The annual Greek Senate Conference took place on Friday, Sept. 15 at the STEM auditorium and the Miron Student Center. Members of Greek organizations attended this event to learn how to be better Greeks not just for themselves but also for their fellow and future Greek members.
The Greek Senate Conference was essentially a training event for the Greek organizations, or the fraternities and sororities here at Kean University. Members sat through workshops from various speakers about different aspects of Greek life. The overall theme of the conference was about the ridiculous myths that surround Greek life such as hazing. This was ultimately a huge benefit for the Greek organizations as they were able to learn collectively about the positive elements that result from doing Greek life the right way.
Niku Mitchell, junior information technology major, was well aware of the impact that the Greek Senate Conference had on him. "[The Greek Senate Conference] taught me how to promote my organization better and to appeal to younger, newer members. [It also] taught me how to be more presentable in general."
"[I learned that] it's important to put our organizations first, which starts with presenting ourselves better," mentioned Keani Esparra, communications/public relations major.
Abanoub Nakhla, president for Greek Senate, talked about parties. He stressed that fraternities and sororities should reconsider throwing parties, instead of brashly going through with them.
The main speaker was Michelle Guobadia, director for Fraternity and Sorority Life at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She presented on Greek students' role in their Greek organizations. Each individual can impact their Greek organization for better or for worse. It is up to each member if they want to make Greek life better.
Mrs. Guobadia also informed the members at the conference about the many myths that have been accepted into Greek life concerning hazing. Despite being illegal, hazing still occurs on campus. Guobadia warned of the myths that unfortunately continue to fuel hazing in fraternities and sororities.
The Greek Senate Conference served as a valuable resource for all the Greek organizations and their members. Broadening one's view to see the larger Greek life picture and focusing on making an impact for future Greek members was vital to the conference.
In the words of Keani Esparra, "We Greeks have to remember that our actions affect future Greeks. Times are changing, so we must also."
With attitudes like that, Greek life here at Kean seems capable of positive change for years to come.
