Greek life at UIC

About 700 students each semester are involved in Fraternity & Sorority Life at UIC. The campus has 30 active Greek chapters. (Photo: Geraldine Teotico)

When Emily Dorgan first transferred to UIC, she was looking for a team.     

“I was always part of one in high school, so I was longing for that same feel, that same atmosphere,” she said.

Dorgan found it when she joined Chi Sigma Omega, a sorority on campus.

“We’re girls from all different backgrounds, interests, cultures, and we all share the same bond,” said Dorgan, who graduated in December.

Three pillars — leadership, confidence and service — characterize their sisterhood, but many of Fraternity & Sorority Life organizations at UIC have similar core values: do good, give back, be involved and get ahead academically.

“Greek organizations absolutely give students an opportunity to socialize,” said Bertram Dugan, fraternity and sorority life advisor for the Center for Student Involvement. “Chapters support their students’ academic pursuits and professional developments. Our chapters are doing well here — that’s where our students excel.”

Fraternity & Sorority Life at UIC is relatively young compared to other institutions; the university has 30 active chapters. An average of 700 students are involved in Greek life each semester.

Chapters also manage themselves through five Greek councils — the Collegiate Panhellenic, Interfraternity, National Pan-Hellenic, Greeks of the Pan-Asian American and Latino Greek councils — and the Center for Student Involvement supports them with help for recruitment, special events, academics and professional development.

Photo: Geraldine Teotico

“We’re building a stronger community as a whole,” said Joy Vergara, executive director of the Center for Student Involvement. “We want chapters to have a good time on campus, and we want our members to be known.”

UIC News will spotlight and share their stories over the course of the semester.

“There’s a vibrancy that the campus needs to hear about,” Vergara said.

Greek life at UIC also tackles negative stereotypes, added Andrew Sandiego, a senior in engineering and a former president of Theta Lambda Beta. He’s also been a historian, philanthropy chair and vice president for his group, but when he first came to college he thought, “‘There’s no way I’m doing a fraternity,’” he said. “Then I started learning what kind of fraternity [Theta Lambda Beta] was — it’s a culturally based fraternity — and I really bought into it. There’s this whole side of it that you don’t really know unless you’re a part of it.’”

Fraternity life introduced Sandiego to study partners, a passion for public service and a place to stay near campus when study sessions ran late.

“There’s a lot of personal growth, and I feel like I got the most out of college because of it,” Sandiego said. “It’s a world of a difference.”

Now that she’s an alumna of the university, Dorgan said her ties with her sisters and her sorority’s values will remain strong.

“This sorority is with me for life,” she said.

For more information about recruitment events and other Greek life opportunities, follow @UICGreek on Twitter or Instagram.