Butler University is discussing the possibility of bringing a new sorority to campus.

Becky Druetzler, director of Greek life, said increasing women’s recruitment numbers show a need for another sorority.

“We wanted to potentially have something ready this semester,” Druetzler said. “But this is a very long process, and we have to first figure out housing and know when it would be available.”

Butler’s Panhellenic Association created an exploratory team comprised of Panhel officers and delegates whose goal is to evaluate the need for another sorority and  different options.

Panhel delegate and exploratory committee member Tai Vogel said, so far, the committee has mostly been crunching numbers.

“We definitely found that there is a need for another sorority,” Vogel said. “Women’s Greek life has continued to increase over the past few years, and pledge classes are growing by about 10 girls each year.”

This year’s women’s recruitment showed very high numbers of participation, with 52 percent of freshman girls going through recruitment.

Housing is the main issue slowing down the process of adding a new sorority.

The Panhellenic board must vote on the proposal, which will then be given to the Board of Trustees.

“The trustees only meet three times a year,” Druetzler said. “It could be a while before we can move forward with housing.”

Druetzler said parking also needs to be defined for a new sorority house.

Druetzler and Vogel both confirmed a new sorority will not live in the old Tau Kappa Epsilon house.

“The university has a contractual agreement with TKE, similar to what happened when Phi Delt was shut down some years ago,” Druetzler said. “They need to be able to potentially buy the house back, so in the meantime we can’t house a sorority there.”

Druetzler said rumors of specific sororities trying to come to campus are false.

“This is a mutual selection process,” Druetzler said. “First, we will contact the National Panhellenic Conference after our proposal is put to a vote, and then the sororities contact us.”

Druetzler said it is against e NPC rules for a university to contact specific sororities first.

“If we don’t think the interest is great or that we’ve found a good match for our campus, we can always withdraw our offer,” Druetzler said.

Druetzler said the increase in women’s Greek life is becoming somewhat of a national trend.

“A lot of schools are starting to experience sorority upswings,” Druetzler said. “But whenever you decide to expand, it’s important to be very cautious and intentional.”

With the addition of a new sorority shortly after the shutdown of TKE, sororities and fraternities on campus would no longer be equal. Campus would have eight sororities and six fraternities.

“People want to see pairs,” Druetzler said. “But when the girl to guy ratio on campus is already 1.5 to 1, it makes mathematical sense that we would have more sororities than fraternities.”

Officers from Securitas Security Services will patrol future registered fraternity parties.

Greek houses previously used off-duty Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers as security, but the presence of alcohol created too much of a risk, said Irene Stevens, dean of student life.

In response, Stevens became part of a committee with two other staff members and three students—including Brandon Smith, vice president of conduct for the Interfraternity Council—to choose a new security provider.

Registered parties at Greek houses have off-campus vendors providing alcohol to guests aged 21 and older.

“When alcohol is present, you want more security,” Smith said. “It helps the fraternities stay out of trouble.”

The committee voted to use Securitas in the future on Friday, Smith said.

All registered Greek events are required to use the same security provider to make sure rules are consistently enforced.

This is also to ensure that Butler University Police Department and Student Affairs have a definite contact in case of an emergency situation, said assistant police chief Bill Weber.

BUPD can’t guarantee that it will have enough officers to cover Greek events. However, the department works closely with security guards and encourages them to contact BUPD in case of an emergency. The guards do not have arrest powers.

“I don’t want any student or guest to be injured,” Weber said.

The committee invited eight to 10 companies to interview for the new security-provider position. Most said no because of the liability concerns, Stevens said.

The decision came down to two companies: Securitas and Trinity Security.

“We were pleased with both companies that expressed interest,” Stevens said.

Securitas’ services cost $8 more than Trinity’s services would have, but the deciding factor for both Smith and Weber was that Securitas had one supervisor for each of its officers. If an issue arose, contacting one person would be easier than trying to figure out who was in charge that night, Weber said.

