SGA president missing the point

I am absolutely appalled by the blindness that our SGA President John Bradley demonstrated in writing and speaking about the proposed Greek Village. Instead of acknowledging the underlying motives behind the proposal, Bradley is merely taking a one-dimensional, superficial stance on this complex issue. To understand the issue, one only needs to ask two simple questions. What is the number one complaint of the student body? Not enough parking. Why was there a record number of no-shows for OAR this summer? Not enough housing. What will creating the Greek Village do? Alleviate both of these serious problems.

By proposing to help finance a Greek Village, President Ransdell and Dr. Gene Tice have shown great foresight. They realize the truth behind the common misnomer that Greek organizations have a vast amount of discretionary money. While some Greek members are affluent, the organizations themselves are not. Bradley should realize that, on the whole, Western’s Greek organizations cannot fund a project of this magnitude on their own. Western’s financial support is imperative to the success of the project. I am more surprised than angered by Bradley’s ignorance on this point per his previous Greek affiliation.

Western’s administration is attempting to create a win-win situation for the student body, Greek and independents alike. I could not think of a better solution. I only hope that the mentally ignorant and blind do not stand in the way of progress.

Brittney Long

Graduate Student

Bowling Green

I want to be Greek, but not at this price

I have always dreamed of being part of a Greek sorority, but being a student that can barely afford my own tuition and living, I had to throw that dream away. Therefore I do not find it fair to take part of my tuition money, or anyone else’s not involved, for the building of the Greek Village. Yes, I do understand that some of the Greek houses need better living and that is fine, but I think the university should also keep in mind that many students had to find places off campus this semester due to the lack of dorms. I believe the university needs to reconsider its thoughts before making any moves.

Aubrey Hutchison

sophomore

Cincinnati, Ohio

Greeks deserve some love too

Currently the Greek Village has sparked a considerable debate as to whether the university (should) assist its own students in acquiring suitable housing. As students, we all pay for athletics whether or not we ever watch a game. In addition to that, we all pay for the Preston Center, which again many students will never use or can’t because of the extremely long lines. Our current system is set up so that an undergraduate’s tuition and fees go into a pool to try and pay for every student’s collective good.

The university is paying $40 million to renovate the residence halls to provide 30 percent of the student body with suitable housing. The Greek village will cost hardly a fraction of that sum and will affect roughly 20 percent of the entire student body; how will the Greek Village be any different? Critics have also conveniently left out one important aspect of the Greek village. The university plans to lease the land to Greek organizations so any money the university puts in, it will receive back. Thus there will be more money in the pool to assist other students. Greeks like myself will not be receiving a free handout, contrary to what my counterparts want students to believe. All we are asking is that the university helps us like it helps so many others.

Troy Ransdell

Louisville senior

Kappa Sigma member