Ball State University's greek community is continuing work on its strategic plan, and hopes it will help to compete with fraternities and sororities at a national level.
Only a handful of the 800 colleges and universities with greek communities have invested the necessary resources to create strategic plans for their greek communities, Cara Luyster, assistant director of student life, said in the Greek Community Strategic Plan Progress Report.
The plan introduced on March 25, 2007 included 44 items that were implemented and worked on immediately.
Luyster said by 2012, the greek community's accomplishments would create the strongest leaders on Ball State University's campus.
Part of the plan was getting new fraternities on campus and allowing old ones to return.
This fall, Lambda Chi Alpha joined the greek community. The 23-member colony was hoping to meet all its necessary requirements and charter next year, Ken Burger, program coordinator of greek life, said.
He said the men were developing and learning all the intricate ins and outs and learning rituals. They are learning what a fraternity is supposed to be and how to build a student organization into a fraternity, Burger said.
Alpha Tao Omega will return on Sept. 8. Members from the national headquarters will be on campus for five weeks recruiting men with strong leadership abilities that want to be a founder, Burger said.
Burger said being a founder is a good résumé builder because you can tell a future employer about your experience with building an organization from the ground up.
Movements toward a greek village have been small, Luyster said, and everything was still in a planning process.
Rough layouts, not drawn to scale, were made based on what students requested in floor plans, Luyster said.
"It just takes so long because of the complexities," Luyster said. "Our office, business affairs, undergrad women's advisors and national chapters [are involved]."
She said there wasn't much to say about the housing plan because there isn't a lot of information about it yet.
A new, much talked about social policy is in the works. The plan has been tabled as of now because many students need questions answered and need more information, Luyster said.
The new social policy has been one and a half years in the making, she said. The current policy focuses on alcohol risk and is hard for the common person to read and understand. The current policy isn't effective, she said.
Members of the Interfraternity, Panhellenic and National Panhellenic Councils met to create a risk management process that was comprehensive to all areas of risk policy, Luyster said.
The committee was made up mostly of fraternity members, some sorority members, Luyster and a few alumni. The group discussed the problems with the current policy and the issues that needed to be changed, Luyster said. The students wrote the new policy.
"It's a big philosophical change," Luyster said. "Some may see it differently."
Burger added that many students just don't understand the policy in place now.
"They're fighting it because they don't really understand how it's going to be beneficial," Burger said. "It's going to create safer environments."
The greek community has also pushed for better recruitment methods, including recruiting for value and returning to tradition.
Strategic planThe Greek Strategic Plan is made up the following areas:
- Improvements to academics
- Better university and greek communication
- Quality housing
- Enhancing the greek experience
- Chapter and community growth
- Stronger leadership
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