houses are the only places I can think of that excluded women and/or denigrated them,” a survey respondent said.

On the other hand, a significant number of survey respondents claimed that fraternities didn’t alter their college experience in any major way. Similarly, many respondents claimed that fraternities were not a notable social feature of the majority of their college experience, except for their first year.

“Except for providing nostalgia for aging alumnae, the importance of the fraternities seemed [in the] past,” a survey respondent said.

Although ADPhi became co-ed in 1973, not all responses supported requiring other Greek organizations to be co-ed.

“I couldn’t understand why they should be made co-ed because I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to live in one of them,” a survey respondent said.

Of course, not all responses viewed frats with such distaste. A notable defense to fraternities in the ’70s was this gem:

“It didn’t bother me because I was dating a frat man,” a survey respondent said.

Nonetheless, respondents noted that Greek organizations hosted eating clubs, such as ADPhi’s still-existent Star & Crescent and a restaurant run by Delta Tau. Other than these, McConaughey Hall was the only dining option. The role of dining in Greek organizations imbued them with additional social value. Respondents also felt the lack of a student center, which many said the administration should have created instead of letting individual organizations manage it. Frats, in a sense, filled the void socially.

“[A] student center would have helped balance the power of the frats,” one respondent said.

Respondents also noted that frats would “bus in women” from other colleges in the area to increase the party scene. Even in 2023, many University students may attribute party planning to be the primary characteristic of Greek organizations on campus, or at least the characteristic for which they are best known.

Many of the respondents considered ADPhi and Delta Tau to be the model fraternities. ADPhi was considered the more genuinely co-ed society as an “interest fraternity,” and is one of the better known Greek organizations on campus today. Respondents also regarded Delta Tau well due to its inclusive eating clubs.

An infamous counterpart to ADPhi and Delta Tau was Chi Psi. On the other side of frat culture, many women in the ’70s had negative experiences with Chi Psi, including references to incidents of sexual harassment. An Argus article from 2009 by then Contributing Writer Justin Pottle recalls Chi Psi’s history.

“Chi Psi would flourish throughout the first half of the century before its long road to nothingness began in 1978,” Pottle wrote in “The Lost Brotherhood: the Tragic History of Chi Psi at Wesleyan.”

The end of the ’70s marked a change to Greek organizations at Wesleyan.

“By 1979, two of Wesleyan’s six fraternities had voluntarily included women in their membership,” John Hirschauer wrote in a 2021 article in The Center Square Connecticut.

However, responses from women in the ’80s clarify that there was a period where certain fraternities went co-ed, but then reverted back to only allowing male participants. It wasn’t until 2014 that Wesleyan’s administration made it a requirement for all fraternities to become co-ed by 2017.

Since the survey was conducted, Greek life has changed in some ways and less so in others. Cece Hawley ’24 described the experience of joining a Greek organization on campus.

“I rushed one of Wesleyan’s co-ed fraternities on campus, Psi Upsilon, as a freshman in my spring semester (2021),” Hawley said. “Personally, it has heavily influenced my Wesleyan experience in many ways. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and grow closer with so many diverse, interesting, smart, and fun-loving people.”

Greek organizations often have more space than senior houses or dorms, allowing them to host campus-wide events, such as annual Halloween parties.

“In addition, with Psi U’s own internal speaker system, there are less constraints on the timing of an event or party since we do not go through Sound Co-Op,” Hawley said. “It’s important to note that many members of fraternities are very active on campus whether it be through Fray Magazine, athletics, [the] film department, etc.”

It seems that while frat culture is still alive at Wesleyan, it has significantly shifted.

“It was a reflection of the times,” another survey response said.

Times have changed. So have frats, apparently for the better. Greek organizations on campus now are in far better shape than what the 1994 film based on Wesleyan,“Politically Correct University (PCU)” predicted they would become: extinct.  In the years to come we might see a new PCU, made by future Wesleyan students who give our dear Greek organizations a more accurate portrayal. 
Janhavi Munde can be reached at jmunde@wesleyan.edu.