The guard will check guests’ IDs and will patrol around the party to ensure people aren’t participating in underage drinking or causing issues, Smith said.

“They’re extra eyes that are there to keep everybody safe,” Weber said.

There is no contract or specified time period for Securitas’ services to be provided. Individual houses will create contracts with the company at the time of their events, Weber said.

Securitas is one of the largest security companies in the United States, said Lynne Glovka, Securitas director of marketing communications. It has approximately 100,000 employees and sites in every state.

“We have hundreds of university and school sites across the country,” Glovka said.
Officers take varying online training courses based on the area in which they will be working. They take a one-hour class about alcohol and abuse, which is another reason Securitas stood out to Smith.
After the decision is run by Levester Johnson, vice president of student affairs, and Ben Hunter, executive director of public safety, Securitas will be available for the Greek houses to use in three to four weeks, Stevens said.

Greek houses on campus saw a large increase in participation during this year’s recruitment.
The number of students involved in rush week was higher than figures in recent years for both initial applicants and accepted pledges.
Sororities had notably higher numbers of applicants than predicted averages, with pledge classes ranging from 53 and 57 students per house.
“As far as the number of students who signed up to participate, we were about 75 above in raw numbers from where we were last year,” said Becky Druetzler, director of Greek life.
Only 8 percent of this year’s total applicant pool withdrew from the recruitment process, which is unusual considering that number is typically in double-digit percentages at minimum, Druetzler said.
“The students who were in the process were very intentional about wanting to be there and wanting to stay until the end,” Druetzler said. “We had a larger pool, and we lost fewer people, so that influenced what finally happened.”
According to Will Butler, Interfraternity Council vice president of recruitment, 256 male students went through the recruitment process, which is consistent with past years.
Taking into consideration there is one fewer house on campus this year, however, another concern is raised about how houses will accommodate next year’s sophomore and junior pledges.
“Sometimes, the sophomore class doesn’t all get to live in the chapter house,” Butler said. “There are pros and cons to that, and I don’t think it’s the end of the world.”
Butler said many Greek chapters in universities across the country function without a house and are able to work efficiently.
The reality is that not everyone will get to live in his or her respective house—an experience, Butler remarked, that will make some students “miss out a little bit.”
“It is nice to be with your pledge class, living together,” Butler said. “That’s where you make the memories.”
New regulations imposed this year by the council, which raised the standards for recruitment across the board, hardly stemmed the flow of applicants.
“The Interfraternity Council raised their academic requirement this year,” Druetzler said. “It had been a 2.3 (GPA), and they unanimously raised that to a 2.5 pretty early on in the semester. Each individual organization was a 2.5 or above already, so it made sense.”
In addition to this, another regulation initiated by the campus’ Alcohol Task Force last year prevented students with a record of alcohol or substance­ related probation from participating in this year’s recruitment process. This new restriction stopped only five or six students from participating in recruitment.
The Butler University class of 2016, being the largest freshman class in Butler’s history with 1,111 students, gives some explanation for the high participation numbers.
“Students seem to be looking to Greek life,” Druetzler said. “They seem to frimly believe that their expectations can be fulfilled by going through the recruitment process.”
The unexpectedly low number of student withdrawals from the process as well as applicants exceeding academic standards shows students are increasingly turning to Greek life as a means to progress both their personal lives and professional careers, Butler said.
“I think the university has brought in a little bit higher caliber of students who are already getting higher GPAs than we had a few years ago,” Butler said. “I think it comes down to networking. You see somebody in Greek letters around campus, and you go from there.”

A 2011 survey of Butler University Greek students found that more than 90 percent of respondents felt they were a part of the campus community. The survey said Butler Greeks felt included in their campus community more than other private institutions’ Greek organizations.

However, some Butler students not involved in Greek life feel less involved on campus, said Irene Stevens, dean of student life.

