Rebecca Shapiro Thesis (11 May 2011).pdf - Brandeis Institutional ...

Past: The History of Jewish Greek LifeIn order to understand fully the significance of the Jewish Greek system, it isimportant to understand the history of Greek life as it developed along religious, ethnic,geographical and gender lines. This section includes a history of how this system cameto be known as Greek life, and how it developed and gained influence. Greek lifedeveloped in three periods of growth. The first wave occurred between 1824-1874 andcomprised approximately a fifth of all national organizations established. 1Theorganizations formed during this time were ‘traditional’ organizations in which 94% ofmembers were white, male and Protestant. During the second wave, which occurredbetween 1885-1929, approximately a third of organizations established. As opposed tothe traditional fraternities that formed during the first wave, the sororities and fraternitiesthat formed during the second wave were more diverse, and catered to AfricanAmericans, Jews, Women and Nonsectarian groups, seeking to find their place in therestrictive yet powerful Greek system. 2The third wave brought more diversity into theGreek system. This period occurred from born in 1975, grew as a response to the sociallyprogressive values of its time-period. This wave of growth lasted until 1999, howevergrowth continued through 2005 and is responsible for over a third of all nationalorganizations. The Latino/Latina and Asian organizations formed during this wavecomprised 50 percent of all new organizations during this third wave. 3This developmentoccurred for the Latino/Latina community as the development of Latino/Latina Greek1 Gregory S. Parks, Brothers and Sisters: Diversity in College Fraternities and Sororities, ed. Craig L.Torbenson (Madison: Farleigh Dickinson University Press, 2009), pg. 25.2 Parks, 253 Parks, 253