Supporters' Guide
Students look to parents and family members for support during college, and their involvement in a fraternity or sorority is no exception to this. Below are some suggestions and tips for parents and families of interested students, as well as fraternity and sorority members.
Your Role as a Supporter
- Encourage your student to keep an open mind about fraternity & sorority life. Students may have stereotypes about certain organizations or fraternities and sororities in general; however, each chapter is different from campus to campus and year to year as members change. It is important for your student to discover if a particular chapter—or fraternity and sorority life in general—is something that they would like to be a part of.
- Be supportive and learn as much as you can about the community by asking questions of your student has he or she meet members in fraternities and sororities.
- Have a conversation about the financial obligations of fraternity & sorority life before your student joins an organization. Each organization should provide that information to potential members in advance so that you can consider the financial requirements in making a decision about which organization to join. Dues vary from organization to organization.
- Support your student in making their own decision about which organization to join. Legacy connections, the opinions of friends and family, and external reputation can be important things to consider when students make a choice about which organization to join. However, the most important thing is that the student feels a strong connection and fit with that organization, even if that is different from all of those other factors.
If you or your student have a question about CSUMB Greek Life, go to the source and ask the chapter leadership. It is important to get the most accurate information, and both the staff and the chapter leaders want to make sure that you have all of the information that you need.