Many of you understand the burden that each active member of our chapter has when trying to pay their financial obligations to help the running of the fraternity. We all understand that mostly all college students, greek or non-greek are generally stretched very thin when it comes money in college. Basically, we were all broke in college and this has not really changed. What has changed is the cost of tuition. Since 2013-2014 academic year Barton has raised the cost of attendance (Tuition, Room & Board) 4% each year. This is the national average of percentage increase by colleges so Barton isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary from other colleges. The cost of attendance quickly rose from around $35,000 – $36,000 in 2013, to 2018-2019 academic year of $41,000. Also looks like it will be up to $42,000 next year. However; academic scholarships did not increase at the same rate meaning most students spend more on college. This makes sense from a college standpoint to increase revenue, as we see so many other institutions in financial struggles. But this does highlight a concern for those interested or involved in Greek life, who might not have the financial means to join. So what do we do?

For young, active men there can be only one thing. We work. We work to pay our bills, like what will happen when they graduate college. But how does a college student find the time through all the studying, extra-curricular activities, sports etc.. Well that’s where we need help. We are looking for alumni, or connections through our alumni in helping meet our financial obligations by finding odd jobs, or weekend projects where the chapter as a whole is able to help each other work to pay off dues and other debts. Any assistance with this program is much appreciated, and we would like to continue this program for many years to come as a way to stay financially stable as a chapter.

October, breast cancer awareness month is the time when brothers want to contribute to people fighting with this horrible disease. This year we decided to help out a local Wilsonite so we reached out to Kiayuana Evans. 27 year old mother of two had a goal of $3,000 to help her pay her medical bills so we regrouped and used tactic “Storm the Dorm“ with permission, and asked faculty and the rest of the staff to help us raise money.

Atlanta, GA – During the final night of Carlson Leadership Academy, our VP of Finances, Luis Reyes had a great honor to become a Tragos Quest to Greece Scholar. It is a privilege to get unanimously chosen for such an important and valuable experience. Only about 18 members, or less than 1% of brothers, get selected to participate every year. This event is a privilege and an invaluable opportunity and will certainly help us to get more recognized among other SigEp chapters.

At the beginning of the Spring semester of 2019, we had a combined meeting with alumni board and executive board of the active chapter. One of the points was to reinstate Alumni/Active mentorship for current Executive board members to help them grow the chapter by being advised by alumni who held these positions before. This will also help create a stronger bond between active and alumni members of NC Iota. If you would like to participate or be involved, please contact Alumni Board President Jacob Sarvey

Wilson, NC – Thank you to all of the people that donated throughout the year and special thanks to those who donated in the room auction. We raised over $3,000 from it, which went to help pay for the much needed roof repairs. There were a few rooms that were not auctioned off, so they are up for bid this upcoming Founders.

Over the span of the last three years, there have been a number of major renovations done to the house. This is including repairing the HVAC, repaving the driveway, fixing the water damage to the roof, sheetrock work to the ceilings, interior painting for the house, fixing the porch and rebuilding the floors in the hallways and kitchen at a total estimated cost of $23,100. These renovations have been provided through the generous donations of our alumni, alumni board finances, and the fundraising efforts of the active chapter. On several occasions, the house was at serious risk of condemnation, without the ability to make the repairs necessary to pass city inspection. But once again, we were able to pull through. We’ve made additional improvements to the house by including technology in a way to modernize and adapt to today’s world. We have streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, X-Box for brothers and recruits, security camera and smart lights.

Charlotte, NC – The Barton College men’s swimming team, along with three Sigep brothers, became the first team to win Conference Carolinas Championship. Inaugural meet was held at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center and was co-hosted with Bluegrass Mountain Conference. Luis Reyes, Robert Zamorano, and Jaki Gabric also swam their best and won five medals combined in individual races. Luis also won Men’s Elite 23 Award, presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at their championship site.