Greek Life started at the University of Illinois in 1872 with the, only 5 years after the founding of the University. Meaning it outdates The Alma Mater by 57 years, and Chief Illiniwek by 54. Thought of as the “Fraternity Capital of the World” back in the 1920’s when half of the student body was a member of a Fraternity or Sorority. The identity of the University of Illinois is tightly interwoven with that of the Greek Life on its campus. Today it encompasses 91 Fraternities and Sororities, including 27 Cultural Organizations. Recently, events surrounding Greek Life as a national organization have called into question the place of chapters on college campuses. In the past, the University of Illinois has exercised its authority to revoke the charters of problem chapters. Over time it is hard to say how often these measures have been required, but it does occur as a way for the University of Illinois to ensure all chapters are upholding the standards set by the University's department of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. The established values include Friendship, Leadership, Scholarship, Service, Social Advancement, and Diversity.
The main sources of information I used when creating this website were the University of Illinois Student Life and Culture Archive, the Daily Illini, and the UIUC Fraternity and Soririty Affairs website. When I first entered the Student Life and Culture Archive I was blown away by all of the books and resources they had on every Greek House on Campus. I was told that most of it is donated to the University by the Houses as a way for them to preserve their history, and the University recognizes that the Greek System is deeply ingrained in the history of the University and sees the need to preserve the history of the organizations as its own. There are tons of documents about each individual house, but for information about the system as a whole on campus, and public opinion surrounding the issues facing Greek Life I had to turn to the internet. The Daily Illini is a resource I relied heavily on to gather firsthand information and the varying opinions about events on campus. It also informed me about outside perspectives on the issues that are central to the debate about Fraternity and Sorority involvement on campuses.