Georgia College - one step closer to completing the Divine 9

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Senior Jasmine Gray and first-year Jazmin Hunt sit on the Zeta Phi Beta bench between Parks and Atkinson Halls.Without knowing it, Jazmin Hunt and Jasmine Gray came to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life on the same day, at the same time, wanting the same thing – to revive Zeta Phi Beta, an African-American sorority not seen on campus for five years.
With its revival, Georgia College is one step closer to becoming home to all nine of the Divine 9 -- which are historically African-American fraternities and sororities. During Greek Weekend this month, the new Zeta sisters were introduced to a cheering crowd of about 1,900 Greek-life students.
“It was amazing,” said Stacey Milner, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life. “What’s great about Georgia College is we have such a robust community. Those girls felt so welcomed. It was awesome seeing them reintroduced into the community but, more importantly, to be embraced by them.”
The moment tells a lot about Greek life at a small university that has a distinguished past – but aims for a more diverse and unified future.
The Greek system appeared at Georgia College in the 1970s with original sororities like Alpha Delta Pi, Phi Mu and Delta Zeta. The first African-American fraternity on campus, Alpha Phi Alpha, was also established in the ‘70s. More chapters came in the 1980s, with memberships ebbing and flowing over time.
About 35 percent of all students now join one of the 27 fraternities and sororities on campus, said Dr. Andy Lewter, dean of students.
High Greek involvement speaks to the type of students Georgia College attracts: academically successful, motivated, involved and charitable, Lewter said. Values-minded students are changing the face of fraternities and sororities. Leaders are monitoring the behavior of their own members, supporting each other and celebrating their differences.
Tiffany Bayne and Stacey Milner, co-assistant directors of fraternity and  ...

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