Greek letters removed from dorms
By Danielle HairstonStaff Writer
February 9, 2012
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| Photo by Mindy Hubbard |
| A UNCP worker removes the Sigma Sigma Sigma letters from North Hall. Letters will soon be displayed outside of Bert's Cafe. |
Greek Life Director Witney Swesey received complaints saying that Greek letters on the dorms "were not a good representation of the school." A maintenance team began taking down the letters Feb. 29.
The Office of Greek Life will buy new letters for each organization and mount them on a wooden board on Bert's Café entrance wall. Letters will be easier to remove if organizations are added or moved from campus.
"Sororities and fraternities come and go on campus; it's just college life," Swesey said.
The letters were first put up based on where sororities and fraternities were living in the residence halls according to Swesey.
Lately, Greek organizations are moving off campus and beginning to look for sorority and fraternity housing Swesey said.
With residence halls switching their purpose and going vacant, the letters no longer represented the students involved in Greek life.
"We don't want someone visiting the school and walking into office space that still looks like a dorm," Sewsey said.
According to Swesey, the letters on the residence halls became a maintenance issue.
A responsibility of each organization is to take down letters, clean and then replace them. Unfortunately, many of the organizations are not currently active or willing to pay the expensive maintenance fees.
Some letters have fallen off the residence halls and others made of wood havebegun to rot.
"Some of the letters won't come down in one piece," Swesey said.
Letters removed from the buildings will be given back to their respective chapters or discarded if damaged. Swesey said that the new wall will not contain the word "Greek" because of the negative connotation of the word.
"We are sorority and fraternity men and women, not Greek boys and girls,"
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The print edition of The Pine Needle is published 14 times a year during the fall and spring semesters. Updated: Saturday, March 24, 2012 © The University of North Carolina at Pembroke |
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