What Does Fraternity and Sorority Life Look Like at BSU?
Fraternities and sororities are organizations that seek to form a community of people who will support each other and work together to better the world around them. BSU is home to several amazing fraternity and sorority life (FSL) organizations, including five sororities (Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Sigma Tau, Delta Phi Epsilon, Gamma Phi Beta, and Phi Sigma Sigma) and three fraternities (Kappa Delta Phi, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Pi). At BSU, each organization strives to uphold the five pillars FSL is built on: leadership, scholarship, service, friendship, and community. These pillars facilitate an environment that fosters student growth and success in various ways.
Joining an FSL organization gives students so many opportunities to gain new skills and improve on existing ones. One of the best ways students can do this is through positions within their organization or one of the broader FSL executive boards such as the Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council.
Makala Nelsen, BSU’s Coordinator for Fraternity and Sorority Life, has seen how beneficial these opportunities have been for students. When asked to share what she thought FSL did to benefit students, she stated, “It’s so unique with fraternity and sorority life that when you hold a position, you have some pretty big things to be in charge of. If you’re president of an organization, you are overseeing groups of up to 50.”
In addition to growing as a leader, Nelsen shared that many of these positions teach skills students can bring to their professional lives. She states, “Many positions require event planning; these are huge skills that you can use in any job… Planning formals, excursions, or something like that requires contracts and has students go through that contracting process with CSE [the Center for Student Engagement].”
Students don’t need to hold a leadership position to get something out of an FSL organization. Every organization seeks to make its members career-ready and offers many opportunities for members to grow outside of leadership.
If any students wish to get involved with fraternity and sorority life, there are many ways to get more information. For incoming students, there will be an FSL table and info session during orientation, as well as a free pancake breakfast with presentations from all the organizations on September 1. Follow @bsufsl on Instagram for updates about recruitment and check Engage for upcoming informational events for all who are interested in getting involved.
