After years of lobbying, UNCW’s fraternities and sororities have succeeded in obtaining on-campus Greek housing.

Brand new Greek coordinator Phil McDaniel, who has only been here for two months, couldn’t have come at a better time. The former coordinator, Tracie Massey, left the university at the end of the spring semester.

McDaniel is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and worked for the university’s Greek life office. He obtained his master’s degree from the University of South Carolina and has also spent two years working for Delta Upsilon, traveling the country as a leadership and expansion consultant.

“One of my main goals is to build a better sense of community, to get the Greek organizations working together and with the university,” McDaniel said.

Currently about 9 percent of UNCW’s undergraduate students are involved in a Greek organization. McDaniel said he’d like to see that number reach 13-to-15 percent, but didn’t put a time restraint on that goal.

He also wants to continue the recent trend of bringing new fraternities to campus, with Phi Gamma Delta being added this fall and another fraternity in fall 2008.

But the biggest news for Greek life at UNCW is the introduction of on-campus housing, a project that McDaniel wants to continue to grow and expand.

Eight sororities have moved in to the on-campus suites, and two fraternities have moved into the on-campus apartments. The sororities are Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Zeta, Phi Mu and Sigma Sigma Sigma. The two fraternities are Kappa Sigma and Sigma Nu. In total, there are about 100 Greek students now living on campus.

The Greek students abide by the exact same rules as non-Greek students, complete with having resident assistants who have no ties to the Greek community. These RAs have gone through specific training to learn how to deal with Greek organizations and their members. On top of the university-imposed policies, some fraternities and sororities have added their own rules.

McDaniel said the reason Greek housing finally became a reality is because current Vice Chancellor Pat Leonard and Dean of Students Mike Walker are both big supporters. McDaniel wants to continue growing the Greek housing project, adding more fraternities and sororities as well as more members from the current organizations.

“I’d like to see about 20 women from each sorority living on campus,” he said.

The Greek students will remain confined to the suites and apartments for now, as there are no plans for a formal Greek row in the near future.