Greek Task Force works hard
for higher membership

It’s been two years since a task force of interested alumni was formed to support the Greek system at UM.

Now, even with the number of new members bolstered and increasingly successful recruitment methods in place, these alums meet from their homes around the country in a weekly conference call to discuss ways to help UM’s Greek community.

Greek Life Adviser Emily Yaksitch said the task force is made up of alumni from active chapter houses at UM, as well as those from houses that have been inactive on campus for years.

“It’s nice because there’s still that fabric,” she said. “They want it to stick around whether it’s their house or Greeks at large.”

The group doesn’t have any pre-stated goals or objectives, Yaksitch said, but they are instrumental in fundraising and organizing statewide recruiting efforts that reach out to graduating high school students.

Today there are nine active chapter houses in the UM Greek system — five fraternities and four sororities.

Yaksitch said that at one time as many as 25 active chapters operated at UM.

Allison Squires, president of the Alpha Phi sorority, said they had 15 new members enroll this year — a large increase from the last several.

“This year is a turning point for the Greek system,” she said. “The increased membership is a good sign that we will be making more of an impact on campus in the future.”

There currently are now 282 members of the Greek system — only about 2 percent of the student body — but an increase from recent years.

Yaksitch said the revived interest comes from a more unified recruiting effort and better communication among alumni, current Greeks and administration at UM.

“Greek life is a way of getting involved on campus, not just involved in the Greek community,” she said.

This year alone, the Greek community has experienced a 43 percent increase in membership, Yaksitch said.

“It doubled some chapters’ sizes,” she said.

Spring recruitment begins in early February 2007.