OCT 10, 2024 | NEWS | By By Rex Karjian and Veronica Bianco
Greek life changed Bryre Smith-Malone’s life. Her sisters from Cornell College’s chapter of Phi Omega remain some of her closest friends, and her sorority enriched her life in more ways than one.
“It forged the person that I am,” she said. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without my experience in Greek life.”
Last year, she was hired as Colorado College’s Fraternity and Sorority Life Coordinator through Campus Activities, filling a new position created by the board of trustees out of concern for the livelihood of the school’s fraternities and sororities.
After several chapters closed, including the Delta Gamma in July 2023, the board became concerned about Greek life at CC. They believed that students in fraternities and sororities needed more adult guidance. So, they created a dedicated position and hired Smith-Malone last year.
She told The Catalyst that she plans on using her first few years to familiarize herself with Greek life at CC and realign the fraternities and sororities’ values and practices. Down the line, she hopes to open more chapters at CC, whether that means bringing back national chapters that closed in the past or creating more local organizations like Delta Mu.
Overall, Smith-Malone wants Greek life to unite CC students and be a social hub on campus.
“We have so many different small little social groups, but we don’t have times where all of those social groups can get together and interact,” she says. “The place of a Greek community is to create an opportunity for that kind of platform.”
In Jan. 2022, then-President L. Song Richardson requested an exploration of the future of Greek life at CC. The college formed a 13-member commission to answer the question, “How can we do what we do better?”
According to documents obtained by the Catalyst, the commission comprised alums, many of whom had been involved in Greek life, trustees and college employees.
That spring, the commission hosted 16 focus groups to gauge community opinion regarding Greek life. Questions included, “How does Greek life support the college’s overall commitment to antiracism?” and “What are the perceptions and realities of Greek life?”
The commission came to the board with six recommendations for improving CC’s Greek scene, including hiring a sorority and fraternity life advisor to oversee the organizations.
The college didn’t make good on that promise until Dec. 2023 after it suspended Sigma Chi for the academic year after pledges allegedly flooded a science building causing thousands of dollars in damages.
Later that year, Kappa Sigma voluntarily shut itself down, Smith-Malone said. Some students believe the self-sanction followed a suspected party incident potentially involving spiked drinks. Both affairs demonstrated the need for leadership and accountability in Greek life.
That’s where Smith-Malone comes in, and she has a multi-year plan.
She found a love for community building as an art teacher and high school volleyball coach, which taught her some of the skills she feels are necessary to perform her new role.
“This year, I’m focused on figuring out what’s going on in Greek life right now,” she said. Next year, her goal is to “realign” everything, which includes forming a DEI committee and holding regular workshops to promote safety and responsibility.
She doesn’t want to stop there, though. She’s optimistic about opening more chapters on campus.
“I’m looking at opening at least one new chapter, if not two within the next couple years,” she says.
The college is with her: a 2022 resolution obtained by The Catalyst regarding fraternity and sorority life pledges to “welcome returning and new fraternities and sororities that adhere to Colorado College General Organization Policies.”
She knows that to do that, she’ll need students interested in joining. That’s a tall task: Sigma Chi brought in just six new members this year, and Kappa Alpha Theta offered bids to 15 new members, down from last year’s 23. Kappa Sigma declined to rush a pledge class.
Smith-Malone’s solution is increasing Greek life’s on-campus footprint. “We’re not visible, period,” she said. “We need to be positive members of the community.”
She plans to make parties and other social events safer by holding fraternities accountable, like having “sober hosts” and “roamers” to ensure students are safe at Greek-sanctioned events. And she’s not messing around: Smith-Malone plans to stop by at a random event to make sure organizations are following her guidelines.
She also wants to put on more events beyond traditional frat parties, like a tailgate before the women’s soccer City for Champions Cup game against Air Force at Switchbacks’ Weidener Field at the end of Oct.
She believes Greek life can become the center of CC’s social scene and provide a place for students from all walks of life to come together.
According to one student leader in Greek life, she’s already made a difference.
“I think it’s made a world of a difference between when she wasn’t here and now when she is here,” said Olivia Burton ‘25, president of Kappa Alpha Theta.
She’s been leading workshops to promote safety and has established a DEI chair for each Greek organization.
Smith-Malone wholeheartedly believes Greek life at CC can be to students what it was to her in college: a place that harbors belonging and a broader sense of campus community.