Assistant Dean of Student Life Susan B. Marine said in an interview in February that sororities had approached her to discuss the possibility of recognition in the past.

At Yale—where the University officially recognizes some sororities and fraternities—Greek leaders say that their organizations benefit from the support of the administration.

President of Yale’s Panhellenic Council Stephanie Cuevas said that Yale college masters allow Greek organizations to reserve space, which makes it easier to organize events like those during the rush process.

Bowen, Theta’s president, said that she believes her sorority could benefit from “having the backing of the school” in the form of access to on-campus spaces to hold chapter meetings and host speakers.

Although Theta is looking for a space of its own—and other Greek organizations already own their own spaces—all three sororities currently hold events in the buildings of male final clubs.

But Bowen said that she does not expect the University to recognize sororities in the near future and she thinks the sorority does not need Harvard’s recognition to survive.

The president of a male final club—an organization that the administration handles in a similar manner to the Greek groups—said that he does not think recognition is necessary.

“Being officially recognized by the University just makes more of a hassle for groups,” he said.

A NATIONAL TREND

The record number of students rushing Harvard’s sororities and fraternities are not unique to the College.

Nationwide, the number of women in sororities has increased 8.4 percent from 248,120 women in 2008 to 268,983 in 2010, according to statistics compiled by the National Panhellenic Conference.

North-American Interfraternity Conference CEO Pete D. Smithhisler said that there has been an increase in fraternity membership every year since 1998.

Growing interest in Greek life has been especially pronounced among many Ivy League schools—Cornell’s Panhellenic Society announced its 12th sorority this year and, according to the Yale Daily News, the number of women rushing Yale’s sororities has doubled over the past five years.

To manage this increased interest, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, and Cornell’s panhellenic councils have all voted within the last two years to add another sorority to their campuses. Harvard and Yale are both trying to add a fourth sorority, according to Greek leaders on both campuses.

At Princeton—which, like Harvard, has three sororities—the number of women rushing sororities increased by 28 percent during the fall rush season, according to the Daily Princetonian.