Editing Lehigh University (section)

==Student life==

===Fraternities and sororities===
A large majority of Lehigh's social fraternities and sororities have their own university-owned houses; most of the fraternities and sororities are located along Upper and Lower Sayre Park Roads in a region known as "The Hill".

Lehigh has one of the highest levels of student participation in [[fraternities and sororities]]; approximately 34% of undergraduates are members of a fraternity or sorority. During new member education, Greek life membership rises to almost 45%. There are 10 fraternities,<ref>{{cite web |title=Message Regarding Unrecognized Groups |url=http://lehighgreeks.blogspot.com/2018/08/message-regarding-unrecognized-groups.html |website=Lehigh Greek Community |date=August 30, 2018 |publisher=Lehigh OFSA |access-date=October 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030035738/http://lehighgreeks.blogspot.com/2018/08/message-regarding-unrecognized-groups.html |archive-date=October 30, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> all of which are housed on campus, and eight sororities, all of which are housed on campus.<ref name="Greek Life">{{cite web |url=http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/fs_info.shtml |title=Fraternities and Sororities |publisher=Lehigh University Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs |access-date=2013-03-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107180654/http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/fs_info.shtml |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Lehigh's "golden age of fraternities" came in the mid-1980s when there were 36 fraternities on campus, all located on "The Hill". Sororities were notably forced to operate off campus. When the drinking age was increased to 21, fraternities started to run into frequent hazing incidents and disciplinary issues which resulted in many of them being forced by the school to disband in the 1990s. Many of their former houses were transitioned to sorority houses and a few were demolished to make way for more dorms. As of 2024, some of the houses on "The Hill" remain vacant.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smerconish |first1=Michael |title=Modern college drinking policies not working |url=https://www.thestate.com/opinion/op-ed/article13958609.html |website=[[The State (newspaper)|The State]] |publisher=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |access-date=27 February 2024}}</ref>

===Traditions and student newspaper===
Lehigh's school colors, brown and white, date back to 1874, and the school newspaper, ''The Brown and White'', has been continuously published since 1894.

Lehigh University is home to several unique and cherished traditions, particularly during the annual Spirit Week leading up to the [[The Rivalry (Lafayette–Lehigh)|Lehigh-Lafayette football game]].

One of the highlights is the Bed Races, where students form teams, decorate beds, and drag race them down Packer Avenue. Initially, students constructed their own beds to demonstrate their engineering skills.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-07 |title=Bed Races |url=https://blog.lehigh.edu/bed-races |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=Students of Lehigh Blog |language=en}}</ref>

Orientation Week also features class flag presentations at "The Rally," where each class is represented by an official flag passed down by their adopting class, 50 years their senior. The oldest surviving class flag dates back to 1889.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rally {{!}} Lehigh Alumni |url=https://alumni.lehigh.edu/the-rally |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=alumni.lehigh.edu |language=en}}</ref>

[[The Rivalry (Lafayette–Lehigh)|The Lehigh-Lafayette football rivalry]], which began in 1884, is one of the most celebrated in college football, with the two schools having met more times than any other rivalry in the nation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry |url=https://www2.lehigh.edu/about/lehigh-lafayette |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=Lehigh University |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Marching 97]] band also plays a key role in Le-Laf Week, performing traditional Lehigh fight songs as they parade through campus. The "Eco-flame" tradition, originating in the 1970s when Professor Rich Aaronson invited the band to perform for his ECO 001 class, remains a staple of the week.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-20 |title=Eco-Flame |url=https://news.lehigh.edu/eco-flame |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=Lehigh University News |language=en}}</ref>

Campus-wide events such as Lehigh After Dark’s carnival and the GO campaign launch, which featured a Halsey concert, bring students from various class years and interest groups together, further enhancing the community spirit.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Student Life at Lehigh |url=https://www2.lehigh.edu/admissions/student-life-at-lehigh |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=Lehigh University |language=en}}</ref>

===ROTC===
{{main|Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps}}
Since 1919 Lehigh maintains a unit in the [[Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps]], the [[Steel Battalion (United States)|Steel Battalion]] of the [[2nd Reserve Officers' Training Corps Brigade|2nd ROTC Brigade]], which is headquartered in Jordan Hall on the mountaintop campus.<ref>{{cite web |title=Institutional Partnerships |url=https://www.steelrotc.com/schools |website=steelrotc |access-date=12 December 2024}}</ref>