“Students have said they feel like they have more opportunities for involvement if they join,” Stevens said. “I don’t know that I necessarily believe that. You can be as involved as you want to be.”

Stevens said every student should join some student organization to relieve the stress that comes with college life.

Independent Council President Regan Girten said the stress associated with being left out at Butler almost caused her to leave during her freshman year.

Girten said Independent Council exists to bridge the gap between Greeks and non-Greeks, who may feel left out because they do not choose to rush.

“I just want people to be included in things,” Girten said. “It seems like all events are Greek-related.”

Alexis Spooner, president of the Panhellenic Association that serves as the governing body of sororities, said Greek life does not dominate opportunities and events available on campus. It just makes student involvement easier.

“Before I joined a house, I was literally in my dorm room not doing anything but dance,” Spooner said. “And then I joined, and it was like there was so much I could be doing, and then I kind of just took off from there.”

Becky Druetzler, director of Greek life, said Butler’s Greek life is viewed quite positively at Butler and in the community at-large and said interested and prospective students often seek her and student leaders out to ask about how to get involved.

Girten said she’s yet to attend a homecoming because she is unhappy with the lack of opportunity to get involved as an independent student.

“I think a lot of people look down to (Independent Council),” Girten said.

“There’s the stereotype that Independent Council doesn’t do anything, so why should we include them?” said Sean Sullivan, recent Butler alumnus and former vice president of recruiting for the Interfraternity Council that serves as the governing body of fraternities. “The fraternity or sorority is not the be-all and end-all.”

Sullivan said he did not join a fraternity because of the “Animal House” stereotype of fraternities but because he wanted to make friends. He said his involvement helps at his current job as a technical recruiter for Robert Half Technology in Indianapolis.

“Greek life helped me prepare to relate with people day-in day-out,” Sullivan said. “Being in a fraternity or sorority is kind of like a business in that it has to be well-run.”

It’s been more than three months since Butler University administrators shut the doors of Tau Kappa Epsilon’s Gamma Psi chapter.
A report came in near the end of the spring semester that led to an investigation of the house. Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson would not disclose what the complaint against the organization was.
Following the investigation, the university and the national organization made the joint decision on May 14 to close the chapter.
Administrators had been keeping a close eye on the fraternity’s actions in recent years, and national headquarters officials said they had stepped in to work to fix the problems within the chapter.
“We’re not in the business of shutting down our chapters,” said Tom McAninch, director of communications and public relations for TKE’s national headquarters. “We want to see everyone succeed.”
A number of risk-management concerns have been documented over the past three or four years.
“Everything is a teaching opportunity to help (the chapter members) understand what they should be doing and why they should be doing it,” McAninch said. “They didn’t take that opportunity to learn from those mistakes, they just continued to make them.”
Though he wasn’t aware of the specific concerns, McAninch said that concerns could have included academic standings, recruitment issues or daily chapter operations.
Soon after the decision was made, TKE president Seth Schmitt filed an appeal.
Schmitt declined to comment for this story.
Greek organizations, as outlined in the student handbook, can receive conduct charges for violating campus policies, state law or their respective council’s constitution and bylaws and are entitled to a hearing.
Most hearings are overseen by the Greek Conduct Review Committee, which includes the dean of student life and the director of Greek life. In this case, since most  had left for the summer, Johnson oversaw the hearing.
Though he said he could only speak in broader terms, Johnson said that closing the chapter was the best decision for everyone involved.
“In the end, it’s what was good for the university, the fraternity and the students,” Johnson said.
University President Jim Danko said that while he played little role in the process, he was aware of the situation. The fraternity’s actions, Danko said, were serious enough that people were at risk.
“You hope that your students do the right thing,” Danko said. “You all are adults and should set the bar. You know what’s wrong and right.”
Students who lived in the house have found housing on or off campus. The future of the property is still up in the air, Danko said. There is a possibility that the university could end up with the house, though it is currently owned by the organization.

