What associate members means:
Can vote on topics that pertain to them
Pay dues
Attend round table, but not required to attend all
Maintain previous recruitment practices
• The Multicultural Greek Council will become associate members of Pan-Hellenic Council.
• MGC president said some members are afraid of discrimination.
• Group will retain voting powers and recruitment practices.
Due to a lack of multiculturalism in Greek life, the Multicultural Greek Council will disband next year and become associate members of Ball State’s Pan-Hellenic Council.
Representatives from each chapter in PHC voted nine to zero Thursday, with one abstention, in favor of adopting the two remaining MGC sororities.
Gamma Rho Lambda, a lesbian, bisexual, ally, transgender, questioning, straight or no label sorority, and Gamma Phi Omega, a sorority focused on Latina representation, will act as associate members.
Casiana Warfield, president of MGC, said joining PHC was really their only option. None of the other sororities and fraternity organizations were able to take them in.
If PHC had voted against the inclusion, Warfield said their national representatives would have had to get involved and find out the reason for the vote, because it could be an issue of discrimination. She said she doesn’t think they would have disbanded.
Although Warfield has a positive attitude about the transition, she said it draws attention to the lack of diversity on campus.
“It’s a wake-up call to the fact that it isn’t as diverse as Ball State says it is,” Warfield said. “We have a lot of international students, but a lot of international students aren’t interested in getting involved with Greek Life.”
She said some members are worried about potential discrimination from the other PHC organizations and possibly the loss of their voice.
“They’re used to experiencing a lot of prejudice from similar demographics,” Warfield said. “It’s going to be a shift from having our own council to be our voice box, to taking a back seat to some things. But I think we’re going to try to make the most out of it.”
Overall, Warfield is excited for the opportunity and said there are a lot of positives to being involved with PHC.
President of PHC Danica Craig said as associate members, the MGC sororities will function similar to PHC members.
Craig said they will vote on any topic that pertains to them and will pay dues. She also said they will attend round tables, though they won’t be required to attend every meeting like member sororities are, due to their smaller size.
She said the biggest difference is MGC sororities will maintain their own recruiting traditions instead of participating in formal recruitment.
PHC decided to take a vote on allowing MGC sororities into their council after the Phi Iota Alpha fraternity decided not to continue their colony on Ball State’s campus. The fraternity currently only has one member.
Craig said only having two organizations on one council wouldn’t be beneficial to either sorority.
Greek life advisers approached both organizations with the option of disbanding MGC sororities and including them in PHC. Across the nation, PHC has allowed similar groups to become associate members.
Warfield said the move could help multicultural organizations recruit more people and get more involved with other greek chapters.
Warfield also said she is appreciative of PHC for allowing them to maintain traditions like recruitment.
Craig said the transition is also a positive one for current PHC members because it will help members learn about about other greek organizations.
“We are learning about things that are a little bit different than what we might think of when we hear, ‘I want to join a sorority,’” Craig said.
She said the biggest issue will be adjusting and figuring out what is going to work.
“I think it will be fun and I think it will bring good changes to our community,” Craig said.
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