Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to understand how fraternities, sororities, and co-ops began and expanded throughout the 20th century.
Students will be able to understand how fraternities, sororities, and co-ops sought to build community, and how fraternities and sororities included and excluded individuals.
Students will be able to understand why the university relies on these housing options and the different relationships it has with co-ops and fraternities/sororities.
Podcast Questions:
How did sororities and fraternities begin and expand throughout campus history?
How did fraternities and sororities actively discriminate against students? How did people resist?
How are co-ops similar and different from fraternities and sororities? Consider:
- How they function
- What their purpose is
- What they provide and who they provide it to
How and why did co-ops emerge in the 1910s and expand throughout the 20th century?
How did co-ops fight discrimination and provide a space to find community?
Both Lucchini-Butcher and Pasqualone mention how co-ops, sororities, and fraternities provide a niche:
“That’s part of the reason we just spent a whole episode talking about alternative types of housing, even though the vast majority of UW students will never live in a co-op, or a fraternity or sorority. They’re not for everyone. Greek life is expensive and exclusionary. Co-ops can be crowded and funky, and they come with chores. And neither of them are anywhere near big enough to solve Madison’s housing woes. But in a landscape where housing keeps getting more homogenous and inaccessible… where options keep disappearing, these are options.”
Assess the pros and cons of these alternative housing options, and what is the administration’s responsibility in promoting, curbing, and monitoring these spaces?
Primary Sources:
We recommend exploring primary sources from the “Student Life” section of Sifting and Reckoning:
Discrimination in Greek Life. View sources here
Educational Pamphlets. View sources here
The 1960 Clause. View sources here
The Divine Nine. View sources here
Fraternity & Sorority Life Today. View sources here
Sara Jackson-Brunson Oral History Guide (Black Greek Life). View guide here
Right to Freedom of Association Text/Law. View source here
Interview with Sandra Kroll about co-op living (Three minutes to sixteen minutes). Listen to interview here
Recommended Readings:
Center for Campus History Blog, Siftings: “Breaking Racial Lines: The Formation of Black Greek-Letter Organizations at UW–Madison.” By Kayla Rose Parker. Read Article Here
Kristin Czubkowski. “Go Greek again! Greek life turns 150 years.” Read article here
UW Housing. “Farewell to Davis.” Read Article Here
Esther Seidlitz. “Worth a Thousand Words: A Harmonious Housing Cooperative.” Wisconsin Alumni Foundation. Read Article Here
Mary Bosch, “UW-Madison evicted its last student housing co-op. It survived anyway.” Daily Cardinal, November 9th, 2023. Read article here
Other Resources:
Sifting and Reckoning Online Exhibit. “Housing.” View Website Here