All Butler University sororities received an email on Jan. 18 offering free tickets to any members willing to be included as “featured audience” members for various Super Bowl-related concerts and shows, including front row seats.

1iota director of social media Josh Patil contacted director of Greek life Becky Druetzler via email on Jan. 17 about providing free tickets to sorority members for upcoming events. 1iota is a company that helps event holders fill the seats of their venues.

The desired audience seemed to include strictly sorority members, and members of various fraternities said they didn’t receive a similar email.

Students’ opinions on the offer varied.

Some viewed it as a privilege for Greek sorority students to participate in the excitement, while others saw targeting only Greek women as unfair.

Claire Roberts, a sophomore psychology major and president of Delta Delta Delta sorority, said she liked that Butler was thought of for these shows.

“It was pretty cool that they were giving us an opportunity to get right up and experience [the concerts and shows],” she said. “It was kind of selective. I think it was just easier with the whole sorority aspect.”

Roberts said she was happy to see Butler and other schools getting involved.

Alpha Chi Omega member and strategic communications major Kate White said young women seemed to be in demand, but she said she thought offering opportunities based on gender was a bit unfair.

“I think it’s interesting, especially with the Super Bowl, that they’re trying to target certain audiences,” she said. “I can understand there’s a certain sex appeal to it. I think it’s a little unfair to make it gender-focused.”

Senior biology major Mallory Owens, who isn’t affiliated, agreed with White’s sentiment, although she said she was unaware such an offer was made to the sororities.
“I chose to be independent, so I expect to be left out of some things,” she said. “But if they do this, I wonder what else is done for Greek life?”

Roberts said the email was forwarded by Druetzler at the request of the ticket holder.

The offered events included the Univision Pepsi Musica Super Bowl Jam, the VH1 Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, the CMT Crossroads Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, and the 1st Annual NFL Honors Award Show, featuring artists such as Don Omar, The All-American Rejects, B.o.B., Gym Class Heroes and Lenny Kravitz.

When the spirit of competition overwhelms Butler University during recruitment week, it is easy for  individual Greek organizations to forget that they are part of one Greek community.

Chapter members are busy thinking of the upcoming semester and what can be done to improve each of their own organizations.

Butler has a thriving, strong Greek system due to energetic student leaders, active alumni support and an institution that helps the organizations excel.

I raise for your consideration a bold statement to reflect upon: Without a university that encourages Greek organizations to succeed, our outlook on the Greek community today would be severely altered.

For the past 18 months, I have had the opportunity to serve on my fraternity’s national board of directors.

I have had to sit at the table voting to rescind charters across the country due to violations against laws, university policies or our own fraternity risk procedures.

While this is a process an organization uses as a last option, occasionally charters need to be suspended for one reason or another.

But at some point in the conversation leading up to the vote, it is usually asked, “Is this campus worth revisiting at a later date?” Meaning, does the university allow Greeks to thrive and view the organizations through a positive lens, and will we return here to recolonize?

Sadly, the answer is usually “no.” Some administrations are forcefully pushing away Greek life.

In other cases, a university’s chapter constantly struggles to fill its own recruitment numbers, a sign that the chapter would not succeed at the university.

It would be easy to think negatively of the university when it applies punishments to Greek houses.

“In most cases, I can understand the university is viewed in a negative light, but at the end of the day, we walk away with a positive experience,” senior Laura Urrutia, vice president of recruitment at Alpha Chi Omega, said.

See, view trends from the 30,000 foot level, and the picture suddenly looks different.

I sincerely believe that if I was at the table and  someone asked if Butler’s campus was one to revisit, my answer would be a resounding, “Yes.”

Butler stands out. The institution is filling its freshman class quota, and so are the 14 organizations.

Because of our university’s successes in accepting high-caliber students, developing them academically and supporting them in the organizations they join, Greek life has been able to achieve success as well.

