Two-thirds of Greek chapters have on-campus facilities. Previously the members who lived on campus were the only Greeks represented in the Undergraduate Student Government.

At their Sept. 12 meeting, USG made an amendment to its by-laws to allow the on-campus Greek population more representation.

There were only two Greek seats in USG, one for the living facilities on the east side of campus and one for the west side, forcing some fraternities and sororities to share one representative even if they had different ideas and opinions.

“I asked [Greek leaders] whether they shared similar goals across council lines,” said Derek Sword, USG internal affairs chair. “They said the different chapters had different goals. When they’re lumped together, they’re not getting their true voice heard.”

Due to the leaders’ responses, Sword decided to work on getting separate and greater representation for each Greek council. Now, each of the four Greek councils have the opportunity to have a representative in USG.

“Beyond Greek affiliation, this new structure provides an opportunity to bring representatives in from historically black Greek organizations and also culturally based as well as service based organizations,” said Chris Bullins, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Brianna Stephens, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, which is a historically black Greek council, is really excited to get a chance to be represented in USG.

“This will really help us, being a smaller chapter, to get a voice in something larger than ourselves,” Stephens said. “It gives us a voice that may not have been heard.”

Stephens said NPHC will choose their representative based on GPA as well as possibly interviewing the candidates.

“[It will be] somebody who has an idea of what the council wants as a whole,” Stephens said. “Somebody who is a leader outside of the council as well.”

Brittany Hartory, president of the Panhellenic Council, a council of sororities on campus, thinks new representation will benefit both USG and the Greek councils.

“Personally, I think it is a great step for USG to be linking with Greek councils,” Hartory said. “They’ll have different points of view and be able to have that liaison between USG and our representative.”

The Panhellenic Council is currently looking for a member to represent their council in USG, Hartory said.

“We are looking for women who have a dedication to the council, who have had good standing in the council and their chapter and who are looking to get involved,” Hartory said.

USG left the selection of representatives up to the councils, and the new representatives will be sworn in at Monday’s USG meeting, Sword said.

“[My goal] is to make sure every group of students has a person they can go to directly to get their concerns heard,” Sword said.