Letter from Greek Life Office

At our last meeting, Cindy Babington, VP of Student Life and Autumn Hansen, GLC came to discuss the current state of Greek Life on our campus. The conversation was very positive and covered a wide range of topics. Below is a letter from the Greek Life Office sent to Student Senate. I wanted to share it with the student body to give you some insight into what was discussed at the meeting. Hopefully in the fall we can begin to work on some of these areas.

Let your new class Senators know if you have any questions or concerns about this or any other

DePauw University Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life
To: DePauw University Student Senate
From: The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life
CC: Matthew Jennings, Student Body President
Matthew Newill, Student Body Vice President
Dorian Shager, Dean of Campus Life
Cindy Babington, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students
Date: 4/20/2009
Re: Priorities of Greek Life Coordinators

Comments: We would like to thank the Student Senate for the opportunity to present on Sunday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. regarding the Greek Life Coordinator position and the purpose and vision of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. The Greek Life Coordinators appreciate any direct feedback or commentary on the state of the Greek community and opportunities for improvement. Per the conversation with the DePauw University Student Senators, the Greek Life Coordinators assert the following priorities moving forward:

• Maintain a high visibility and accessibility to Greek students at community and chapter events, specifically at major community events such as Greek Week, Anchor Splash, Ring Sing, Monon, fraternity/sorority recruitment, Special Olympics, Derby Days (for a few examples)
• Coordinate with chapter presidents to find ways in which to engage more regularly with the general membership of a chapter (i.e. mealtimes, chapter meetings, philanthropic events, visiting the house, fireside meetings, lawn games, educational programs, etc.)
• Request feedback from chapter presidents regarding Greek Life Coordinator assignments for the 2009 – 2010 academic year for consideration of future assignments so as to meet the needs of the chapter
• Develop marketing materials for parents, First-Year students and other constituencies outlining the benefits of Greek membership , the Council regulations regarding affiliation and chapter information
• Work with the governing Councils (the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council) to communicate the affiliation process and the rules related to these procedures in the first week of the Fall 2009 term
• Work with chapter leadership to develop chapter calendars and advertise these through the University calendar at the beginning of each term
• Continue officer roundtable sessions for chapter leadership in an effort to build community and resource networks for Greek students
• The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will use the summer to assess the current vision and mission statement and subsequently identify concrete action items by which to fulfill the vision and mission of the OFSL.

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life appreciates any direct feedback and would like to invite any of the Student Senators to stop by and visit with any of the Greek Life Coordinators. Our offices are located in Union Building 130 and 140A.

If there are any questions or additional comments, please feel free to contact the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at 765-658-4062 or at glc@depauw.edu. Thank you!

Senior Senators last tabling at the Duck...

The question:
What are your expectations for the Greek Life Coordinators?



The answers included:

(One third of the responders wrote that they had know idea what GLC's were.)


"Not enough interaction with members"

"They need to try to understand the greek system before making decisions"

"GLC's should be more visible"

"GLC's should encourage greek houses to work with a wide variety of organizations on campus"

"GLC's should help foster understanding between the greek system and university staff, faculty and Greencastle community"

"GLC's should encourage house and Panhel unity"

"GLC's should provide guidance, support and encouragement, not just rule enforcement"

"They should work toward a stronger appreciation between all frats and sororities"

"Promote inter-greek relations"

"GLC's need to coordinate relations with all majority greek, minority greek and non-greek students"

"They should promote an equal recruitment among male and female houses"

"They should work to improve recruitment"

"Encourage fair recruitment practices"

"GLC's need to define their roles, are they advisors or authorities?"

"They should be a supportive voice for greek life to the administration"

"GLC's should protect the greek system as a social outlet for DePauw"

"They should be a support system for greek leaders and houses"