The Daily Gamecock 9/18/14

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dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

VOL. 116, NO. 20 • SINCE 1908

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It takes a bigger village

Jeremy Marshall Harkness / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

The university is looking to expand Greek Village, but space is limited in Columbia — a lot on Blossom Street being considered could accomodate four or five more houses.

Greek life searching for new locations to expand village Natalie Pita

@NATALIEPITA

With 20 houses and some chapters e x p a n d i n g t o u p w a r d s o f 38 0 members, students and universit y officials agree it is time for expansion in Greek Village. In recent years, Greek life numbers increased at an exponent ial rate. Multiple fraternities and sororities have already requested new housing, and the demand for space is increasing as Fraternity Council and Sorority Council approve organizations to colonize on “The only way you can reduce [membership] is to have more groups. To have more groups, you have to have more housing,” said Jerry Brewer, associate vice president of student affairs and academic support. “If individuals are going to be successful, they need a house.” A location on Blossom Street was ident if ied as a potent ial spot for expansion, which could accommodate

four or five new houses, according to the University of South Carolina Greek Village expansion plan. Brewer said the university is in the process of obtaining land for the expansion, and USC is considering adding up to six new houses. There is not currently a timeline for the project. Brewer said recruitment numbers reveal the necessity of the project, but the process still requires time. A nd rew Stewa r t , pre sident of Fraternity Council, said he hopes the project will be finished within five years, since he thinks the university will reach its threshold for Greek life around that time. The project has yet to be presented to the Board of Trustees, but the general concept is included in the universit y’s housing master plan. Right now, USC is in the stage of general conversations and deciding between several different possible locations. Indiv idual chapters prov ide all funding for the houses, which makes

20

Greek Life by the numbers

21% of student over

on-campus facilities

41 organizations

population

5000 students

GREEK VILLAGE • 2

Leadership and Service Center Senate numbers rise to year’s has new goals for new space Newly renovated center aims to accommodate needs of more students with return to campus Natalie Pita

@NATALIEPITA

The Leadership and Service Center on the second floor of Russell House isn’t just getting a makeover — it’s getting a whole new mentality. T he old Leadersh ip a nd Ser v ice Center,

previously called the Campus Life Center, housed several campus entities like Student Government, leadership programs and communit y ser vice programs. Before, everything was separated, but after the remodeling, the lay of the land will be different. “ T here wa s some overlap but ver y l it t le collaboration across those areas, and a lot of it had

highest total 3 new senators sworn in, leaving 47 members and 3 remaining vacancies Collyn Taylor

@COLLYNPTAYLOR

CENTER • 3 Three new senators were sworn in to the student Senate Wednesday, bringing the total to 47 senators, the highest number Student Government has seen this year. Newly-elected senators Brittany Draganosky and Robert Gilbert were appointed to positions with the College of A rts and Science, and Kelley Kennedy was appointed to the position with the Darla Moore School of Business. Kennedy was also appointed to the Student Services committee. The senate only has three vacant seats to fi ll before the Senate is at capacity. “I hope everyone is going to bring more ideas to the table,” Student Body Vice President Donnie Iorio said. “The new people came in with some cool ideas ... Getting some people in with fresh perspective is pretty cool.” While thanking the office for their work, Iorio said t hat now he’s excited about t he Malique Rankin / THE DAILY GAMECOCK

Remodeling of the new SLC is set to be completed in spring of 2015 and will be more interactive for students.

SENATE • 3


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