This fall Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity will return to campus, and some changes to the old recruitment process will change the face of the greek community. There also is hope of a greek village to help Ball State University compete with other college campuses across the United States.
Cara Luyster, the assistant director of the Office of Student Life, said Lambda Chi Alpha was well established among the greek community throughout the nation.
Recruitment and marketing will be different from previous years, as well, she said.
The Office of Student Life generally has sent mailers in the past, but according to surveys, they have not been effective. Recruitment will use more electronic means to gain interest, and Luyster said magnets and buttons also will be used to attract potential pledges.
The sororities will have outreach and recruitment sessions more than once this year, which will be during Welcome Week and during the first week of recruitment.
The Interfraternity Council will hold recruitment Sept. 14 to Sept. 19.
Ken Burger, program coordinator for greek life, said recruitment week would be similar to previous years; however, there will be something new, he said.
"This year there will be a round robin open house so [students] could see all the houses before they make a decision," Burger said.
The round robin will be at 3 p.m. on Sept. 14 at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
Luyster said greek organizations were creating low-pressure environments so potential members would be more willing to attend informational meetings.
Burger said students should attend the meetings to meet people and see what there was to offer.
"Really the important thing is that a student knows that you don't have to commit to anything to go through recruitment," Burger said.
Luyster said there had been a lot of excitement and intrigue over the four sorority houses that opened in January.
The sororities moved to houses because Dehority Complex's remodel did not include a sorority suite.
There were some myths as to why there had not been sorority houses in the past, but Luyster said they are all false.
To help with the issue, Ball State's greek organizations are working on creating a greek village in the area where many of the fraternity houses already stand, she said. The project takes involvement from all organizations locally and nationally. The planning committee is working with architects to develop model homes, Luyster said, so the greeks will know how their house can look and how much it will cost to build.
"It's important to emphasize, although we've been talking about it and holding meetings, nothing has been finalized," Luyster said.
She said their hope was to find a place near campus that will be nice for the members to live and enhance greek life.
Luyster said that for now no decision has been made, but organizations and the Office of Student Life continue to work on the issue.
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