The crusade of the Quad: The rise and fall of fraternity life at Drury
Campus News, Front Page, News April 26, 2019, Comments OffUpperclassmen at Drury will remember a time when there was always something to do on a Friday night: when one could follow the swaths of people migrating through College Park toward the flashing lights and booming bass.
Now, this occurrence is rare and people comment to each other that ‘the Quad is dead.’ Seniors reminisce and freshmen hear stories of a time when the Quad was the place to be every weekend.
What changed? Why are fraternities on the decline, and what happened to the Quad?
The Mirror interviewed brothers of Sigma Nu, Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Pi and Kappa Alpha to get their opinions on the issue.
The origins of the Quad
To better understand how Greek life has changed, one must first understand its history.
Drury’s archivist, Bill Garvin, gave some background on fraternities: “The way this worked across the country is you had local fraternities that were established, and then they were absorbed by larger national organizations. Kappa Alpha was originally called Kappa Tau, which was a campus fraternity established in 1900, and then they joined Kappa Alpha in 1907.”
As local fraternities merged into national organizations, guidelines were put in place. By nationalizing, it was possible to take advantage of networking opportunities presented by Greek life across the country. However, fraternities soon became less about career networking and more about social networking.
Drury’s Fraternity Quad first went under construction in the late 1990s, according to Garvin. In 2001, many of Drury’s fraternities abandoned their frat houses to make their home in the Quad.
Concern over liability began in 2008 when an 18-year-old student spent several weeks in the intensive care unit due to severe alcohol poisoning. At this off-campus fraternity-sponsored party, 16 minors were charged for possession of alcohol. As a result, the fraternities involved were temporarily suspended.
However, the party in question was forced to be held off-campus due to what some considered to be an excessive security crackdown.
According to one fraternity member, who asked to remain anonymous, balance is key to make events both fun and safe.
“As a result [of excessive security], people started getting afraid, and they started doing something that, in my opinion, is much worse: they started going off campus. And the actual dangers such as sexual assault and alcohol poisoning can’t be dealt with because they are outside of Drury’s jurisdiction,” said this fraternity member.
THEN: The height of the Quad
Kappa Alpha member Nick Andrews has been a member since his freshman year in fall 2015. Since then, he has served in a number of roles in the chapter, including chapter president, rush chair and ritualist.
“I have definitely seen a shift in Greek life over the past four years. When I look back to my freshman year, there were events happening in the Fraternity Quad nearly every weekend,” said Andrews.
“This began to change starting in the spring of my sophomore year (2017) and has only proceeded to get worse. I can think back and remember the final party of the spring semester of my freshman year was the largest event I can recall. There were so many people wanting to attend that we decided to have a massive party outside, rather than individual parties inside (which would have resulted in a lower number of guests allowed). There were upwards of 400 people there that night, and the focus of the staff and officials there was student safety, not nitpicking every rule and trying to make life easier. Now, there might be one event per month, and attendance is significantly lower,” he continued.
For some students, the death of the Quad is a hard hit to Drury’s Greek life. After all, fraternities are social institutions. As activities in the Quad have declined, so have fraternity enrollment numbers. While this could spell trouble for smaller chapters, Lambda Chi Alpha member Mitchell Greer thinks it is a push in the right direction.
Greer said, “I don’t think that there has been much of a change to Greek life, but I think that this is what is causing our membership problem. I personally do not remember a time when the Quad was ‘alive’ in the sense that our seniors remember it. From the stories that I have heard, the parties seemed like they could have been ‘fun’ if you enjoyed that kind of environment but were also very dangerous and hard to manage.”
NOW: What killed the Quad?
Overall, fraternity life at Drury is on the decline. As the student body has become disinterested or dissuaded from participating in activities on the Quad, fraternities have felt a hit in their recruitment numbers.
There is speculation as to what has caused this decline, and everyone has their own theory.
Drury’s Kappa Alpha chapter is the only fraternity that has not been affected by this year’s diminished numbers. In fact, they have seen an increase in enrollment.
Andrews explained, “Kappa Alpha was the exception rather than the rule this year. We got our largest pledge class since 2014; however, numbers across all four chapters were lower this year than in years past and have been declining steadily for around a decade. And last year was our lowest membership in a long, long time.”
Sigma Nu member Ryan Ewing agreed with Andrews.
“I firmly believe that Drury University’s fraternal Greek life is on the decline, as I have personally seen the reported percentages in the student body’s activity with Greek life on campus fall a little more every year. All fraternity chapters on campus have felt this, with overall lower recruitment numbers this year,” Ewing stated.
Ewing believes that administrative guidelines contribute to the fraternities’ decline.
“Greek life has seen a noticeable downshift in the social event scene starting my sophomore year. Drury University began implementing stricter enforcement of FIPG, NIC and university social guidelines and policies upon the campus in the name of safety. Drury’s aggressive administration of these policies, arguably more within Greek life than other organizations, eventually caused the current climate we see around the Quad,” Ewing speculated.
There is a consensus among Drury’s fraternities that the administration has changed its approach to Greek life. Whether this is good or bad is still up for debate. Some Greek members think that the university now views Greek life as a liability.
“From my perspective, somewhere along the way, the mindset and attitude of those in charge shifted. The attitude used to be one of ‘how can we keep students safest?’ Whereas now it seems to be more along the lines of ‘how can we make sure that something doesn’t happen that the university could be liable for?’” Andrews said.
The future of the Quad
Can the Quad be revived, or has it run its course? Some members think that the Quad is alive, just in a different way.
“When it is talked about, ‘killing the Quad,’ that is a very subjective statement. It depends on whether you believe the Quad is alive when we are throwing wild and potentially dangerous parties, or when we have super tight brotherhood bonds and actually get along with the other chapters. I personally believe that having a tight brotherhood bond and being friendly to our fellow Greek members is far more important than throwing wild parties,” Greer added. “I don’t think that we are going to progress as a community if we don’t embrace what is going to come, whether we like it or not.”
Some believe that student engagement with fraternities is declining because Drury has other options for students. Drury has a student club or group for almost any interest or hobby.
Ewing stated, “Drury’s decline in fraternal Greek life can also be found in the fact that there are simply many more organizational choices for students to partake in these days, rather than being Greek or not. These other organizations may offer a fun environment for the students, without the dues and without the far stricter administration breathing down their neck like in fraternal Greek life. Do I need to sell it further?”
Maybe Drury has outgrown the Quad. Maybe fraternities are moving to a different type of social organization, one that prioritizes brotherhood rather than throwing ragers. A multitude of factors are at play, but one thing is for certain: fraternities are on the decline at Drury University. This could change in upcoming years, but as of now, do not expect a resurrection of the Quad. Rest in peace.
Written by Ciera DuBan and Delilah Gadd.
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