As summer comes to an end and students are moving onto campus, Residence Life has made a few noticeable and not so noticeable changes to the University.
One of the most significant changes made to campus is the closing and demolition of Greek housing along Wooster Street and Thurstin Avenue. The sorority village and fraternity row are both being torn down in order to build new housing for the community.
“It’s a really great idea and project. In the past, the [Greek] community was split up across campus,” Emily Soster, president of the Multicultural Greek Council said. “It’s great to have the community together. The old housing was falling apart.”
The project, scheduled to be finished by the fall of 2016 consists of 10 townhouses, with 33 individual townhomes. Each unit consists either of four, 12 or 18 bed units, with 426 beds total, said Chris Bullins, the associate dean of students in the office of fraternity and sorority life.
For the next two years, students involved in the Greek community will be “living in traditional housing,” Sarah Waters, said director of Residence Life.
Until the housing is done, students involved with the Greek community will be living in either Falcon Heights or Conklin.
With the new housing project, Bullins said that the life experience is enhanced by the housing and the program will grow. “There are 38 chapters, 1,600 students, which is 12 percent of the student population,” Bullins said.
For freshmen who are looking to go Greek in the upcoming semester, Soster said for students to keep an open mind when considering going Greek.
“There are a lot of opportunities to join — not many people know about the four different councils, [National Pan-Hellenic Council, Panhellenic Council, Multicultural Greek Council and Interfraternity Council]. Students need to keep an open mind when going Greek.”
The new fraternity and sorority housing projects are not the only changes being made.
“Facility changes that are notable include that Founders lobby has a ‘refreshed’ look,” Waters said. Another change to Founders includes a new roof.
