Members of NIU’s Greek organizations should be commended for their ingenuity in obtaining new recruits.

At a school which already sees a low turnout for Greek houses, self-promotion in the Greek community should be top priority for members if the system is to sustain itself. The Northern Star also recognizes the daunting task the community faces in presenting itself in a positive light, given some unfortunate incidents which occurred along Greek Row last semester.

Unfortunately, recent actions taken by the Greeks to recruit have not gone unnoticed and have drawn heavy fire from many students. To promote engagement in Greek activities and to ideally increase numbers of recruits, several Greek organizations sponsored a barbecue-style event Wednesday night in the Campus Cinemas parking lot near Greek Row. Subsequently, dining halls in Lincoln and Douglas halls and Grant Towers were closed, encouraging students to attend the event. Not all students, however, welcomed the closings because they felt they were being forced to attend a Greek-sponsored event just to find dinner.

While the idea itself had great intentions to encourage students to get involved in the Greek system on campus and portray the Greeks in a positive light, the plan was poorly executed. Instead of persuading students to attend the event, most students were disheartened by the dining hall closings, which only served to promote negative feelings toward the Greeks.

Most students felt that since they were forced to find dinner somewhere else, they were being unwillingly compelled to join the Greek system. Also, although two dining halls remained open, they were inconveniently located on opposite ends of campus, far from where most students live.

While the barbecue and carnival were necessary to increase student turnout for Greek activities, it would have been more effective had the three residence hall dining facilities remained open during the event. This way, students would not have felt pressured to attend. In the future, organizers may want to consider holding events in Central Park, in closer proximity to the residence halls but under conditions that do not infringe on student lifestyles.

If Greek recruitment is intended to increase, as it should in a positive manner, coordinators should change their tactics or risk losing potential candidates.

Agree? Disagree? Contact us at www.northernstar.info.