GCSU’s proposed Greek row pushed to back burner

A study done last February to gauge the need for a Greek row at West Campus resulted in a postponement.

The feasibility study was performed by Marie Ann Callais to explore the possibility of a Greek row being built at West Campus to accommodate both housing and meeting spaces for the GCSU Greek organizations.

“(Callais) recommends looking for additional meeting space and continuing to grow the Greek system and its programs before revisiting the idea (of a Greek Row) in a few years, once the student usage patterns of the West Campus become apparent,” said Vice President of Student Affairs Bruce Harshbarger.

Although the outcome of the study has pushed back the discussion of Greek housing, one continuous point in the study is that there is a problem with the lack of space for organizations on campus.

Some fraternity and sorority members do not think the addition of a Greek row would be beneficial to their organizations and stress the financial aspect of a move.

“A lot of Greeks have houses already so it would just be wasting money that they have already spent if they had to move on campus,” said biology major and Kappa Delta member Jennifer Birdsey.

Greek Life on campus has grown significantly over the past few years and is continuing to grow with the colonization of Theta Chi this year.

The study recommended some points that would need to be further developed before discussing the building of a Greek Row.

One main point of concern was payment for common areas and the fact that everyone, including those who did not live in the housing, would need to pay. The problem arises whether each organization would pay GCSU through a lump sum from increased chapter dues, or would each individual be responsible for their own payment. Raising funds for the construction would be even harder for Greek organizations newer on campus, since there will be fewer alumni who would be able to contribute.

“I think the best way to cover the charge of the housing would be a lump sum for the groups, if you’re younger, eventually you will live there,” said freshman pre-nursing major and Alpha Delta Pi member Heather Posthauer.

Suggestions were provided to the Department of Greek Life for the preparation of moving forward with Greek housing.

Once the Wellness & Recreation Center is built at West Campus, the traffic will be gauged to see if they should revisit the idea of a Greek row.

Posted by Caitlin Mullaney on Oct 8 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.