“I believe Butler has an extremely strong system,” said senior Josh Ruff, past president of the Interfraternity Council Chapters on campus. “This was a great year just based on the numbers.”

“I would be run over if we said Butler is open for expansion,” Becky Druetzler, director of Greek life, said.

Not a bad position to be in if Butler ever decided it wanted to expand.

However, it is not only about the numbers.

Our campus has dedicated student leaders, and this is shown through the annual program  for new officers and leaders, called “Greeks Leading Greeks,” which is hosted by the Order of Omega. This event took place on Jan. 29.

The agenda featured a guest to speak about how the already existing Greek culture on campus can improve and then a roundtable discussion in which members of different Greek organizations on campus helped one another’s chapter.

“Our community has a high sense of character,” said senior Alex Snyder, president of the Order of Omega chapter. “We hold everyone to high standards.”

Butler helps college students enrich their Greek life experience, advances the growth of the Greek community and provides an atmosphere that allows Greek members to progress on their own academic missions.

Students looking to get involved in Greek life may soon have a new option on Butler University’s campus.

Ciara Williams, a sophomore science, technology and society major, is attempting to establish a Butler chapter of Alpha Nu Omega, a national Christian fraternity and sorority.

“I was evaluating my options at Butler to see if I wanted to take part in Greek life or not,” Williams said. “None of them seemed like a good fit, but last spring I found out about Alpha Nu Omega and started the process of establishing a chapter.”

Starting student organizations is student driven, according to PuLSE Office Director Caroline Huck-Watson. In order for an organization to be approved, there must be at least four interested students.

Williams is in the process of recruiting students and generating interest, with one or two students who are committed. Williams said she sees value in Alpha Nu Omega for Christians on campus.

“The Christian community is small, and Butler is even smaller,” Williams said. “I think Alpha Nu Omega would be a good alternative to Greek life on campus.”

Becky Druetzler, director of Greek life, pointed to the communities formed by Greek organizations.

“The student body [at Butler] does a good job of pursuing experiences deeper than the classroom,” Druetzler said.

These experiences can be social, such as in the 14 housed Greek organizations on campus, or non-social, such as an academic or special-interest fraternity or sorority.

Junior psychology major Anna Tirman is a member of a special interest Greek organization, music sorority Tau Beta Sigma.

“The main goal [of special- interest Greek organizations] is to allow people with similar interests to get together in order to promote their cause,” Tirman said. “I feel it has other roles, such as creating opportunities to make new friends and connections with others who are of like mind.”

Williams cited this like-mindedness as something she hopes will transform the organization into a Christian family at Butler.

“Obviously Butler is a small community,” Williams said. “One thing I really like about our campus is that you can be a family. I wanted to start Alpha Nu Omega to give other Christians and myself the option to have that kind of connection.”

Tirman said she agrees.

“I have a strong social network that supports me while I’m at Butler,” Tirman said. “It’s basically like a second family.”

Tirman said students looking to join special-interest Greek organizations should have the same joining considerations just as they would for a social Greek organization.

“Look for organizations that hold a great interest or value in your life,” Tirman said.“If there is more than one Greek organization of the same interest, consider both of them equally before making a decision on which to join.”

Some Butler University students are angry about a Student Life survey sent out earlier this month to randomly selected students.

The surveys asked several personal questions, including some involving sexual orientation and biological gender.

The surveys were created by the National Association of Student Affairs and Administration and by Student Voice, an assessment company for student learning. Neither company is directly associated with Butler University or Student Life.

The surveys allow universities to receive the benchmark data they need in order to improve campuses, living situations, learning and other aspects of student life on campus.

Once the university receives the results, they are compared to the results of other universities similar in size and educational value.

“The surveys have been helpful to us,” Dean of Student Life Irene Stevens said. “We’ve used some data in presentations to faculty. If students say that they feel uncomfortable in the classroom, we let the professors know.”

