Greek life

The 1897 Microcosm displays another women's sorority on campus, Gamma Zeta. It was a local sorority founded in 1896 and this is the only time it appears in Dickinson College's records. Its members are as follows: Anna M. Geiger and Helen R. Horn from the class of 1897, Marie E. Lloyd from the class of 1898, Bertha Clough and Lucia C. Hargis from the class of 1899, and finally Jessie W. Hargis from the class of 1900.

The Dickinsonian staff reported in "Cupid Hits Target" that seven fraternities had announced pinnings. Neil Knowlton of Sigma Alpha Epsilon pinned Carol H. French from the Hague, Holland. Pinning occured when a man gave his pin to a woman in order to indicate publically that they were a romantic item.

According to the official minutes of Sui Generis, a non-exclusive women's fraternity, in 1960 the members received an award from Phi Beta Kappa for their outstanding scholarship.  Sui Generis had the highest percentage of the Phi Beta Kappa average, a 3.5, of all of the sororities and fraternities on campus.

According to the official minutes of Sui Generis, a non-exclusive women's fraternity, the Pan-Hellenic Council established changes to the rush rules for the subsequent semester.  According to the minutes, "There will be free association in South, but no in other eating establishments, riding in cars is OK if two or more sororities are present, double dating with a Freshman and a sorority girl is OK if arranged by the boys, and only one social service project may be advertised on campus."  Pan-Hel also established the length for invitational parties and what food would be served during open

Under the Fraternity Social Functions section under the 1957 student handbook, female students were allowed to attend evening dinners at fraternity houses under the following regulations:

• one chaperone must be present
• female students were not allowed to arrive prior than 5:45pm and stay past 7:15pm
• the dinner must have been registered with the Dean of Women by the Wednesday before the event
• the president and officers were responsible for "conduct" as well as "maintaining the established hours of arrival and departure"

According to the official minutes of Sui Generis, a local women's sorority with a non-selective policy, the proposal of a Social Rules Evaluation Committee was approved in 1961. The main purpose of the Committee was to create a system of accountability for those members of sororities who were caught drinking.

An article in The Dickinsonian entitled "Sororities: A Time for Self-Analysis" examines the role and possibility for continuance of sororities. According to the article, sorority women are just as likely to befriend women who are not sisters due to the living arrangements for female students at Dickinson.

A report released by Dickinson on June 10, 1961 showed the distribution of grades by class, gender, and greek organization.  According to the report, the 348 women on campus maintained an overall average of 2.81, while the 721 men had an grade average of 2.35.  Seniors maintained the highest average with a 2.82, while freshman had the lowest, a 2.21.  Sui Generis was the greek organization with the highest average, a 3.0, and they were closely by Phi Mu and Pi Beta Phi with 2.97 and 2.89 respectively.

The 1958 Microcosm entry on Sui Generis, a new local sorority established in 1956, noted that the group "formed a close bond of friendship and have made this the 'coming out' year."  The women worked with their faculty advisor, Miss Christian Royer, to create their pin, decorate their new rooms in the basement of Biddle, draw up their constitution, and choose their official colors of dark blue and light blue.  Sui Generis was also became a voting member of the college Pan-Hellenic Council this year.  Like other women's fraternities on campus, Sui Generis supported various campus philanthrop

Zeta Tau Alpha's members maintained an active schedule of social and philanthropic activities in 1958.  They continued to support their traditional philanthropy dedicated to cerebral palsy through the annual Songfest and they additionally held Christmas party with Phi Delta Theta for underprivileged children.  Social activities included a bazaar called "Santa's Workshop," Big and Little Sisterhood events, as well as teas and formals for the seniors and pledges.  The Beta Beta chapter also entertained a national officer during her week-long visit to the college.