Phi Delta Theta No Longer NIC?

[DeltaGammaRocks]

Is it true that they withdrew from NIC? If that's the case does that mean that Phi Delts are no longer part of IFC?

[DeltAlum]

Yes and No. The withdrew from NIC a few months ago. IFC is probably local at your school, and there is no reason they can't still be a member.

[ZZ-kai-]

NIC is a national group of fraternities, and it really doesn't matter if one is part of it or not. IFC is something completely different. It is the greek governing body, at any respected University, and does not operate with or by NIC. IFC is commonly referred to as Greek Council, IAC or other things.

Two seperate bodies, two seperate visions.

[UCFPhiDelt]

DeltAlum & ZZ are correct...

Phi Delta Theta is no longer part of the NIC. All of our chapters are still members of their IFC. So don't worry DGRocks, we are not going anywhere.

[DeltaGammaRocks]

Why did they withdraw from NIC?

[Betarulz!]

As I understand it, both they and Kappa Sig didn't agree with the direction NIC was going. While they supported the educational opportunities that NIC was creating (like UIFI), I think they felt that NIC could be more of a lobbying group for fraternities. I also think that they were either some of the most ardent supporters or ardent opponents on the Alcohol-free housing initiative that seems to have split NIC down the center (I'm sorry I dont' remember whether or not they were in support of the motion or not, I just remember reading that this was a minor reason for the withdrawl...the direction of NIC was the major reason.)

[UCFPhiDelt]

We were in support of the Alcohol-free housing initiative since we are "dry" in all of our houses.

Here is the e-mail posted on our national site:

December 10, 2002
Dear Brother Phis,

As many of you know, there has been substantial debate over the past six years within the fraternity world, and internally within Phi Delta Theta, about the focus and direction of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). Phi Delta Theta, as a founding member of the NIC, has been passionately involved in that debate. It has been the view of the General Council that the NIC has drifted from its primary mission of serving as an advocate for the American college fraternity movement toward one whose central function is to provide educational programming to our undergraduates. Phi Delta Theta is committed to providing extensive educational and leadership training to our members, and we are proud of the programs that we have developed. We feel strongly that the purpose of a trade association that represents college fraternities must be to provide services to the member organizations, rather than to the members of those organizations.

While the NIC has made admirable strides in its work to promote the movement through legislative advocacy, we feel that those efforts remain but a side note to the NIC's undergraduate leadership training and educational seminars. The NIC has remained on the sidelines while hundreds of public colleges have severely curtailed the right of students to associate freely through "deferred recruitment." The NIC has been silent, as public institutions have "closed" their campuses to fraternity expansion. As fraternity liability insurance costs have skyrocketed, the NIC has left its members to tackle that issue by themselves.

Not withstanding our concerns, we have remained a member of the NIC for a variety of reasons. In the spirit of interfraternalism, we have been committed to working within the NIC to return it to its founding mission by offering legislation and sitting on committees. Phi Delta Theta has felt that, despite our dissatisfaction, NIC membership has at least provided us with a "seat at the table," keeping us engaged in dialogue with our partner fraternities. Finally, as a founding member, we have not wanted to leave an organization that we have contributed to for over 90 years. Unfortunately, especially in light of the legislation passed at the 2001 NIC meeting in Washington, DC which more than tripled our dues, we can no longer use these reasons to justify our membership in an organization with which we have so many concerns. It is with deep regret that Phi Delta Theta has officially resigned its membership in the NIC, effective Monday, December 9, 2002.

Charles L. Pride
President of the General Council
Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity

[33girl]

Kappa Sig is definitely not into the alcohol free housing movement...which is why it was kinda big news that they and Phi Delt did this at the same time.

I think that basically what they are both saying is that NIC needs to grow a pair and become more of a lobbying group for fraternity rights rather than just offering seminars and such. Not only that, as 2 of the larger groups they already offer a lot of that stuff, so having to help pay for UIFI etc is kinda like still having to pay school tax when you're sending your kid to private school.

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by 33girl
Kappa Sig is definitely not into the alcohol free housing movement...which is why it was kinda big news that they and Phi Delt did this at the same time.

Absolutely true - everything I've heard has been that we're trying to stay away from that - Kappa Sig takes more of a "look after your brother" approach than a "take alcohol away approach," at least that's what they've told us.

Either way - I'm not well-versed enough in our reasons for leaving NIC, but I know that our leadership body was very happy to leave.

EDITED TO ADD: You can still be a member of IFC - we are still a member of our IFC, despite the split from NIC.

[Optimist Prime]

I think the confussion comes from people who assume the NIC works like PHC or NHC or whatever it is called works. WE don't regulate each others rush to the extreme sororites do and work independently of NIC in just about everything. IFC is only at University level, although may plan conferenes,etc. for its active members (IFC reps, etc) to go to in conjunction with NIC, its not really a local representation of that group.

[rushqueen44]

I agree...

