Queens College: 1,500 Students of Greek Ancestry
The Ikaros Club, Queens College
Queens College has a most unique characteristic that distinguishes it from any other university in the United States. Close to 1,500 students of Greek ancestry are enrolled at Queens College and they are the ones that sustain the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies and its academic program. This is due to the fact that Queens College is located in the heart of the largest Greek community in the United States. Indeed, this very large number of students of Greek ancestry studying at Queens College lives in the Queens Borough of New York that includes Astoria, the best-known Greek Town in America.
The majority of Greek students at Queens College are American born and still very proud of the their Greek heritage. In addition, there are several hundred students from Greece and Cyprus studying at Queens College. In fact, more students from Greece and Cyprus have studied at Queens College than any other American university.
The hundreds of Greek students at Queens College add to the diverse student body of the College, which in fact is one of the most ethnically diverse universities in the United States. These Greek students have their own club, Ikaros, and they enrich Queens College through their activities, academic and cultural. A highlight of these activities is the celebration of Greek Easter, Pascha, at the College where thousands of people partake to our Greek customs, by enjoying the Easter lamb on a spit, Greek wine and Greek music and dancing.
In all, since its establishment in 1974, over 16,000 students have passed through the Center’s program, an unprecedented achievement for a Center and program of Greek Studies in America.
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