Pepperdine has a vibrant Greek life.
But no Greek row.
There are eight sororities and five fraternities on campus, with nearly 30% of women and 20% of men choosing to affiliate, according to Pepperdine’s Greek Life web page. But Pepperdine does not allow official Greek housing on or off campus. However, Greek students have still managed to foster their own community that includes forming housing clusters off campus.
“When it comes to housing, I know that Pepperdine is very much in a growth phase, but they want to provide housing for all students, not just Greek students,” said Allison Green, Greek life adviser and assistant director of Student Activities.
Both Greek and non-Greek students like their current housing situation and do not think a Greek Row is needed. It is not uncommon for universities to have Greek life but no Greek row; in fact, it happens all across Southern California. City regulations and worries about alcohol use are some of the reasons why universities do not implement Greek life.
Obstacles to overcome
Pepperdine didn’t plan the campus with Greek housing in mind. Pepperdine’s Greek life started as small clubs not affiliated with any national chapters until 1995, Green said. The University did not implement a traditional Greek row with the establishment of national chapters.
It is difficult for universities to establish a Greek row or Greek housing if Greek life is not long-standing in both the university and the surrounding communities, Green said.
Pepperdine would have to overcome many different barriers to implement Greek housing on campus, starting with city regulations. The Malibu City Council does not permit Greek housing, according to the Pepperdine Panhellenic website’s FAQ page. Although Pepperdine is under Los Angeles County regulations, it is important for Pepperdine to facilitate their relationship with Malibu, said Robin Gore, associate dean of Student Affairs and director of Housing Operation.
However, there are other obstacles to overcome, including cost, available space and age groupings, Gore said.
She worried Greek housing would create subcultures that could divide students.
“Other considerations would be you have to be cautious about some unintended outcomes,” Gore said. “We wouldn’t want to create these socio-economic divisions,”
Though Pepperdine has no plan to create a traditional Greek row, there are now interest communities within dorms, including Gaming and Esports, INTERSECT, for students interested in more international exchanges, and RiSE, for students seeking resilience. Greek life could fit into a common interest group, Gore said, but this is not something Pepperdine has explored as an alternative to Greek students’ current housing situation.
Keeping in line with Pepperdine’s regulations
Whether it is being exclusive, too loud, or participating in hazing, there are many negative correlations to Greek life nationally. Delta Tau Delta’s removal from Pepperdine is an example of how seriously Pepperdine takes alcohol consumption by any student on or off campus.
“Pepperdine fraternity Delta Tau Delta (DTD) was removed from campus Dec. 23 because of an alcohol-related incident that occurred between Sept. 12 and 13, resulting in the hospitalization of a first-year Pepperdine student and raising questions about the Good Samaritan policy,” Channa Steinmetz and Mary Cate Long wrote in a 2018 Pepperdine Graphic article.
Although this one event is not representative of all Greek organizations at Pepperdine, alcohol is a factor in Greek housing across the United States.
“Now, of course there are student pockets, Greek or not, who do engage in those behaviors [partying], and it would be unfortunate if the actions of some cast negatively on the impression of all,” Gore said. “But that, of course, is typically what happens, and whether it’s associated with Greek students specifically or not, you know, I think that’s just a general college stereotype that happens.”
The Pepperdine Student Code of Conduct restricts alcohol use even at off-campus, unofficial events.
“Hosting or in any way assisting or promoting a gathering (on or off campus) that includes drunkenness or drug use or underage drinking, whether intended or not, may result in suspension or dismissal. Those living at the location where the party is held may be held responsible as hosts regardless of who provides the alcohol,” according to the alcohol and drug policy.
Greek students at Pepperdine are required to sign a contract that states they are representing their letters (fraternity or sorority) at all times.
Greek culture in the United States
Pepperdine is not alone in keeping official Greek housing off-campus. Other schools such as Loyola Marymount and the University of San Diego have done the same thing.
Greek rows are infamous for alcohol-fueled parties, and there have been many alcohol-related incidents at universities that have a Greek row.
Time and time again hazing, alcohol, or sexual assault alligations come up in the news for different universities across the U.S., Kelly-Leigh Cooper wrote in a BBC news article.
Cooper interviewed John Hechinger, who wrote a book that takes an inside look into America’s fraternities. Hechinger said universities’ standard responses to sexual assault allegations or deaths within fraternities has been to temporary suspennd the organzation, ban alcohol or to pledge reforms.
“About 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes [per year],” The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported.
Many Christian universities across America do not have Greek rows.
Universities in Southern California range from having a large Greek community with a traditional Greek row to having no Greek life. A look at 13 universities, from Santa Barbara to San Diego, found that four large state schools all had Greek rows, five had Greek life but no official housing, and four Christian universities didn’t have Greek life at all.