NPC = Governing Body

NPHC = Governing Body

NIC = Umbrella Organization

[docetboy]

I think this article from NMSU says it best about both fraternities reasonings to leave the NIC. As a side note, because of PDT and KS's withdrawl, this would leave 1 of 4 fraternities on campus eligible for IFC membership if the NIC-only rule was in place...we have one local, KappaSig, PhiDelt, and SigEp.

http://www.nmsu.edu/Campus_Life/Stud.../gs/011903.pdf

Two members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) have withdrawn their membership effective December 9, 2002. The national councils of Phi Delta Theta and Kappa Sigma decided upon the action mainly because of seriousconcerns about dues and philosophical differences about the direction of the NIC.

According to Charley Pride, Phi Delta Theta National President, "there has been substantial debate over the past six years within the fraternity world, and internally within Phi Delta Theta, about the focus and direction of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. Phi Delta Theta, as a founding member of the NIC, has been passionately involved in that debate. It has been the view of the General Council that NIC has drifted from its primary mission of serving as an advocate for the American college fraternity movement toward one whose central function is to provide educational programming to ou rundergraduates."

The Kappa Sigma Fraternity has withdrawn for similar reasons. Kappa Sigma Executive Director, Mitchell B. Wilson, commented, "It is our belief that the North-American Interfraternity Conference should have focused on serving the member organizations instead of the undergraduate members of the member organizations. As you know, men's college fraternities need a strong advocate who will focus strictly on the establishment of relations with government agencies, to conduct a successful public relations program, to protect the right of association and other constitutional privileges and to assist in supporting men's college fraternities in projects such as acquiring insurance at a reasonable cost."

Another issue for the two fraternities is the decision made at the 2001 NIC meeting to drastically raise dues. Phi Delta Theta dues went from $4,500 to $14,000 a year and the increase came at a time when the fraternity was already unhappy with the direction of the organization. Kappa Sigma's dues were also at least tripled, and Wilson said, "The recent increase in the dues structure of the North-American Interfraternity Conference did not provide equity in services back to our Fraternity and therefore we made the decisionto withdraw from the conference."

Perhaps the biggest concern about the withdrawal of these fraternities from the NICis how it will affect individual chapters and their ability to participate in local IFCs. According to Price, "We will continue to expect all of our chapters to remain membersof their local IFC and we will communicate that message strongly to all of our chapter presidents.While some IFC's may have bylaws that require NIC membership, we feel confident that we can provide language for inclusion in those bylaws that will alleviate those concerns. We don't feel that we should be excluded fromI FC's simply because we have removed the letters NIC from our resume."

The status of Kappa Sigma in the NMSUIFC will not be effected as the IFC removed a clause requiring NIC membership last Spring.

Information for this story was taken from statements released by Phi Delta Theta and Kappa Sigma. The North-American Interfraternity Conference has not released any statement and no information regarding the split was found on its webpage, though both fraternities have been removed from the list of member organizations.

[33girl]

Originally posted by docetboy
According to Charley Pride, Phi Delta Theta National President[/i]

OK, I know I am dating myself, but did anyone else hear "Kiss an Angel Good Morning" in their head when they read this? LOL

How does the dues structure work? Does it have to do with how many chapters each GLO has? Cause if some of the smaller fraternities had to pay $14,000 a year I would think they would be trampling each other to get to the exit.

[docetboy]

The way I believe it used to be was each fraternity would pay either a flat fee or something like that, and now it is based on the number of either initiates or chapters....hence the huge increase in bills for larger fraternities

Here is a FAQ that accompanied Kappa Sigma's official letter of withdrawl:

Questions and Answers Concerning Kappa Sigma's

Decision to Leave the North-American Interfraternity Conference

1. What were the reasons that led to Kappa Sigma's withdrawal from the North-American Interfraternity Conference?

The Kappa Sigma Fraternity made the decision to withdraw from the North-American Interfraternity Conference due to philosophical differences between Kappa Sigma and the direction and focus of the current operations of the Conference. In particular, the Kappa Sigma Fraternity felt that the North-American Interfraternity Conference failed to properly represent the interest of Kappa Sigma and other college fraternities in areas such as freedom of association, public relations, relation with government agencies and other areas that reflect the operation of a trade association. There was also legislation passed in December of 2001 that tripled the amount of dues which Kappa Sigma Fraternity paid to the North-American Interfraternity Conference. The Supreme Executive Committee of Kappa Sigma made the decision to withdraw the membership of Kappa Sigma Fraternity from the North-American Interfraternity Conference since it did not derive an equal amount of benefits from participation in the Conference for the amount of dues being assessed. The focus of the Conference has been on the development of educational programs and conferences for undergraduates which are already being provided in abundance through the Kappa Sigma Fraternity to our undergraduate Brothers and chapters. The decision to leave the conference primarily was due to the philosophical differences as to how the conference should represent all fraternities as a trade association. The decision was also a business decision in making the most effective use of the resources of our Fraternity.

2. Will Kappa Sigma have the same commitment to working in a cooperative fashion with college and university officials?

The Kappa Sigma Fraternity remains committed now more than ever to developing cooperative working relationships with college and university officials for the betterment of our students. We have kept this commitment for a period of over 133 years and our volunteer officers, Supreme Executive Committee and staff members will be assessable to serving the interests of our chapters and host institutions where Kappa Sigma is represented. Our commitment remains strong and firm in the development of our student leaders. We are committed to open communication with college and university officials and greek affairs professionals. We will also attend annual NASPA meetings and continue our association with AFA.


