Beginning this semester, Greek Court Council is charging Greek Court residents $5 to fund programming and community service events and to purchase rentable items like movies and games.

By the end of the year, residents will be able to check out items from the Greek Court desk in the National Pan-Hellenic Council building at the back of Greek Court, said Colleen Coffey, associate resident director in Greek Court building six.

“Since this is the first semester we are collecting it the exact allocation of our funds is to be determined based on our revenue,” Coffey said.

Residence halls already have $20 community fees that allow their residents to check out sporting equipment, vacuums and movies from the front desk.

Community fees also go toward Resident Hall Association sponsored free events, such as pizza parties and ice cream socials, said Heather Long, RHA vice president for diversity and programming.

The residence hall community fees are required for residents to pay, although some people “slip through the cracks,” Long said. Residents who don’t pay become blacklisted and are barred from attending hall events.

“One of my two main goals is to establish a bond between Greek Court, the rest of campus and RHA,” said Joe Zoubeck, president of Greek Court Council.

Some of the fund raising programs Greek Court Council hopes to sponsor in the future include Pie-a-Greek, Smash-a-Car, candy grams and blood drives.

Greek Court Council, which is comprised of eight executive officers and one to two delegates from each Greek house, formed in September. Exclusively comprised of Greek Court residents, the council acts as a voice for the Greek residential community, Coffey said.

“(Greek Court Council) participates as a voting member of RHA on issues that affect the campus,” Long said.

Delegates who attend the RHA meetings also take RHA memos to let the residents of Greek Court know dates and details pertaining to upcoming campus events.

Recently, the council failed in its attempt to bring more cash-to-chip machines to Greek Court. Currently, it is working on improving the recycling program in Greek Court.

The council’s regular duties also include scheduling programs for Greek Court, making improvements on Greek living environments, training house managers, providing movie and equipment rentals and working with RHA and the National Residence Hall Honorary organization on their recycling programs, Coffey said.

“Now Greek Court residents have a place to give their opinions,” Zoubeck said. “(Greek Court Council) makes living in Greek Court desirable.”