Get out the togas, and ready the chariots: Greek Week is here.
Keeping with tradition, the festivities began with a motivational presentation. This year, author and popular speaker TJ Sullivan took the stage.
Sullivan spoke twice on Nov. 3; once to the general student population and again exclusively to greeks.
Author of “Motivating the Middle: Fighting Apathy in College Student Organizations,” Sullivan discussed the importance of patience and how to motivate members of one’s specific organization through examples that kept the crowd laughing.
According to Sullivan, each organization can be broken down into three segments: the upper, lower and middle third.
Sullivan said the upper third represents executive members who are motivated by the drive to succeed. The middle third depicts members who are involved, but focus on staying balanced and may not be involved in an organization 24/7. Finally, the lower third describes students who he said are “over it,” whether they are seniors or have just fallen out of love with the program.
Although his first speech was meant to motivate all academic leaders, as a Pi Kappa Phi alumni from Indiana University, he often reverted back to his greek roots.
“He was hilarious and totally relatable,” senior biology major Allie Mizsak said. “[Sullivan] still managed to make you seriously look at your role in the greek community and how you can support your brothers and sisters.”
Sullivan had his first crowd laughing throughout the presentation, but a slightly cruder side of him appeared when the greeks filed in. His second program was entitled “Confronting the Idiot in Your Chapter.”
Sullivan mainly focused on how to properly confront a brother or sister during a high-tension situation. He said it is important to never send in the person who is the angriest to do the confronting. Sullivan also added if the confronted party is being unreasonable it is important for the confronter to stay calm, but to deliver the message they came to say, even if it takes 20 minutes.
Though the audience laughed throughout the entire presentation, Sullivan was able to silence them with one line.
“When is it time to stop thinking like a fraternity or sorority and start acting like a brother or sister?” Sullivan said.
With that said, whether you’re greek, student body president or simply a would-be leader, Sullivan said he has one piece of advice.
“If you are a leader of an organization, remember that not everyone responds to the same things that motivate you,” he said. “Take a little time to think about what’s important to everybody in the organization.”
