Students of all cultures are going greek during the next two weeks as the Multicultural Greek Council hosts rush events.

The council, established in 2006, is made up of six fraternities and five sororities open to all cultures, but embrace the interests of a particular culture.

Nusaybah Khan, president of the council and of her sorority, Delta Phi Omega, said the council offers students the diversity of the organizations, networking opportunities with alumni and chances to develop leadership skills.

“We know college life can be hard, and we are here to help in any way we can,” said Khan, a biochemistry senior.

Derrick Lam, University College freshman, said he found help from the council that other greek organizations did not offer.

“I came [to OU] from California, so I did not know anyone here,” Lam said. “It seemed like people [in the council] got closer. They did not just join and party. The [Interfraternity Council] has a lot of people, so it is hard to call each other brothers there.”

For others, the expenses of organizations in the council versus those of other Greek organizations were an influencing factor.

“I was the first in my family to go to a major four-year institution,” said Zein Jivani, Delta Epsilon Psi president and former Daily staff writer. “I could not afford to join an IFC frat, and I wanted to take advantage of the unique opportunities greek life presents.”

Monique Gaines, president of Sigma Lambda Delta sorority, said that dues in her sorority are about $150 a semester. Out-of-house membership fees in an IFC fraternity average $1,219 a year, according to IFC’s 2009 Rush manual. Panhellenic sorority first-year costs, which includes some one-time fees but not room and board, average $2,570 a year, according to the Web site pan.ou.edu.

“Just because you cannot pay to be in a big fraternity does not mean you should be left out of greek life,” Jivani said.

One reason the council is less expensive than others may be because the organizations do not have houses.

“Not having a house strikes me as much more an advantage than a disadvantage,” Taha Usmani, president of Beta Chi Theta fraternity said. “Having a house entails relying on others to take care of household duties ... as well as hygiene issues. There are four members [of my fraternity] that own a house close to campus, so that’s usually where we go to chill.”

Other than houses, members have found other places to meet, such as in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, the Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center and the Henderson-Tolson Cultural Center, said Guillermo Morales, president of Omega Delta Phi and vice president of the council.

Rush begins Monday and continues until Sept. 11.

For information about any of the organizations within the council or about certain rush events, students can e-mail the council at sooner.mgc@gmail.com.