Surveys, distributed by Student Voice, are divvied out among three random student groups.

Three different survey types were sent out: residence life, Greek life and service learning.

Some of the questions in these surveys did not appeal to some students, but no complaints have been filed.

Kyle Graden, a freshman business major, was offended by the personal nature of the sexual orientation question.

“The answers it provided to choose from were shocking to me,” Graden said.  “One of [the choices] was ‘queer.’ What does that even mean and how is it different from gay? And why is this information important anyway?”

Erin Holm, a sophomore elementary education major, took the Greek Life survey.

She said she thinks it was a poor decision to ask the name of the organization and then later ask questions about hazing and alcohol.

“That doesn’t seem anonymous at all,” Holm said. “I wasn’t offended, but I feel like some of the results could be falsely reported or made to look worse than they are, like the ethnicity of those who choose to go Greek.”

Students said they don’t know what these surveys are used for exactly, so the random questions about sexual orientation and Greek life have thrown some of them off.

The surveys are quite useful for the university though.

“These surveys help us know what we’re doing well,” Stevens said. “We have learned that our students are much more involved campus activities than other students at other universities. I hope students fill the surveys out, because it gives us more information to work with.”

Greek organizations have been a fundamental part of our country’s college life since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825.

The Greek system is one that prides itself on instilling leadership, philanthropy and scholarship among others.

According to Rebekah Druetzler, the director of Greek affairs and orientation programs, national organizations require membership, which is the source of a lot of confrontation on campus.

The Butler Greek community raised $142,000 last year  and worked 25,000 service hours within the Indianapolis community.

National statistics also show leadership throughout our history and present in the Greek system.

For example, 40 of 47 Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men.

A U.S. government study shows that over 70 percent of all those who join a fraternity or sorority graduate, while under 50 percent of all non-fraternity/sorority persons graduate, according to greekspeak.com.

The list of statistics continues on, but in the end you will find that many leaders of our country began with a background in a fraternity or sorority.

Many women who later went on to take leadership roles had a Greek background, such as the first female senator, Hattie Wyatt Caraway and the first female astronaut, Mae Carol Jemison.

The Greek system promotes leadership and teaches all involved its importance and relevance in both our world today and our individual futures.

Along with leadership, the Greek system strongly promotes philanthropy and community relationships. It  is the largest network of volunteers in the U.S. with over 850,000 hours of volunteer work, according to greekspeak.com.

Greeks all over the country dedicate their time and they also give to their communities’ monetarily. Greeks nationwide raise $7 million every year.

Here on Butler’s campus, with our small student population, the Greek system is involved in many outlets of campus life.

Many Greek affiliates are also involved in  other activities on campus and utilize the drive and leadership valued by Greek life.

With so much programming and a small population of students, we run into a recurring problem that affects many students on campus.

Every year during recruitment, there are some students who do not join a fraternity or sorority—for many different reasons. Some change their minds or don’t find a perfect fit. Others find themselves more interested in other programming.

Some of these people are hurt and even angered by this problem, but I think we should all remember that it is hard on both ends.

“It is restrictive and I understand that frustration,” Druetzler.

Being involved in Greek life, I have had the experience of having to turn away possible members during recruitment and it is hard to know you are hurting someone, but there isn’t anything to be done about it.

Butler has seen other issues arise from concerned students outside of the Greek community who don’t trust or positively recognize this traditional system.

There have been accusations made that the Greek system contorts the campus social system and divides the students here at Butler.

“It has been easy to group people together by where they live,” Druetzler said.  “There is also no pressure for students to be greek, or not to, most students choose other organizations that are best for them.”

I suspect this argument will continue on across campus, but being a senior who is graduating in December, nothing else about Butler has made me a better, stronger person or more prepared for my future than the Greek system has and I believe many other students would agree with me, regardless of what organization they are part of on campus.