Italian colonists in the Dodecanese colonists of Rhodes. In the Treaty of Paris in 1947, the islands were ceded to Greece. For the nearly 8,000 Italian colonists, after the Italian defeat in World War II, started a process of return to Italy and successive disappearance. The Dodecanese officially passed from Italy to Greece in 1947, and in that year all the Italian schools were closed. Some of the Italian colonists remained in Rhodes and were quickly assimilated. Actually only a few dozen old colonists remain, but the influence of their legacy is evident in the relative diffusion of the Italian language mainly in Rhodes and
Greek life at the University of Georgia of Greek students for membership. A group unique to University of Georgia is the men's secret society known as the Order of the Greek Horsemen which annually inducts five fraternity men, all leaders of the Greek system. Its purpose and function remains a closely guarded secret, and those who keep it have shown themselves willing to go to extraordinary lengths to do so. The Panhellenic sororities also have secret societies known as Trust of the Pearl, which inducts five accomplished sorority women each spring. It has been said, by those who are in the know, that members of the Pearl