When walking around Tempe campus one might notice the bounty of sorority and fraternity letters shown on purses, backpacks and shirts, but when walking around the Downtown campus some may not even know that Greek life is a prominent aspect of ASU’s community.
After noticing this, USG Senator Joseph Amonett founded a committee to establish a greater Greek presence at the Downtown Phoenix campus, and through this committee the idea of a residential hall floor solely for Greeks was created.
Davier Rodriguez, an assistant community coordinator at Taylor Place, is closely involved with this committee and sees this as a positive initiative for Greek life across all campuses.
“I feel that it is a great initiative to help establish the 21st Century Greek community at Arizona State University,” Rodriguez says.
“The First 44” is the name of the floor at Taylor Place and it will consist of upperclassmen that are currently in fraternities and sororities. This is the first residential Greek hall to be created, but those involved don't plan on it being the last.
Greek student leaders, who represent all five Greek Councils, are working simultaneously to progress a university-wide initiative for that so-called “21st Century Greek Community and Arizona State University.”
All four campuses are working with their Greek-life students and staff to advance this initiative and build a 10-year plan in an effort to enhance the Greek student experience on each college campus.
Taylor Place’s “First 44” is still in the initial stages of development, with several students already signing up during the resident hall’s contract-renewal events. These students will be trailblazers, choosing to build awareness of the positive attributes that Greek organizations were founded on.
Samantha Valdovin, a freshman transfer student, recently signed up to be part of “The First 44” and is excited about the opportunity to live among other Greeks.
“I signed up to live on the floor because I would really like to get to know other students in Greek life and be able to grow together with similar interests, to create new friendships,” Valdovin says.
Valdovin is a new member of Gamma Rho Lambda, a new sorority at ASU. She also points out the benefits of living in a dorm environment.
“I think living on this floor will be nice because being in Greek life means you have to maintain a certain GPA. Which is good because it will be a lot more quiet and students will be focused on their school work rather than running up and down the halls,” Valdovin says.
Although Valdovin will be a sophomore soon, a main component of the Greek floor will be to involve freshmen in their activities and introduce them to the encouraging advantages that Greek life has to offer while, hopefully, advancing their college experience.
Although the final results of this campus-wide initiative may not be fully complete for another 10 years, Taylor Place’s Greek floor is opening next semester and is setting the tone for the optimistic future of Greek life at ASU.
“We are very excited about this initiative,” Rodriguez says. “It is absolutely a positive direction for Greek Life and all students at ASU.”
Students who are interested in joining “The First 44” can contact Davier Rodriguez at davier.rodriguez@asu.edu.
Contact the reporter at mnschwab@asu.edu
