For Ron Binder, the new associate director of Residence Life for Greek Affairs, ritual and tradition are important parts of Greek life. “What separates fraternities and sororities from other organizations on campus is the fact that they have rituals,” Binder said. “We have a book that contains our values and these values are what our founders said we should be about.”
Greek groups on campus should believe in these values and live by them, Binder said.
Fifteen years ago Binder was a student at the University working on his master’s degree. He said he is excited to be back in Ohio after working as a Greek advisor at the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“I know (Bowling Green’s) campus, but I don’t. A lot has changed over the years,” Binder said. “But one thing that intrigued me is that this is a nationally recognized Greek community.”
And Binder should know; he said he prides himself on being a curious person. He is involved in Greek life on a national level, gives speeches at other college campuses and attends many conferences each year.
“When I am out on other campuses and at conferences I am always looking for that one idea I can bring back that will work,” Binder said. “The key is that it must be able to work.”
Goals are also important to Binder. He has four goals for the 2003-04 school year.
* Get to know the system
* Build a community among all Greeks
* Advise the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Interfraternal Council
* Work on academics.
The Greek community is built on four principles, Binder said–scholarship, leadership, service and brotherhood/sisterhood.
One specific goal Binder has set for the future is to win the Mid American Conference Greek Award that is given out every year. The award is a scholarship award for grade point average.
“We need to work on scholarship,” Binder said. “But in order to qualify, the Greek GPA must be higher than the non-Greek GPA, we are not yet eligible.”
In order to motivate the Greek community, Binder has created a report letting the different Greek groups see their numbers and how they compare with each other. As of spring semester 2003, the average non-Greek GPA was 2.89 and the average Greek GPA was 2.83.
With a passion for Greek life, Binder’s first goal this year is to get to know the different Greek groups on campus.
“I want to make sure we have a sense of Greek community,” Binder said. “At a lot of other schools the only thing the Greek groups have in common is the fact they are at the same university. We need to have meaningful interaction between all groups.”
For Binder, it all goes back to ritual and tradition.
“We are not just a collection of guys or girls who live together, but we should be a collection of people brought together by values.”
