On Thursday, September 1st, Delta Sigma Phi’s Sam Deanne held Millikin’s first Greek InterVarsity (Greek IV) meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to show others what InterVarsity is about, to help potential new members decide if they wanted to join, and to meet others looking into Greek IV. At this first meeting, Sam explained to everyone present what his plans and goals were for the group. He also asked everyone present to play a board game with each other as a way to get to know each other.

Before that, everyone was asked to share a few things about themselves, ranging from something private to something obvious. Most people chose to tell at least one thing private about themselves, then tell more obvious things that almost everyone already knew about them. This first meeting was nothing more than an “ice-breaker” and a way for Sam to explain what Greek InterVarsity was about to all the new members.

For those who are unaware, Greek IV derives from the regular InterVarsity group. InterVarsity is program on college campuses that is a Christian organization which tries to get college students interested in expressing their faith. While the organization identifies with Christian beliefs and will often teach these said beliefs, members of other religions should not be dissuaded from looking more into Greek IV or InterVarsity in general, since they serve more as a way to encourage people to express their beliefs while using Christian values as a teaching method. They will not try to convert you if you practice a different faith, instead they will support you and help you practice your faith. Sam had gotten the idea to start a Greek IV organization due to the fact that a surprising majority of other campuses had one, but Millikin did not.

Sam’s Greek IV will focus primarily on emphasizing community building among members of the organization, and help them to better positively impact society. In addition, the Greek IV will try to help members develop, and strengthen, their relationships with other members, people of their Greek organization, their faith, and everyone they meet.

The Greek IV is not exclusive to members of a Greek organization here on campus. In fact, anyone is encouraged to join, ranging from people who have gone Greek to people who say they will never go Greek. For now, they meet from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM on Thursdays in the Woods Clubhouse. Once the organization grows enough, Sam plans to move the meeting into Pilling Chapel for their regular meeting.

One faculty member was extremely excited about this step. Nicki Rowlett, Assistant Director of The Office of Student Inclusion and Student Engagement, was part of a Greek IV program during her undergrad career and will do what she to help Sam’s Greek IV grow to be the best it can be. When she heard about Sam’s plans to start a Greek IV program here at Millikin, Nicki was overjoyed and wanted to make sure she and Sam knew each other, and that Sam was aware that he had already gained her support.

If you have any questions regarding the Greek IV please contact Sam Deanne via e-mail at [email protected].