Do you want to be Pitt’s Greek adviser?

Birney Harrigan has started referring to herself as the interim Greek adviser. It was a title… Birney Harrigan has started referring to herself as the interim Greek adviser. It was a title that, two months ago, she didn’t want to go by, but it looks like it’s one she’ll have to get used to.

After narrowing a field of dozens of applicants to just three, Pitt still has no permanent administrative representative for its Greek system. Of the three finalists, two interviewed at Pitt and were offered the job, which they refused, and one declined to even come to Pitt for an interview.

Harrigan has pointed to the fact that Pitt is an urban school, which complicates the job for a Greek adviser. But, considering the large number of applicants for the job (about 20), it’s a little much to swallow that large buildings are what’s keeping 11 percent of the student body from having a facilitator in Student Life. Nor is it all that likely that the city of Pittsburgh was so repulsive that applicants decided, after visiting, to forget about the job entirely — after all, there aren’t that many jobs in student life out there.

A quick look at history:

In May of 2002, Vice Provost and then-Interim Dean of Students Jack Daniel single-handedly revamped the student affairs office, combining Student Activities and Residence Life into one office, Student Life (he recently re-separated them, adding insult to the layoffs that accompanied the original consolidation). In October of that year, Greek adviser Sharon Malazich left, saying that she had enjoyed working with the students.

Terry Milani took over as an interim adviser (which he’s done four times in his career), and, in July of 2003, after Greek student leaders spent hours during finals week reviewing applications for their adviser, Anita Triggs was appointed to the position. Except that the Greek leaders didn’t get to look at her application before her appointment. Oops.

But at least she was a permanent adviser. Until February 26 of this year, when she resigned, effective at the end of the term. Daniel and Harrigan, ever the proponents of efficiency, told her she could just leave in a week.

That’s a total of 13 months with a permanent adviser since Daniel and Harrigan took over Student Life, 14 months without one. Now add in the myriad disciplinary actions taken this spring by Daniel against Greek organizations, some over the recommendations of every other party involved — except Harrigan, who proposed all of the harsher punishments. And then add a Greek system that can’t seem to go a semester without getting at least one of its organizations suspended. Do you want this job?

Pitt must do something soon, though, because Harrigan’s role as the interim Greek adviser is not going to work for long. When she’s not out of the country, she represents the administration, which, right or wrong, has recently been the main antagonist in the life of Pitt’s Greek system.

Just to put it in perspective: Imagine that you are Luke Skywalker, and the rebels have severely angered the Empire. You are the rebel delegate to a meeting where you will broker peace with the Empire. You get to the bargaining table and are told that the mediator between you and the Emperor will be … Darth Vader.

Except, in that case, at least he’s your dad.