[adduncan]

Funding needs not Greek to 'True 2'

By Kerriann Murray, COM '03; President, Inter-Fraternity/Sorority Council
A few things might need to be cleared up, things that are clouding our campus’ view of “True 2.” One of the slate’s goals is to help the Inter-Fraternity/Sorority Council — the governing body of the Greek system — become eligible for funding from the Student Union Allocations Board, a goal that the system has been working to achieve all year.

This does not mean that the members of the slate will be taking money out of the accounts of other student organizations and placing it into the hands of the Greek system, with which they will do nothing but throw parties. It means that the IFSC — which is the largest student organization on campus — would have the power to do even more for the BU community than it already does, and, in case you hadn’t noticed, that is a lot.

Contrary to popular belief, being a part of Greek life is not just about partying; it’s about achieving a sense of community on this campus, and it’s about having the power to make campus events successful. Members of the Greek community have energy, enthusiasm and numbers; time after time, organizations on campus who have been looking to pack their events have come to the IFSC to ask for support — and we have delivered. In addition, Greek-sponsored events such as the fall Day of Service, the Dance Marathon, the Halloween Haunted House, retreats, penny drives, toy drives and much, much more are made possible because of the hard work of the Greek community.

The following is a statement I found on the website for the “URANUS” slate: “And finally, True 2 is dedicated to ‘ensuring funding for campus Greek Life.’ As you can probably imagine, URANUS is not. In fact, we’re throwing up all over ourselves right now at the idea of ENCOURAGING Greek Life on campus.”

If the members of a slate want to truly reflect the needs and wants of the students, understand that you cannot decide for them how they should spend their time. Whatever your personal opinions are, you need to understand that Greek life brings a great deal to the lives of its members — and the moment you can deny any of the philanthropy, service and community the Greek system has brought to this campus, then you have the right to deny the worth of the largest cohesive group of students on this campus.

The members of the “True 2” slate have already proven that they want to work with our community — with the administration, and with the students — to make BU a better place. If you have an issue you want to work out, they will listen to you — and the IFSC has proof. At every meeting we had with members of the administration this year, talking out our issues about not receiving funding, Ethan Clay was there, too. Thanks in part to the Union’s effort, the Greek system will receive some financial support from the administration next year.

The administration’s respect for this year’s Student Union’s approach to solving problems on this campus is tremendous — and if voting for “True 2” means that members of the executive board will wear suits, smile and work with the administration, rather than against it, then they are the slate that can make things happen on this campus.