Plans are in the works for new spaces on campus that many believe will allow student organizations to team up during this school year.
The Greek Life Office has already been established, and an Intercultural Center, which was outlined last spring by the Rev. William Byron, S.J., interim university president, is also expected to open this semester in the Danna Center.
Assistant Director for Student Activities Jill Styx said the Greek Life Office will be a place where Loyola’s fraternities and sororities can work together as members of a Greek community.
“They don’t have houses, and before this semester they didn’t have anywhere to get together and organize,” Styx said. “Their only spaces on campus have been a closet and a bulletin board.”
The office, which is located in the Wolf Den on the bottom floor of the Danna Center, occupies a space that had been underutilized for several years.
According to general business senior Elizabeth Plaisance, president of the National Panhellenic Council, the members of the Greek Community were more than happy accept the area.
“We are really excited about our office because it provides a community space for all Greeks,” Plaisance said.
Plaisance also said the Greeks’ plans to use it as a place to congregate, post information and increase communication.
Members of the three governing councils, Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council and Panhellenic Association for divide up the responsibilities of staffing and managing the office during school hours.
Styx said she hopes that the Greek Life Office will receive funding from the Student Government Association for computers in the near future.
The Intercultural Center is also a place that administrators hope students will bond because of a common interest.
The idea for a diversity-themed multicultural center at Loyola University came to the forefront last year in the wake of incidents of racially-motivated vandalism on campus. Several campus groups under the leadership of the SGA, including the Black Student Union, La Gente and Etcetera, questioned what actions the university would take in response to the incidents.
Vice President of Student Affairs James Eiseman and Provost Walter Harris are co-chairmen of the committee responsible for founding the Intercultural Center.
Eiseman said the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, has been very involved with the planning.
Eiseman also said Harris has played a continuing leadership role, and that all relevant student groups will have input into the ongoing project.
Eiseman also said that program and leadership specifics would be announced shortly.
SGA President Martina Mills, communications senior, said on Tuesday that the committee had put forth a candidate for interim director of the office. The interim director will oversee day-to-day operations of the center, as well as select students to work in the office when it opens.
The Intercultural Center will be located in the empty rooms immediately adjacent to the bookstore in the Danna Center.
Thomas Stevenson can be reached at [email protected].
