The future housing situations for the greek community at Marshall University is the most important issue fraternity and sorority members are talking about.
With the recent selling of the Alpha Chi Omega house, some greek members are worried about the future of their homes.
Monday at 8 a.m., about 25 members of different greek organizations gathered in front of Old Main to take a stand against the selling of their houses.
"We want Marshall administrators to see that if they sell our houses then the people standing here will be a portion of the people that will be homeless," Sara Chapman, president of Delta Zeta, said.
During the gathering, Michael Misiti, one of the Student Government Assocation presidential candidates, went to Interim President Mike Farrell to schedule a meeting for the greeks to talk to him. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the president's office. Due to the limited space available in the office, the meeting is by invitation only.
"I am supporting the greeks 100 percent because I feel in a lot of ways the greek community is the life of Marshall University and they deserve to be represented in the student government," Misiti said.
The greek community also had a chance to express their concerns to Marshall officials Sunday night in the Alumni Center Lounge.
Steve Hensley, dean of students, said he wanted to make sure the greek community knew Alpha Chi Omega's national chapter had come to university officials offering them the chance to buy the property, not that Marshall was simply buying without a mutual agreement."
We are appreciative Alpha Chi Omega came to us and offered us a chance to purchase the property," he said. "I believe you would agree with me that you don't want to see a fast food place or a gas station on the corner and that is not what Marshall is going to do."
Hensley said he was in shock the local chapter of Alpha Chi Omega was not aware of the possible sale.
Alpha Chi Omega members who attended the meeting expressed their opinion that Marshall should allow the chapter the chance to lease the property for one year.
Layton Cottrill, Marshall's chief of staff and general counsel, said he could not tell the Alpha Chi's at the time of the meeting if the leasing of the house was feasible, but he did say he would be looking into it.
One of the main topics discussed in the meeting was how Marshall's master plan was going to affect the Greek community. The plan states within 20 to 40 years, the university would like to own from Hal Greer Boulevard to 20th Street and as far back as the railroad tracks.
Danielle Turley, Alpha Xi Delta member, said she feels the reason for the meeting was for the Greek community to take a stand and not allow Marshall to take away their houses.
"We are trying to prevent future Greek members from going through what the Alpha Chi's have," she said. "We don't want Marshall to take our houses even if it is in 20 years."
Cottrill said the master plan is not just targeting the greek community.
"We don't have a bulls eye on the greek houses, but if the property is being sold under our master plan's limits Marshall is going to look at buying," he said.
Ashley Gibson, Sigma Sigma Sigma member, said she believes the university is working against the greek community as a whole.
Ashley White, Alpha Chi Omega member, said she thinks Marshall needs to promote sororities and fraternities more than they do. She said when she was an orientation leader, advisers specifically asked her not to talk about the fact she was part of the greek community.
Giving more housing exemptions is one thing some greek members feel Marshall could do to promote the greek community. These exemptions would allow more students living in the dorms to move into fraternity and sorority houses. There are 510 greeks on Marshall's campus, with only 12 exemptions.
"We recruit the freshmen and sophomores to our organization but then they are stuck in the dorms because of the lack of exemptions," Turley said. "We [greek chapters] all sit and wait for that possible one exemption our chapter might get when there are others who are beating the system in other ways to get out of the dorms."
Delta Zeta, as well as other sorority chapters, said its houses would be full if it were not for the lack of exemptions.
White said she hopes the meeting will get officials to think about how Marshall has been treating the greek community.
"I hope this meeting sets a framework, but if nothing else it has definitely opened up the communication lines," she said.
(C) 2005 The Parthenon
