It’s “Revenge of the Nerds” meets “Animal House.”
The Ivy Leaguers at Columbia University have gone Greek — embracing their inner Blutos and nearly doubling the number of fraternity and sorority members on campus.
Thirty percent of the Columbia student body now belongs to a Greek organization, according to officials. And almost all of the 14 frats and four sororities have reported increases in pledges.
Students attribute the upswing to better relations between the Greeks and the administration, which has loosened its party policy, once known as “the War on Fun.”
University officials now allow students to register parties five days in advance, rather than the customary 10. Administrators are also allowing Greeks to monitor their own parties, instead of being required to hire teachers, and are enabling frats to hold parties free of registration charges at the beginning of semesters.
“We’ve had parties where we had to stop letting people in because of occupancy rules. Sometimes it spills out into the streets,” said Patrick Foley, a 21-year-old senior and member of Kappa Delta Rho.
That frat — largely composed of basketball players — has seen its pledges double to 20.
“We’ve had Christmas parties, Halloween parties, ‘Avatar’-theme parties,” Foley said.
There are 1,000 Greeks on campus this year, up from 550 in the 2006-07 school year.
Sororities are seeing the biggest surge, with 170 sisters signing on — a 54 percent increase over last year, according to one report.
“Every weekend, something is going on at ‘Frat Row,’ ” said David Zhu, 21, a junior Beta Theta Pi brother, speaking on what’s called “The Row,” on 114th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.
Students say the trend is so hot that Columbia may invite a new sorority to campus and open a chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu.
Toga! Toga!
Some of the Greek houses at Columbia U. and their reputations, according to students:
Beta Theta Pi
The Nerds
Ridiculously high GPAs; only frat that owns it’s own house
Kappa Delta Rho
The Hoops Stars
Throws popular “Avatar”- theme parties and a huge Halloween bash
Alpha Epsilon Pi
The Jewish Frat
Hosts annual “Party Gras” bender
Sigma Delta Tau
The BFFs
The girls next door
Pi Kappa Alpha
Animal House
A recent “Social Probation” party landed it back “under suspension”
Kappa Alpha Theta
The Blondes
If Columbia had a homecoming queen . . .
Delta Gamma
The Queen Bees
“Best looking . . . but also the most bitchy.”
Sigma Phi Epsilon
The Meatheads
Cue the “Jersey Shore” theme song