SPE-Ill. State: "a huge turnaround"

[hoosier]

March 14, 2005

Troubled fraternity tries to clean up act

By Mary Ann Ford
mford@pantagraph.com

NORMAL -- Members of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity are trying to get back on the right track after some rough years.

"We've made a huge turnaround the past year," said Brian Henning, service learning chairman. "A lot of people are working hard. We got rid of some troublemakers."

Members have been renovating their Illinois State University fraternity house at 400 W. Willow St. for the last six months and now they want to share their talents and energy with the community.

About 50 members are planning to work two or three Saturdays in April helping town residents with odd jobs, from yard work to small home repairs. They've dubbed the project Normal Unites.

The fraternity is focusing on the elderly or those with an illness that prevents them from doing the work. Henning is accepting job requests, and he will meet with each person and determine if the job is realistic for the fraternity members.

He said he hopes volunteers can complete about a dozen projects. The total number will depend on the scale of each job, he said.

Fraternity members have taken informational fliers to a variety of local stores and distributed about 250 door-to-door in residential areas around Normal in an effort to get the word out.

Henning said the fraternity could have just raised money and donated it to a cause to give back to the community, but he wanted a more personal approach.

"We want to be able to interact with people; to talk to them and gain relationships with those in the community," he said.

Sigma Phi Epsilon has several members studying construction management, Henning said, so they have the skills to take on a variety of jobs.

They've done a variety of jobs at the fraternity, including repairing the ceiling, putting up drywall and putting in new flooring.

Gina Lee, director of Greek Affairs at ISU, said the fraternity has had its problems over the years and was close to getting suspended.

"The chapter is in the process of changing," she said. "They're in a rebuilding period."

"They got the message when the message was sent," said Rick Olshak, director of ISU Student Dispute Resolution Services. "It's nice to see them taking control of their destiny."