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

themselves and in official documents. 37 The term later gained acceptance across thecountry and by 1890, most accounts of female Greek organizations used the word"sorority." 38 Even today, certain organizations insistent on preserving their historycontinue to refer to their organization as a "women's fraternity." 39In the post- Civil War era, another large change occurred within Greek life, thecreation of fraternity houses. Many former fraternity men, who prospered in the wake ofthe Civil War, became philanthropic, and sought to feed and shelter their undergraduatebrothers. Fraternities became known as houses, and often congregated along stripsknown as "fraternity row". 40College presidents realized that they could capitalize on thefraternity houses to preserve the interest of the college alumni. The alumni returned tocampus for football games, dances and special meetings, and lodged in the fraternityhouses during visits. 41 These return visits often provided Greek alumni the opportunity toreminisce on the halcyon days in University, and as a result, they gave greater sums totheir alma maters than their non-Greek counterparts. 42Increased support from the Greekalumni continued well into the 20 th century. The president of NYU, in 1958, noted that"ninety percent of his school's alumni gifts came from the six percent of the graduateswho affiliated with fraternities." 43Greek philanthropy led to increased acceptance fromthe colleges.At the close of the 19 th century, other diverse groups appeared on collegecampuses. Black, Jewish, Asian and Roman Catholic students received admittance into37 Marianne Rachel. Sanua, Sanua,: Jewish College Fraternities in the United States, 1895-1945 (Detroit:Wayne State University Press, 2003), 35.38 Turk, 16539 Turk, 16540 Sanua, 3641 Sanua, 3742 Sanua, 3743 Sanua, 3712