SDSU’s sorority and fraternity numbers are down this semester, and sorority numbers in general have been significantly down since 2020.
Greek Life enrollment numbers have decreased by 15% at South Dakota State University since the last spring semester high.
Greek life numbers indicate 253 men are enrolled in fraternities this semester, down from 317 last spring. The number of women enrolled in sororities is 151, down from 178 the previous spring.
“I feel like while maybe last semester, we did potentially have more, this semester has been extremely popular,” Greek Life coordinator, Alexis Truskolawski said. “We have such a strong class right now that in four years from now, it’ll be a big one that they’re losing when they graduate, these are just natural trends, so I’m not concerned, I think we’re on the right track.”
The sorority number this fall is down 174 women from the spring of 2020, a 53% drop. On the other hand, fraternity numbers have been more stable. For instance, in 2020, there were 320, 302 in 2021, 313 in 2022, 321 in 2023, and 317 in 2024.
There are eight fraternities and three sororities at SDSU this semester.
Truskolawski said that even with that decrease, a few chapters have reached quota, after fall recruitment, meaning they have reached the highest number of bids possible. Sororities have also seen the highest retention rate for recruitment that they have seen since 2015.
Some sources involved with campus Geek Life have agreed that new students can be hesitant to join a chapter when they get to campus because of the negative reputation they have from media attention. Some students are affected by the nationwide stigma that surrounds Greek Life and are concerned about topics like hazing, excessive partying and drinking, and other shenanigans.
For example, a documentary released in 2023 detailed what’s known now as the “Bama Rush.” “Bama Rush” first went viral, on TikTok, in 2021. The documentary highlights the intense recruitment process at the University of Alabama. Factors that go into getting a bid include being chosen by the ‘hottest’ fraternity men, skin color, social status and other concerning topics.
This recruitment process has left women with emotional trauma, insecurities and an overall alteration of their daily lives. SDSU Panhellenic Council members agree that this stigma exists at SDSU but is not the case here.
“I think it’s about combating the stigma that surrounds us, because people can be very fearful, like Bama Rush, that’s terrifying,” College Panhellenic President, Sophie Dwelle, said. “If I thought that’s what was going on here, I would have never wanted to join,”
Low Greek Life numbers on campus don’t only have to do with this stigma, but also the fact that Greek Life at SDSU hasn’t been particularly popular. The population of Greek Life members on campus is only 5% of the 12,065 enrolled at SDSU.
Based on the totals provided by Kelli Susemihl, Assistant Director for Sorority and Fraternity Life at The University of South Dakota, Greek Life is more popular on their campus compared to SDSU’s campus. Greek Life numbers indicated that a total of 455 women belong to a sorority and 387 men belong to a fraternity, making a total of 842 members in the sorority and fraternity combined.
Like SDSU, USD also saw a dip in numbers from 2019 to 2020 and again in 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Numbers have stayed consisted of 2021 to 2024 with a slight increase in between 2021 to 2022 and a large increase in 2023.
“A primary reason for the increase in 2023 was the changing of recruitment process timelines,” said Susemihl. “This allowed our community to market to an increased number of students and make the process more accessible for a greater number of students.”
Chair members of the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils have been combating the issue of low recruitment numbers by trying new methods to attract members during the fall recruitment period. Methods such as changing the style of recruitment and hosting a Greek block party, that has not been done since the 1960s.
“We did the Greek block party, and that went really really well,” CPH Vice President of Recruitment, Kennedy Martinson, said, “That’s one of the best turnouts that we’ve had for any event in a long time. Not just within our community, but within the entirety of SDSU.”
To help promote what SDSU Greek Life stands for, chair members open their events to the public and encourage them to attend. For example, the anti-hazing presentation, held early this semester was a UPC event opening it up to the public.
“We will be having a presence at all orientation dates to let students know who we are and that we exist,” Truskolawski said, “We will also attend certain admissions events on the weekends as well as table on campus at senior day.”
