Many Tufts undergrads view fraternities as a mainstay of weekend social life. But many Greek organizations - such as Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Rho Lambda and Lambda Upsilon Lambda - have a broader purpose.
Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Rho Lambda and Lambda Upsilon Lambda may sound like any other Greek chapter on campus, but they are just a few of the 11 cultural and ethnic fraternities and sororities open to the Tufts student body.
Each is a member of the Bicultural Inter-Greek Council. According to the Tufts Greek Web site, the Bicultural Inter-Greek Council is specifically designed "to help coordinate activities with the citywide, historically African-American and Latino/a fraternities and sororities in the Boston area."
Unlike the other Greek chapters on campus, the cultural and ethnic fraternities and sororities are not just for Tufts. Members hail from several different colleges and universities around the Boston area.
Todd Sullivan, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, described the development of the ethnic and cultural Greek life as a student response to the civil rights movement 50 years ago.
"In the 1950s and 1960s, the white fraternities and sororities got rid of their discriminatory policies," he said.
"Such an act was tied in with the civil rights movement, and after that, the focus was less on not getting into white fraternities, but rather it became about promoting the culture," he added.
Sullivan emphasized how much more diverse Greek groups are today, mainly because of broader social change. For example, "if a white student has grown up in a predominantly African-American neighborhood, they will feel more comfortable in an African-American fraternity or sorority," he said.
According to Sullivan, the similarities and differences between Greek life on the Hill and the cultural Greek life in Boston come down to the missions and goals of the organizations.
"On paper, the aims and purposes of all the fraternities and sororities are similar. In practice, however, the culturally based fraternities and sororities are the ones that do more community service," he said.
Tufts junior Jasmine Manley is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta, a historically African-American sorority - and the only African-American sorority currently active at Tufts University.
Founded on Jan. 13, 1913 at Howard University by 22 undergraduate women, Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit organization that promotes academic excellence while aiding those in need.
Manley said that many of the cultural and ethnic fraternities and sororities were in fact founded by African-American students years ago while they were attending predominately white universities and institutions.
Such students, Manley explained, were in need of a support system mainly because they were simply not able to assimilate into the white fraternities and sororities.
Manley's experience as a member has been a positive one. She said that she decided to join Delta Sigma Theta "because I felt that this ethnic sorority had a different agenda from that of the other sororities on campus, mainly because their mission is centered on African-American issues and giving back to the community."
In addition to furthering African-American causes, Manley said that Delta Sigma Theta is above all a public service organization with national and global aims.
Cultural sorority Delta Psi Delta also focuses heavily on community service.
"We... work on a regular basis with organizations like the March of Dimes, Annual AIDS/Breast Cancer walks, etc," said Delta Psi Delta sister and Tufts junior Ivy Cheng, who described Delta Psi Delta as "a community-focused sorority so apart from typical sisterhood bonding-type activities."
In addition to their high level of community service, cultural Greek organizations' relatively small size attracted Cheng.
"I think the close-knit-ness that this small size engenders is a large part of what has made being in this sorority so rewarding for me," Cheng said.
"There's just so much opportunity to get to know each and every sister on a very personal basis that I think larger sororities are hard-put to match," she said.
But above all, it was the cultural nature of the organization that attracted Cheng. "I personally value 'multicultural' sororities that strive to break the stereotype of all-white-girl sororities by integrating, or trying to integrate, girls from all types of cultures and backgrounds," Cheng said.
"The goal of Delta Psi Sigma is to be a multicultural organization, not merely a sorority, for those from one or several minority backgrounds," Cheng added.
