Photo Courtesy / Xi Alpha Pi

Red plastic cups, half empty bottles of beer, week-old pizza boxes and a familiar locker room scent. From the iconic letters to the signature names, sororities and fraternities have been around as far back as the 1700s.

Much like university itself, “Greek life” is an institution. Although many fraternity brothers and sorority sisters are eager to label themselves as a ‘family’ or an ‘entity,’ the similarities between your average Greek organization and a cult are few and far between, outside of their reputations.

With American Pie serving as more reminiscent of university life than your token physics theory, it’s not a surprise sororities and fraternities have long been associated with excessive sex, partying, drinking and hazing (being forced or threatened to perform humiliating and often painful tasks in order to be initiated).

Hazing has long been used an excuse for many to hold on to stereotypical perspectives of the Greek way of life. Elements of this interrogative method and the intentions behind it are not entirely different from the college scare tactic, which only adds to the exclusivity of fraternities and sororities around the world – many of which adhere to an inherent don’t ask, don’t tell policy.

“Hazing was originally meant to hurt and embarrass you, and through that, create a stronger bond. There are better ways,” shared Nicky Clark, VP Recruitment of UTSC sorority, Chi Sigma Xi.

“We had one girl who wanted to join, but she was looking for that American stereotype,” added fellow member, Sonya Nova-San. “She said, ‘You don’t even haze a little bit? You don’t party?’ And because we have a strict anti-hazing policy, she dropped out of pledging. She wanted to be hazed!”

Ron Leung, president of St. George’s (all University of Toronto houses are tri-campus) Sigma Chi fraternity, holds a similar stance on hazing. “Zero tolerance. We don’t do it.” However, he later alluded to “rituals” and “tasks” members have the responsibility of accomplishing, common euphemisms for well-disguised hazing.

University of Alberta’s Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter was suspended earlier this year due to hazing. The allegation suggested pledges were forced to sit in a wooden box and eat their own vomit. This past summer, Cornell fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon was slapped with a $25 million lawsuit after George Desdunes, a first-year student, died during a hazing ritual in which he was bound and given excess food and alcohol.

But it’s the most prominent Scarborough chapters which have truly managed to steer clear of college drama. Still largely in their infancy, both Chi Sigma Xi and Xi Alpha Pi (XAP) have not only developed their own strict no-hazing policies, but instead revolve around multiculturalism, contrary to popular stereotypes about sororities and fraternities.

Students in both houses are of diverse ethnicity and from a range of academic programs. Xi Alpha Pi, founded in 2008, is the first ever multicultural fraternity solely based in Canada.

“We define ourselves as a multicultural fraternity simply on the basis of accepting and appreciating the various values, ideologies and ideas that all of our respective cultures bring forth into the Brotherhood,” shared Rupom Rahman, a brother of the fraternity. “Besides, seeing as UTSC is considered to be among the world’s most multicultural university campuses, it would be a shame if we did not cater to that affinity.”

But despite their good intentions, the Chi Sigma Xi girls have still found themselves targets of stereotyping.

“When you walk by, people just assume you’re part of this awful organization, it’s terrible,” explained Nova-San. “They say, ‘That girl’s in a sorority, she’s a slut. Like what do you do, sleep around?’”

The boys seemingly have found it easier.

“We don’t call ourselves a ‘frat’, or refer to each other as ‘bro’s’ — we’re brothers. We’re men coming together to enlighten other people. We’re not childish boys who come together to party, do drugs and get drunk. That’s not our intent, that’s not our goal,” said Adil Kanji, XAP’s PR manager.

Sure, along with this and their refusal to disclose their roster in order to keep their “entity” intact, they may sound more like a disturbingly close-knit group of ethical Christmas carolers. But if it’s a common vision they’re going for, they’ve got it.

As far as funding goes, because many sororities and fraternities do discriminate, the University of Toronto does not allocate funding to them.

Photo Courtesy / Chi Sigma Xi Sorority

Chi Sigma Xi is working towards being recognized by the National Panhellenic Council (NPC), an organization that represents over millions of women and chapters in the U.S. and Canada. Currently, both houses fund their own operations, foregoing ‘dues’ — unlike Sigma Chi — a monthly membership fee which otherwise goes toward house maintenance and events.

While it may seem like pointing the finger, the houses, which often garner more flak for partying or drinking, are the St. George fraternities.

Earlier this year, Zeta Psi, one of the oldest fraternities in Toronto, was littered with public drunkeness, and it wasn’t the first time. Beta Theta Pi, in particular, has been visited by the police roughly 100 times between 1998 and 2008, due to noise complaints, fighting and sexual assault.

Nevertheless, academics and philanthropy remain highly valued. Most houses include study halls and group study sessions. Charity-wise, the Scarborough houses are supporters of the White Ribbon Campaign against women’s violence. Last year, Xi Alpha Pi teamed up with other UTSC student organizations and came in third place countrywide for participating with One Match, a donor bank for stem cell research.

If there are any differences between the Scarborough houses and their St. George counterparts, it’s the emphasis on multiculturalism and no hazing.

Several St. George houses have been cited for discrimination and indecency in the past. In fact, many I reached out to responded with a refusal to be involved, a several month long approval process for my journalistic intent (see: Pi Beta Phi) or no response at all. While they may be afraid of having their image tainted further, they’re only reinforcing the elitist exclusivity they like to think they have no part of.

However, Sigma Chi’s Leung did assert that St. George sororities and fraternities are more diverse than one would think.

“There are some girls you’d never expect to be sorority girls, and guys you’d never expect to be frat guys,” he said. “There’s never that one personality. We’re very accepting, it’s very diverse. Look at each house; it’s almost like the United Nations!”

So while the days of the cheerleader and the jock may never be numbered, UTSC may just be the exception to the rule.

For a campus long billed as having more of a high school than a university atmosphere, that is one stereotype we can cross off the list — all thanks to the students who took the initiative to create their own Greek community at an otherwise letter-less campus.
This is the kind of motivation that true sisterhood or brotherhood thrives on.