September 14 2015

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SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 VOLUME 105 ISSUE 12 www.UniversityStar.com

Defending the First Amendment since 1911

The Greek Issue

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The sisters of Sigma Delta Lambda sorority Sept. 3 in the LBJ Mall.

Multicultural Greek life picks up pace on campus By Exsar Arguello SENIOR NEWS REPORTER @Exsar_Misael

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ampus Greek life was in full motion last week as fraternities and sororities flooded The Quad looking to recruit new members. In an attempt to inform students of what their organizations have to offer, the multicultural Greek chapters gathered in The Quad

Sept. 3 and played dance music and invited students passing by to participate in different games. “This has literally changed my life for the better,” said Benito Salazar, president of Sigma Lambda Beta and management senior. “I’ve found a home where I can socialize with people who understand my background and culture. This really allows you to be part of something that is bigger

than yourself.” The university offers a wide variety of multicultural Greek organizations allowing minorities to be involved in a fraternity or sorority associated with their ethnicity. Under the Multicultural Greek Council there are eight chapters minorities can join, said Bob Dudolski, assistant dean of students. Of those eight, two are fraternities, five are sororities and one is co-ed, he said.

GREEK LIFE

The Multicultural Greek Council was not specifically created for Hispanic fraternities and sororities, but at this stage all eight of the houses are Hispanic and Latino-based, Dudolski said. According to the Multicultural Greek Council, Sigma Lambda Beta is the fastest-growing minority fraternity in the nation, spanning across 100 schools in 28 years. Salazar joined Sigma

Q&A with Sophia Campos, Panhellenic Council president

By Mariah Simank LIFESTYLE EDITOR @MariahSimank

By Mariah Simank LIFESTYLE EDITOR @MariahSimank

Not all students are aware their Greek options extend beyond the two largest councils on campus. The University Star sat down with Emily Leon, Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) vice president of public relations and management senior, to learn about the organization’s unique approach to Greek life.

Many people appreciate Greek life, but few stop to ask themselves who is working behind the scenes to make things run so smoothly. The University Star sat down with Sophia Campos, Panhellenic Council president and electronic media senior, to discuss fall recruitment and everything that comes after.

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women from other chapters. Our council is made up of women from each chapter. We have seven Panhellenic sororities on campus, so I get to hang out with other women, and we get to do collaborative events. It's been a really cool experience.

MS: How did you first get involved as an executive? SC: I've always been in-

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GREEK LIFE

Q&A with Chris Pringle, Interfraterntiy Council president By Mariah Simank LIFESTYLE EDITOR @MariahSimank

Many students at Texas State join Greek Life as a way to better their community and foster friendships that last long after they walk across the stage. The University Star had the opportunity to sit down with Chris Pringle, Interfraternity Council (IFC) president and management junior, to discuss his term and the future of the council’s 14 fraternities.

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Mariah Simank: How long have you served as president? Chris Pringle: I've been

president for a year now. Elections are every year around November and are based on candidates who meet certain qualifications.

MS: How would you say your term is going so far? CP: By the end of my term

we'll probably see a whole percent increase in Greek life here at Texas State. We've established ourselves as a credible council that gives back to the local community, and we are also establishing programs that help shed some light on Greek life and some of the good that we're doing here.

MS: Can we expect to see new fraternities in the near future? CP: We'll see about five fra-

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ternities come to Texas State over the course of the next four and a half years. One of the new ones will be here this fall.Our expansion is important because it helps grow this entire Greek community.

We're really going to push this semester to get a vote to add a committee to look into possibly adding another chapter. I'm not positive it's going to happen, but that's one of our goals for this year. Also, my council has been working really hard to increase the number of women going through Panhellenic recruitment, and this year we actually saw about a 100-woman increase from the past two years going through recruitment.

MS: What are some of your duties as president? CP: I oversee the operations

MS: How did you get involved as an executive?

MS: What are some MS: How do you think changes that you've made MS: How would you say to Greek life being involved in Greek at Texas State? your term is going so far? life at Texas State will help SC: We've seen a lot of you after college? SC: It's really cool,

MS: What are some changes that you have made as IFC president? CP: We have developed

See LEON, Page 2

See CAMPOS, Page 2

See PRINGLE, Page 2

and people are recognizing

Mariah Simank: How long us, so it seems to be going rehave you served as vice presi- ally good. dent of public relations? MS: When will recruitment Emily Leon: I was elected in happen for your organization? May. The guy before me who had the chair graduated. So I EL: Recruitment starts day took over midterm, and our

one, first day of school, and the recruitment process and what we call “the hard process” is the next three weeks.

MS: How many organizations are within the MGC? MS: How would you say your EL: We have eight: five soterm is going so far? rorities, one coed, and two EL: It's really cool to be fraternities. brought into a team that's already so concise and knows what's going on. We've been pushing each other really hard and the MGC is growing. We're getting more interest

See MULTICULTURE, Page 2

GREEK LIFE

Q&A with Emily Leon, Multicultural Greek Council vice president of public relations

elections are in November. I'm just serving the partial term, kind of like a sit-in. After November I can run for reelection, but we'll see.

Lambda Beta when he was a freshman, and has worked his way up to president of the fraternity. “When I was a freshman, it was all about having fun and enjoying life, but now it’s much more than that,” Salazar said. “I’m a leader now, and as a leader, my main goal is to make sure everyone gets a degree and graduates.”

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Mariah Simank: How long have you served as president? Sophia Campos: I've

served as president since the spring of my junior year. I just started my senior year, so my term started in January and then it ends December. We do elections in November, and then the new president will start in January.

because I get to hang out with and work with

terested in how Greek life works. I think when you're in a sorority, you see how your sorority works with the executive board and everything, but you don't really see the big picture. I knew the past Panhellenic president, and she encouraged me to apply. I got to see that they get to go to a lot of conferences and network, and not just work to better their own chapter, but to better the whole community.

growth in the past two years, so what we're working on now is expansion.

of all 14 fraternities. I communicate with the Dean of Students office and anyone in LBJ who has any sort of duties in terms of meeting organizational needs. I also am the go-to person for all the chapter presidents, or chapters in general. Then I oversee all the operations for all the positions under me, to make sure that they're meeting their requirements as well.

a scholarship program that


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