Page 20 - MGA_Today_Spring_2016
P. 20

More of Middle Georgia State’s Kappa Sigma colony members at a Cochran Campus event. JAMES TIDWELL

  “Fraternities and sororities will be great for        Members planned other service projects for the
Middle Georgia State,” Lords said. “It’s not like a   rest of the term.
student club. Once you’re initiated in a fraternity,
you’re in for life.”                                    “Fraternities are not one big party,” Lords said.
                                                      “Part of their mission is encouraging service to
  The University’s Office of Student Affairs began    others.”
working to establish Greek Life last fall. Kappa
Sigma was the first to establish a colony. Other        The Middle Georgia State colony is attracting a
Greek organizations – Kappa Delta and Sigma           diverse group.
Gamma Rho sororities and Phi Beta Sigma and
Alpha Phi Alpha fraternities – are at varying           David Arnold, 24, of Eastman is a freshman
stages of gauging student interest at Middle          General Studies major. Having put off college
Georgia State.                                        after high school while running two businesses, he
                                                      saw the fraternity as a way to make friends
  Greek Life is based on the Cochran Campus,          quickly. It astonished him that “K-Sig” men he'd
which has adequate student housing to accommo-        never met treated him like a lifelong friend the
date it, but participation is open to all Middle      first time he wore his fraternity pin to an event.
Georgia State students.
                                                        “It’s true, there’s no shortage of camaraderie,”
  “Joining a Greek organization can connect and       said Arnold, whose frat brothers rag him about
engage students with new friends and help them        the multicolored socks he likes to wear.
learn how to be leaders, serve the community and
maintain a strong network after graduation,” said       A junior Psychology major, Sheldon Doyle of
Dr. Jennifer Brannon, Middle Georgia State’s vice     Atlanta, joined the colony to “broaden my hori-
president for Student Affairs. “For years we’ve had   zons.”
students express interest in establishing Greek
Life, and after careful consideration we decided to     “I’ve met people and experienced some
move forward.”                                        different things,” said Doyle, 21, who plays for the
                                                      Knights football club. “I like knowing I’ll be a
  Greek organizations sometimes get a bad rap,        Founding Father and making history. (Future
with stories of hazing and other misdeeds             students) will know that we were the ones who
garnering wide attention. Perhaps less known are      started Kappa Sigma at Middle Georgia State.”
the abundant service requirements of most
fraternities and sororities.                            Lords believes Greek Life will expand the
                                                      University’s student recruitment base.
  Early in spring semester, Middle Georgia State’s
Kappa Sigma colony members organized a                  “If you have a solid Greek presence,” he said,
cleanup and landscaping project at the Cochran        “people will come, because they want to be a part
Police Department and hosted a 5K on the Macon        of it.”
Campus to benefit the Wounded Warrier Project.
                                                         Learn more about Middle Georgia State’s efforts to
                                                         establish Greek Life at: mga.edu/student-life/greek-life.

20 MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24