3. Did Kappa Sigma withdraw from the North-American Interfraternity Conference for financial reasons?

The Kappa Sigma Fraternity has been extremely loyal over the years in providing financial support to the North-American Interfraternity Conference and has always been a member in good standing in its financial commitment to the conference in paying its dues and in participating in interfraternity initiatives. Kappa Sigma Fraternity was one of the first to put forth a commitment to support the North-American Interfraternity Conference Public Relations Initiative. We also spend a significant amount of our resources in sending multiple members of our staff and board to the NIC/AFA Meeting so that we could meet with campus officials and to also assure that proper representation was present to work on the directives of the NIC.

The recent increase in the dues structure of the North-American Interfraternity Conference did not provide equity in services back to our Fraternity and therefore we made the decision to withdraw from the conference.

4. What role will Kappa Sigma play in working with other men's and women's college fraternities?

Kappa Sigma remains committed to the spirit of interfraternalism and looks forward to our continued association with the Fraternity Executives Association, Association of Fraternity Advisors, other interfraternal groups and higher education student development organizations. Our chapters practice this same level of interfraternalism on their local college and university campuses by participating in the interfraternity council and providing leadership in those councils.

The Kappa Sigma Fraternity has committed to joining a new trade association that will represent the interest of men's college fraternities. We are excited about this opportunity and are presently working with other fraternities to establish the Fraternity Leadership Association (FLA). Kappa Sigma's commitment in working with other men's college fraternities and women's fraternities and sororities will continue as practiced throughout our history. Kappa Sigma is a founding member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and it was very difficult for us to walk away from a relationship which we had invested 90 years of leadership and financial resources. However, this decision was in the best interest of our undergraduates, alumni and chapters, and we would ask that each campus respect this decision.

5. Should chapters of Kappa Sigma be allowed to participate in campus interfraternity councils?

Absolutely. Simply put, our withdrawal from the NIC should have no effect on the ability of our chapters to participate inn local IFC's. Chapters of Kappa Sigma Fraternity continue to practice mutual exclusivity with other men's college fraternities and our chapters are governed by Kappa Sigma's constitution and policies the same as other men's college fraternities are governed by their internal documents. It is our hope that the local interfraternity councils and college administrators will recognize our history of interfraternalism and allow us to continue on the same path that we have observed throughout our history on the campuses where we are represented. Our undergraduate leaders pay the same tuition as members of other college fraternities and sororities and we are governed by the same code of conduct. Therefore, it is only fair to allow these students this affiliation.

If there is a need to revise the local interfraternity council by-laws to include those fraternities that are not members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, it is our hope that the local IFC by-laws could be revised to reflect wording such as "members of the interfraternity council at ________ institution must be a member of the NIC, FLA or be a chapter of a men's general (National/International) college fraternity.

Kappa Sigma also plans to have continued association with other men's college fraternities in interfraternity initiatives. We believe that each college fraternity and sorority should be allowed to select whether or not it chooses to affiliate with an umbrella association.

6. Should student leaders be allowed to serve in campus interfraternity council positions?

Yes. Kappa Sigma will continue to emphasize the importance of being a partner in the development of the interfraternity work on the campuses where we are represented and we certainly expect our student leaders to participate in activities that will reflect the positive attributes of college fraternities and sororities. The current members of Kappa Sigma who serve on interfraternity councils have provided excellent leadership to their local IFCs and their service should not be interrupted simply because Kappa Sigma has decided to disaffiliate with the North-American Interfraternity Conference. Our interfraternal commitment, both at the General Fraternity and local chapter level, remains the same as it always has.

7. Has Kappa Sigma's priority as a values-based college fraternity changed with this decision?

Absolutely not. The Kappa Sigma Fraternity continues to stress our four principle values of fellowship, leadership, scholarship and service. We are in the process of developing new educational initiatives for our chapters that will be unveiled at our Grand Conclave this coming summer. The program will complement the local interfraternity council and will represent Kappa Sigma in an excellent fashion to the university and to the alumni of our Fraternity. Our program will focus on the importance of accountability and responsibility and living the values of our Fraternity on a day-to-day basis. The program will involve many dynamic aspects for both recruitment and the education of our pledges to become responsible members.

8. Has the decision of Kappa Sigma Fraternity to withdraw from the North-American Interfraternity Conference established a precedent?

The Kappa Sigma Fraternity has withdrawn from the North-American Interfraternity Conference along with Phi Delta Theta Fraternity as of December 9, 2002. This is not the first time in the history of the conference that members have withdrawn and many have done so in the past and have continued to function as successful and credible fraternities on your campuses while they were not affiliated with the NIC. Please understand that Kappa Sigma Fraternity remains as an accountable and responsible fraternity in the academic communities where our chapters operate.

[MysticCat]

Read all about it in a previous thread:

Phi Delta Theta & Kappa Sigma Withdrawl from NIC (Official Phi Delt Statement).