Ball State’s Greek Life has attracted more and more members for the past four years, and because of this, the sororities on campus are in need of new housing.
The new 2012-2017 Ball State Strategic Plan includes a phase one completion of sorority housing as part of a Greek Village by 2017.
Phase one is 50 percent of the project.
Kay Bales, vice president for Student Affairs, noted phase one of the project only includes the exploration phase leading to specific design work, ultimately resulting in a plan for how they would complete 50 percent of the project.
At this point, the university has not made any decisions and is in the conceptual phase of the project, Bales said.
“As we view the growth in the sorority community and some of their notable contributions to the university and to the broader community, it seems like [sorority housing is] the next step that’s logical and promotes the positive part of Greek Life,” she said.
The Ball State greek community has 31 chapters that are recognized by the university with more than 1,500 recognized members, according to the Greek Life page on the university’s website. Members make up more than 9 percent of the total undergraduate population.
Currently, Ball State sororities have six chapters residing in suites in Woodworth Complex and four chapters residing in temporary houses on Riverside Avenue.
These residences are only meant to hold around 40 people at the most. Since the largest sorority at Ball State is Alpha Chi Omega with 110 women, the size can be a problem, said Whitney Hamblin, president of the Panhellenic Council.
“The issue that we’re facing right now is that spaces aren’t being utilized at all, the chapters are spending money on those facilities and they’re not even being used,” Hamblin said. “And at the end of the day, we’re having a hard time finding a place to meet together.”
Sororities meet once a week but Hamblin said they are all struggling to find a location large enough to fit each of their chapters. This causes them to run into the problem of overbooking.
Hamblin is also a member of Alpha Chi Omega. She said in years past, the sorority has accepted pledge classes of around 20 to 30 women. This year, though, the group had a pledge class of 40.
As Alpha Chi Omega is saying goodbye to groups of about 20 seniors, the sorority also is welcoming a new group double that size. Hamblin said the housing could help future groups with the size problem.
“I think the main reason is the university finally acknowledged that they can’t brush it under the rug anymore,” Hamblin said.
Hamblin said building sorority housing has been an ongoing conversation for the past seven or eight years.
“This is the first time we’ve seen legitimate outreach from the university,” Hamblin said. “We’ve seen plans drawn but these are not concrete plans by any means.”
The university has had conversations with chapter presidents, in which they have received only positive feedback, said Lynda Wiley, associate vice president for Student Affairs.
Wiley and Bales also have looked at how other universities have constructed their sorority houses for the past 10 years.
The university has taken into consideration the feedback from the sorority members, and have placed high on their list of priorities a large enough space where sisters can meet, Wiley said.
“Students like that informal hang out space, if it’s a lounge in the residence hall or if it’s kind of a living room concept,” Wiley said. “What exactly that looks like is still being finalized.”
Bales said they have not looked at any locations for the houses yet, as this will depend on the design of the houses.
When students live in residence halls or in group living environments, like fraternities and sororities, it has a positive impact on academic performance and retention rates, Brandon Cutler, assistant director of Student Life, said.
“I think the biggest thing it’s going to do is it will allow those women to have a richer, more meaningful experience,” Cutler said. “It will give them the space where they can engage in regular activities on a regular basis — they will always have a place to go.”
One facet of being in a sorority is bonding with sisters and right now, that is not being accomplished as well as it could be, Hamblin said.
“What this new housing situation could mean is we could finally have a place to meet together and for maybe the younger classes to meet with the older classes,” Hamblin said. “It could be a place where people could come and be together, hang out. And we wouldn’t have to fight to find a place for that to happen.”
Sara Nahrwold contributed to this article.
