Greek Alumni Focus Groups Summaries

Meeting Date: May 20th and 21st, 2012

Meeting Locations: Cape Girardeau and Saint Louis

Greek Alumni Focus Groups Summaries

What was your experience in Greek housing?

• Greek community dining hall was a great way to socialize and interact with Greeks
• Everyone enjoyed their experiences in Greek life at Southeast, but are very aware of the changes in Greek culture since then; Now the standards for members, housing, programs, etc. are much higher

What do you think of current Greek housing?

• Location is perfect for recruitment and connections to campus life
• Housing feels institutional and doesn’t create a sense of ownership and connection to camps for alumni
• Facilities appear old, run down, and not sustainable
• Lack of space for alumni events
• Chapters are losing members to newer housing options on campus, don’t have unit types that are appealing to upperclassmen

What should Southeast do to improve Greek housing?

• Detached structures to build a sense of ownership and community among a chapter and to build a connection between generations of students
• Allow for personalization of new houses and use of chapter funds to do so, but need assurance that money used won’t be lost if chapter loses rights to their house (i.e. gets kicked off campus)
• More space for alumni events; to reflect social nature of Greek organizations
• Some fraternity chapters expressed interest in financing the construction of their own chapter house. However, most fraternity and sorority chapters were not interested in, or did not have the ability to finance, the construction of their own chapter houses.
• Include small prep/catering kitchen, chapter meeting space, quiet study space, storage space, conference room for executive board meetings, tech area (computers, printers, etc.)
• Suite-style (private bedroom and bathroom); singles for board members/seniors/ juniors and doubles for new recruits in order to compete with new residence halls on campus
• Increased security of housing: key card access, DPS patrol to site
• Outdoor space: front and rear porch, common quad/green space/pavilion

Two potential sites were identified for future Greek housing – one site located near the Show Me Center (aka “Pig Lot”) and another site located near the intramural fields at the intersection of Sprigg and Bertling streets. What are your thoughts on the proposed site locations for new Greek housing?

• Show Me Center site is preferred because it is perceived to be closer to campus and has existing parking.
• Sprigg and Bertling site is perceived to be too far away. Also, there were concerns about the availability of a dining facility.
• Many like the current Greek Hill location, but see the value in a new location with brand new facilities
• Either location should have a Greek dining facility to facilitate chapter meals and dining needs
• Alumni expressed an understanding that distance is largely based upon perception. Several commented that when Greek Hill was constructed, it was considered to be far from campus.
• Additional expansions to the Cape Girardeau campus will likely move north towards the identified sites.

Would new facilities change the level of participation for alumni?

• Yes, definitely. Alums wish the chapter house was the thread that tied alumni and current members together; this is not the case with current housing
• Some expressed knowledge of housing corporations and willingness to help with this type of program (primarily fraternities)
• Alumni would be more willing to give money if they knew their chapter would have ownership/control of building (fraternities)

What traditions need to be maintained from Greek Hill in a new location?

• ·         The flagpoles and letters of each chapter are important
•        Proximity to other chapters is important to support and maintain the Greek community

  What besides Greek housing could change for the better?

• Support from the administration for Greek life, Greek alumni, and Greek leaders
• Public acknowledgement by administration that Greek life has a positive contribution to campus culture.