Systems in contrast
A traditional Greek Row would have certain amenities that schools like Pepperdine do not. For example, having a designated house allows for storage for memorabilia, a home base to gather or come home to, a house kitchen and sometimes even a personal chef, and the opportunity to be closer to everyone in the sorority or fraternity because they are also your roommates. Sororities also have house moms.
Pepperdine’s system does not have these things. If students are living with their Greek brothers or sisters off campus, they may have their own benefits, like having their own space and commuting together to campus. They also get to see their brothers and sisters on campus or at events rather than every day.
Greek students
Greek students said no one is missing out on the ‘real Greek life’ experience. In fact, some Pepperdine students, both Greek-affiliated and non-Greek, prefer the housing situation that currently exists.
Many sorority and fraternity members still live together, particularly off-campus. HRL does not oversee whether or not Greek students live with each other, Gore said. Students may choose their suitemates on or off campus.
Fraternities have created clusters of houses that groups of brothers live in off campus.
“We have just enough space for each other to where, you know, we’re not getting overwhelmed with constantly being around one another,” said Antonio Gutierez, Sigma Chi president and senior international business major. “But we see each other every day.”
Gutierez joined Sigma Chi in 2019 and has since become the president of the chapter. He was a transfer student from the University of Washington but did not decide to rush a fraternity until he got to Pepperdine.
The University of Washington has a traditional Greek row and a large Greek student population with nearly 70 fraternities and sororities, according to the Greek life web page.
Gutierez has since gone back to the University of Washington over a holiday and stayed with a friend in the official Sigma Chi house on Greek row. Although it was a fun experience, Gutierez said it wasn’t for him and that Greek life was not his ‘scene’ at that university.
“They’re fun,” Gutierez said. I stayed with them for a couple days, and I hung out with them. It’s definitely a different scene for sure, but it’s cool. It’s a little dirty. Not very clean. That’s not really my vibe.”
Alpha Tau Omega is another prominent fraternity at Pepperdine that has found a way to build a community that can live close to each other while still maintaining their individual lives and space.
“I think right now we have about six or seven of them [houses] where four to five guys will live in and house together, and they’re close enough where you can pretty much go to any of the houses, and you can just walk there within, like, two minutes,” said James Hanson, ATO member and a sophomore sports administration major.
Some houses even have an open-door policy, where members can come and go at all times, allowing Hanson and his brothers to see each other multiple times a week and get to know the upperclassmen living there.
“A lot of the time, we will pick, like, one or two houses to go to, and the houses are pretty much right next to each other,” Hanson said.
Sororities operate similarly. Members of Kappa Alpha Theta also live in groups near Calamigos Ranch, Point Dume Club and apartments near campus.
“I still feel close to upperclassmen even though I don’t live with them, but living together would drive us crazy,” said Anneliese Ziegenbein, Kappa Alpha Theta member and sophomore integrated marketing communication major. “Even though we aren’t able to live together, through Pepperdine, we have a lot of activities that allow us to be close.”
With chapter every week and running into sisters all over campus, there is a sense of sisterhood whether they are all living together or not, Ziegenbein said.
Non-Greek students
Non-Greek students like the campus life that Pepperdine offers and would not want to change it.
“I wouldn’t like [on-campus Greek housing] because people that tend to be in fraternities and sororities can be noisy,” sophomore biology major Conor Kramer said. “But since I take academics pretty seriously, I don’t think I would like Greek housing to be next to my house. You can still party without alcohol.”
There is also the issue of diversity. The BlackAtPepperdine Instagram page has called out many sororities and fraternities for lack of diversity within the Greek system and for using racist language.
“If we were to have designated sorority and fraternity houses, say on Lower Res Road, I think it would further segregate those in Greek life and those not in Greek life,” said Allison Cho, sophomore sport administration major and a Pepperdine swimmer.
The ‘traditional Greek row’ can create a visual divide between Greek students and non-Greek students. The addition of a traditional Greek Row house with white pillars and large letters would contrast the already existing dorms. Having dorms for all students, rather than some dorms for students and some houses for ‘Greeks’ creates a sense of uniformity among students, Cho said.
This is what it would look like if Phillips on Upper Res Road became a traditional Greek row house.
Greek culture at Pepperdine is unique, not because there is no traditional Greek row, but because of how Greek students have built a community in their own way.
“I think [having a Greek system without official houses] was a good idea on Pepperdine’s part because a lot of students generally look for these ‘Greek life’ schools and schools that are religious … and Pepperdine has both,” Cho said.
Alisha Harris completed the reporting for this story under the supervision of Dr. Christina Littlefield and Dr. Elizabeth Smith in Jour 241 in Fall 2020. Dr. Littlefield supervised the web story.
