On Saturday, Oct. 20, the first annual B.A.N.G. (Becoming a New Greek) seminar was held. The event was only for students pledging this semester, and active Greeks that had pledged in the spring of 2007.

The point of the seminar was to try and have all the new members from all the different fraternities and sororities come together to understand how they could better help NIU.

Also, time management and study skills were a key focus of the seminar, as most of the new members are freshmen.

Melissa Williams, the assistant director of Greek Affairs, started the seminar with a speech about how to become more involved within the houses, and why it was so important to be involved with the community.

She explained to the new members that joining a house was not a small event, but that becoming a Greek was a completely new lifestyle. Terry Ford, the president of IFC (InterFraternity Board) and Dr. Larry Bolles, the director of Judicial Affairs, also gave speeches.

They discussed how being a Greek means being a leader and the positive effects of good membership development. After the speech, the students split into smaller groups to discuss the future of the Greek community.

Ideas were discussed on how the Greek system could better benefit NIU, and how the new members were the future of their ideas.